KUTV: a strong believer in employee wellness.

• Author: Thueson, Raylene
• Position: Salt Lake City, Utah TV station

KUTV A Strong Believer in Employee Wellness

Surveys and interviews on the development and use of workplace wellness programs find one recurring theme: most businesses create health-related activities to increase job productivity and motivation. Some of the most common wellness programs are smoking control, health-risk assessment, back care, stress management, exercise/fitness, and on-the-job accident prevention. Survey results prove that job satisfaction correlates with attitudes toward career, physical health, and longevity. Companies cite issues such as employee morale, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity, reduced disciplinary problems, and lower turnover as reasons for the adoption of wellness programs.

KUTV is another Utah company leading the way in employee health and fitness and in discovering that the benefits far outweigh the costs. The management at KUTV reviewed all the reports and conducted independent interviews with companies that had on-site wellness programs. They concluded in the late 1980s that by enhancing the "total person" through an employee wellness program, they would lift the quality of life of their employees and improve the quality of work each employee produced. They accepted the industry data and developed their own wellness program.

Barry Nash, vice president of marketing, oversees the wellness programs at KUTV. KUTV employs more than 200 people and currently has 50 employees who belong to the on-site exercise facility. That is a 25 percent participation rate, which exceeds industry standards. KUTV underwrites the major cost of the wellness programs. Fitness center members pay a nominal amount for the use of the facility.

The Program

KUTV's on-site fitness center is beautiful, spacious, and well-equipped. KUTV contracts with the YMCA to provide the on-site programs. The program coordinator from the YMCA is Paul Runge. He conducts several aerobics classes each week as well as personal classes are not the usual aerobics dance classes, but include a variety of programs such as circuit weight-training, ski conditioning, 5k and 10k running classes, and golf preparation classes. Through YMCA-certified programs, Runge also conducts fitness evaluations, nutrition seminars, weight-loss and stress-management programs, cholesterol screenings, and other curriculums.

Nash believes that the KUTV relationship with the YMCA benefits both parties. When KUTV first established its wellness program, it contracted with...