Perhaps it was the prospect of getting a “recess” during working hours and a chance to play outdoor games with co-workers. Or maybe it was that hilarious turkey bowling contest that won the law firm’s employees over.
Whatever captured the interest of the folks at Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, dozens of the firm’s lawyers, paralegals and support staff seem to have gone all-in on the effort to improve their health.
In a feature from its special publication, Trends in Health Care, Business Report reports that like workers in the firm’s 19 offices across several states, employees from the Baton Rouge office regularly walk, run, play team sports or simply follow their own customized paths toward becoming healthier and reducing their risk of being compromised by a chronic illness. Other Capital Region companies are implementing comprehensive wellness programs as well.
“This is a law firm, so people are pretty competitive,” says Jennifer Thomas, a paralegal in the Baton Rouge office, explaining how avidly some employees pursue the program called BakerFit.
About three years ago, Thomas became a ringleader in organizing the local wellness initiative and rallying employees to get behind it. Since then, she and many of her co-workers have embraced the concept in a big way.
“Being lawyers, a few people here definitely take this very seriously,” she says with a laugh.
The “recess at work” games (which have included turkey bowling) and other seemingly lighthearted activities of the Baker Donelson employees are part of a multipronged wellness program designed to promote healthier personal habits and lifestyles. Alan McKiernon, the firm’s human resources manager, says that along with health benefits employees derive from the program, one of the biggest motivators is money.
“We developed incentives for employees to earn money back on their health insurance premiums, and that really helped our program take off,” he says.
By completing several basic steps in the BakerFit initiative, employees can get $500 credited to their insurance premiums in a single year. The firm’s wellness program is part of a fast-growing trend in corporate America.
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