Con-way Inc. announced Tuesday, Oct. 2, that it has been named a silver winner in the third annual Health at Work Award, sponsored by ComPsych Corp. Con-way received the award for its formalized company wellness initiative that promotes improved health and fitness for employees through an integrated program of on-site counseling, health risk assessment and education, early injury intervention coaching and injury prevention training.
Winners were selected based on their wellness program’s comprehensiveness, delivery, promotion, participation rates and results achieved, says Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, chairman and chief executive officer of ComPsych, a provider of employee assistance programs.
“The business of moving freight is one that comes with everyday physical demands on our employees,” says Robert Petrancosta, vice president of safety and environmental compliance for San Mateo, Calif.-based Con-way Freight. “Helping our employees properly prepare for and manage the physical aspects of the job, while providing them with resources to improve their overall health, not only reduces healthcare costs and lost workdays, but improves morale. We found that our employees truly do want to improve their health, inside and outside of the workplace. This program has given them the knowledge, motivation and incentive to do so.”
The company initiated the program within its largest operating unit, less-than-truckload freight carrier Con-way Freight, piloting it in Los Angeles, one of the company’s largest service centers. In the first year, the program produced an 80 percent decrease in worker’s compensation costs and a 75 percent decrease in lost workdays. Based on the success of the pilot, the company decided to expand the program to include more than 20 of its freight service centers and major office locations in the United States.
Highlights of Con-way’s health and wellness promotion programs include:
