Work Fit

Corporate wellness takes center stage

PHYLLIS ROBERTSON left the corporate world after twenty-five years in human resources, frustrated with her inability to help employees manage their stress and health, so she became a certified health coach to “support others to be 100 percent of who they came here to be.” Coming full circle, she has returned to the corporate world “to bring wellness forward” in people’s lives.

Robertson (left) was convinced by her partner BARRY WILCOX to come back to the corporate world as part of the WILCOX WELLNESS GROUP providing corporate wellness to local companies with integrated wellness programs that improve employee health and morale, thereby, increasing productivity.

“I loved doing HR, but with the downturn in the economy and being in the center of all that, I was burned out. Things shifted as a consultant. It was the relationship I always wanted to have,” Robertson says.

There are a number of reasons why a company might reach out to focus on employee health, Robertson says.

“A company may be dealing with high absenteeism, its population may be getting sick a lot, they may be going through a transition and people are stressed and tense, and that brings morale down,” she says. “Whatever is going on internally that may need support, or they may be doing well and they want to do better because increased productivity is better for everybody.” The Wilcox Wellness program focuses on three key areas: stress management, healthy foods, and an active lifestyle. Robertson says they start with individual assessments to see where employees would like to focus, set up individualized online health programs, and work behind the scenes to interact with employees as they go through the process.

“Most everyone is enthusiastic initially, but a few weeks into it, they get too busy or distracted, they hit a block and can’t get through that,” Robertson says. “As an individual coach, I hold them accountable and support them to go deeper to create new life behaviors. Coaching gets them through all the stages.”

While some of Wilmington’s large employers have in-house gyms, trainers, and wellness programs, the numerous small businesses often have to look outside.

“Bigger companies can hire teams, but for smaller companies who have a need and can support a program but can’t have full-time staff to focus on that, this program is designed to seek behavior change,” Robertson says. Also achieving wellness in the corporate world is REBECCA MCABEE at WILMINGTON PERFORMANCE LAB (WPL).

Mcabee and her husband, Chris, began doing corporate wellness in their personal training business, after one of their personal training clients, Chip Mahan, founder, CEO, and board chairman of Live Oak Bank, brought them on board for his employees.

“Chip loved what my husband and I were doing and wanted his employees to come train with us,” she says. “So we started training all of their employees because he thought it was more beneficial for him to pay for personal training than just a gym membership.”

As a result, Rebecca Mcabbe started reaching out to small and mid-size businesses, and the corporate wellness division of WPL was born.

“We encourage company owners to ask employees to put a little skin in the game because if they invest some of their own money in this, then they’re more likely to say ‘I want to do this. This is worth my investment,’” Rebecca Mcabbe says. “We do training with employees at lunch, and it breaks up the day, they have more energy throughout the day, and make better, healthier choices.”

Rebecca Mcabbe and WPL see employees at a company’s own facilities or within the WPL space on Burnt Mill Drive. All of their trainers have four-year degrees and are certified to work with all different levels of fitness. “People are really busy with kids and work, and when the leadership says ‘I’m allowing you to do this, I think it’s going to benefit you,’” Rebecca McAbbe says. “It is better for the company’s morale when employees feel good and are more productive.”   

To view more of photographer Chris Brehmer’s work, go to www.chrisbrehmerphotography.com/