Insuring Wellness - A Century in the Making

The Great-West Life Assurance Company

The Great-West Life Assurance Company is a life and health insurer founded in Winnipeg in 1891. Together with its Canadian subsidiaries, London Life and Canada Life, it serves the financial security needs of 12 million Canadians. For many Canadians, their link with Great-West is through their employee benefits program.

Recognized as a model philanthropist, Great-West’s national program for corporate citizenship, named Key to Giving, provides financial contributions to charitable and community organizations across the country and encourages community involvement of staff and financial security advisors.

For example, this philosophy is evidenced by Great-West’s corporate support of the National Quality Institute, a non-profit organization helping Canadian businesses achieve excellence through healthier workplace environments.

In fact, of the minimum 1 per cent of average pre-tax profits donated each year by Great-West, a large percentage is allocated to organizations dedicated to workplace health and advancing knowledge of major health concerns. As an example, 29.8 per cent of the $8.4 million donated directly to charitable organizations in 2004 supported the health and wellness category.

Great-West has long been viewed as a top employer in Winnipeg. The company continues to attract staff with its workplace amenities and its profile in the community.

“As a leader in group and disability insurance, Great-West has a natural interest in encouraging improved workplace health,” states Jim Johnston, Senior Vice-President of Corporate Resources.

The company promotes wellness in the workplace both through its Key to Giving support of health-related organizations and its active headquarters environment.

“There is a cliché that says: Strong bodies - strong minds, but we really do believe that to be true. If someone is physically fit and well, it does have a positive impact on their ability to do their job,” Johnston adds.

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• Workplace in Action
• Wellness Initiatives
• Recreational and Social Activities
• Employee Involvement in the Community
• Communicating Wellness

A Workplace in Action

Great-West provides its headquarters staff, numbering more than 2,500, significant enticements to stay active at work.

The company has an on-site fitness centre available 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week, free of charge. It features locker and shower facilities, fully equipped rooms for cardio and weight training, as well as an aerobics room where noon-hour classes are offered twice daily during the work week.

For a nominal fee, set significantly lower than other fitness centres in the city, staff can participate in after-work fitness classes such as Pilates, yoga, karate and even belly dancing.

The Great-West corporate headquarters is also home to an award-winning cafeteria. Recognized by the Heart & Stroke Foundation, it offers nutritional choices deemed and certified Heart Smart, such as a daily salad and sandwich bar.

As well, the workplace boasts more than 2,000 plants and greenery, helping boost indoor air quality. Outdoors, a scenic landscape, which blends well with the nearby provincial legislative grounds and the Winnipeg River Walk trail system, flaunts numerous flower gardens, benches and a picnic area.

The result is a relaxing environment where employees can enjoy fresh air and activity during work breaks!

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Wellness Initiatives

Great-West offers a variety of supports to staff to encourage better health.

For example, the Winnipeg headquarters has an on-site medical and wellness office which provides blood pressure verification and over-the-counter medications. It also has a resting area for staff if the need arises.

The wellness office organizes several health and wellness-related seminars and activities throughout the year. Recent examples include:

• an employee Weight Watchers chapter;
• an annual staff Wellness Walk; and
• Wellness Wednesdays where presentations on topics such as ‘Sun Sense’, ‘Preventing Sports Injuries’, C.P.R. and First Aid training are featured.

As well, the company employs a Family Services Coordinator who invites guest speakers to discuss issues like parenting, childcare and eldercare. Recent topics of discussion include:

• Achieving Balance in Work and Family Life ;
• When Worlds Collide;
• How to Talk so Kids will Listen and How to Listen so Kids will Talk;
• Teaching Kids about Money;
• Talking to Your Kids about Sexuality ; and
• Teenagers - The Urban Legend .

The Family Services Coordinator also provides referral and counselling services for staff seeking additional services.

Furthermore, Great-West’s confidential Employee Assistance Program provides staff free access to professional counselling to help them deal with issues including health, financial, legal and family concerns. Resource materials on such topics and others are available from Great-West’s own wellness library.

Great-West staff are also encouraged to participate in various active living initiatives led by other organizations:

• The Commuter Challenge - encourages employees to use alternate modes of transportation for a designated week each year.
• Manitoba In Motion - a new federal-provincial initiative to promote wellness and healthy lifestyles for all Manitobans.
• Stairway to Health - fostered by both the Public Health Agency of Canada and Canadian Council for Health and Active Living at Work, this program promotes the use of stairways over elevators. Staff from Great-West’s Selectpac department have climbed more than 23,000 flights of stairs since becoming involved in early 2005.

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Recreational and Social Activities

Great-West’s Staff Club has been organizing events and sports leagues at the Winnipeg headquarters for more than 90 years.

A full-time Recreation Coordinator helps the Staff Club plan and budget for recreation days or evenings, where any of the following staff leagues can play:

• Hockey;
• Curling;
• Beach volleyball;
• Golf; and
• ‘Slo-pitch’ baseball.

Both employees and retirees are also invited to participate in social activities which are planned by an elected executive committee, including a bowling and billiards night, sports day, curling bonspiel, ski trips as well as an annual dinner and dance.

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Employee Involvement in the Community

Great-West also supports and promotes fundraising, volunteer and community awareness activities among staff. The motivation is simple: corporate volunteer teams who support charities have a great impact. They stay active, have fun and build team spirit - all while raising money for great causes.

Organizations that provide research, advocacy and care to people and their families affected by conditions such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke have also benefited from Great-West employee involvement.

Some examples of 2005 participation include:

• The Manitoba Marathon’s Super Run:
  • Great-West has been an active supporter of this activity for the past 15 years as a corporate sponsor and as a volunteer force.
• Kidsport Manitoba :
  • In Winnipeg, Great-West is a major sponsor of this initiative that encourages donations of used sports equipment to enable economically disadvantaged children in the community to participate in organized sports.
• The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba Big Bike for Stroke event:
  • Held on the grounds of the provincial legislature, the Great-West Strokebusters again participated and raised $14,957.55 in individual and corporate pledges thus breaking the city’s record for the second year in a row.
• The Manitoba Dragon Boat Festival in support of the Canadian Cancer Society:
  • The Great-West Dragonhearts teams participated and raised $20,588.80 in individual and corporate pledges. To commend such a grand effort, the team was presented with a special award from the Society.
• The Cerebral Palsy Stationary Bike Race:
  • The Great-West staff again achieved the title of top fundraising team in Winnipeg, donating $16,600 in individual and corporate pledges.
• The Winnipeg Boys and Girls Clubs Kiwanis Pumper Pull:
  • The personnel of Great-West also entered two teams in this fundraiser.
• The Multiple Sclerosis Society Bike Tour Challenge
  • The Greatful Treads, a 48-member Great-West bike team, participated and raised more than $35,000 in individual and corporate pledges.

In addition to the individual pledges and corporate matches collected by the participating staff members, the company also covered team registrations, and provides recognition to celebrate team efforts.

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Communicating Wellness

Great-West also publishes a weekly newsletter for Winnipeg staff. Among other items, it often highlights personal staff experiences, including the following stories of exceptional active living efforts:

• A Great-West employee, having survived ovarian cancer, participated in the Walk for Hope for ovarian cancer research;
• Another employee, a cancer survivor, competed in a Mighty Man competition; and
• Various staff members celebrated individual achievements in amateur sport. Two Great-West staff members were provincial curling champions in 2005.

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Conclusion

With well over a century of experience insuring the life and health of Canadians, The Great-West Life Assurance Company is also clearly a pioneer and champion of promoting of active living at work.

For more information, please email: contactus@gwl.ca

Click here to see the full archive of case studies and to access information on the seven principles of highly successful physical activity in the workplace programs.