Lifestyle/Wellness programme at Diavik
The Diavik diamond mine is fly-in/fly-out operation (two weeks in/two weeks out or four days in/three days out) operation in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
Diavik has developed a healthy lifestyle/wellness programme for the mine site. The programme is designed to contribute to general health and enable the delivery of workplace related health awareness programmes. Key goals are to increase educational awareness among employees about the benefits of active living; increase physical activity among employees; and motivate employees towards making positive health behaviour changes.
The programme has the following essential elements:
- Management support.
- A cohesive wellness team (management, medics, food services and a recreation committee).
- Collection of data to drive health efforts.
- An operating plan (SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time specific).
- A supportive environment.
- Constant evaluation of outcomes.
Medics, both on site and in Yellowknife, work with the Diavik staff to assist them in monitoring their progress, providing encouragement and delivering feedback. They also help staff identify health related issues that may be caused by current lifestyle choices and recommend available resources to assist them in changing to a healthier, more active, lifestyle.
The food services team (Ek'Ati) contributes towards the wellness programme by providing site staff with improved processes such as an increased awareness about the foods that are available for their consumption and a renewed focus on how foods are prepared. They also provide special dietary requirements with a focus on nutritional value, contents of calories, fat and cholesterol. Foods are also labeled to identify potential allergic risks such as contents of nuts and mushrooms and menu boards identify the availability of heart smart food choices.
There is a recreation committee made up of employees that volunteer their time to assist in recreational events. This allows Diavik to offer a full week of activities, including weekends.
The resources of various public health bodies are also used (eg Department of Health and Social Services and Department of Municipal and Community Affairs), particularly with regard to promotional materials. Health fairs and prevention workshops and sessions as well as incentives are also provided.
Diavik staff believe that increasing the health and wellness of employees will lead to improved morale, reduced turnover, increased recruitment potential and reduced absenteeism.
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