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Running Head: CHANGING THE CULTURE

Changing the Culture at the Walkaway Cafe

Aminah Haque
Laura Horelica
Marisa Kaufman
Stephanie Polmateer
Mariela Pooley
Rachael Sotelo

Dr. Hesse
PPE 310
Arizona State University

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Changing the Culture at the Walkaway Cafe

Introduction
The Walkaway Cafe is committed to promoting health of employees and customers
through nutritious food options, physical activity promotion, and holistic health improvement.
We recognize that health and well-being is a multi-dimensional topic that can be affected by
environment, emotional, social and spiritual health in addition to the nutritional and physical
domains traditionally addressed in health awareness programs. As a result, we plan to tackle
health on all of these levels, include individuals of all capability levels and we want to start with
our team meetings. Adding more physical mobility into the workday promotes not only physical
health but presents cognitive, motivational and engagement benefits as well. Developing a
targeted strategy to address the many domains of general well-being and implementing an actionplan through team meetings promotes community health by leading through example. We are
setting our employees up to be leaders within the community and we are promoting our health
and happiness by improving the health and happiness of our employees and patrons. Below you
will find outlined the different health domains with specific examples about how we will address
each health subcategory, accommodations that will be made as necessary, and our plan to
implement more activity in our team meetings.
Social
Social health involves the ability to form healthy relationships. This is especially
important in a work environment as it helps to reduce stress and in restaurants, stress levels can
tend to be high frequently. One of the ways in which we will focus on improving social health in
our work environment, is by creating a walking club that will bring people together in an active
way. The walking club will be voluntary, but there will be incentives for those who track their

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steps and hit above 10,000 steps on a daily basis. Another way in which we could increase social
connections is by using the concept of a lunch and learns. In this program, we would focus on
employee chosen topics and have educational meetings over lunch. (Wellness Fits, 2016). One of
the topics of the meeting could be on how the C25K program works and we could bring in a
specialist to properly fit the employees for running or walking shoes. A pair of these newly fitted
shoes could be used as one of the incentives for participating in the social activities.
Emotional
Emotional health is about being happy, self-confident, self-aware, and resilient. Being
happy and self confident is important within a workplace because you do not bring down other
and happiness is contagious. By taking control of your emotions and behavior you are able to
open new doors of possibility. One way we will work on improving emotional health is through a
praise board; it can either be in the back or out on the floor for everyone to see. What a praise
board does is let people give comments on how well a co worker or person is doing. This boosts
people's confidence. It gives a person the recognition that they need and deserve, which then
helps with that person's emotional health. Another way of improving employees emotional
health is through connecting face-to-face with others. One of the key factors in improving
mental and emotional health and building resilience is having supportive people around that you
can talk to on a daily basis. Humans are social creatures with an overriding emotional need for
relationships and positive connections to others (Smith, Segal, Robinson, & Segal, 2016). When
socially interacting with someone it can calm your nervous system and relieve stress. With the
Walkaway Cafe a person or coworker can walk and talk with someone which in turn helps
improve their emotional health while at the same time their physical health.

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Intellectual
Physical exercise can enhance cognitive function, even after only one episode of exercise
(Hill, Williams, Aucott, Thomson & Mon-Williams, 2011). This indicates that physical exercise
can improve the way learning occurs and provide a more efficient process for memory-recall
(Hill et al, 2011), thus improving academic performance and streamlining the learning process
within the brain. Providing adequate nutrition additionally promotes intellectual health, as food
insecurity can lead to chronic disease (Seligman, Laraia, & Kushel, 2010), and poor nutrition can
have lasting effects on how the brain develops, functions, and learns (de Jager, 2010). In the
case of under nutrition, which can mean obesity, overweight or underweight individuals,
cognitive delays or deficiencies can occur. To promote intellectual health, the Walkaway Cafe
will implement physical activity during team meetings, create a walking support group, and post
fliers in the workplace to remind employees to change posture, positions and perform simple
exercises throughout the day.
Spiritual
Spiritual health can be defined as the time, which someone dedicates to keeping
themselves in line with their life's purpose. Do our employees find joy and purpose in their day
to day lives? We can help our employees maintain spiritual health by attending workshops or
providing resources for them to become more comfortable with the concepts of journaling and
goal setting. The goal setting training can be tied into their performance evaluations. The goals
we set can be both business driven and personal so that they know we are vested in them as a
whole person.

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Nutritional
I believe the best way to integrate a holistic nutritional life would be through clean eating
and drinking. It is important to replace processed foods with fruits, vegetables, whole grains and
water. A great motivator for employees to eat clean and whole would be to have all the positives
to eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains and water posted somewhere visible The
ChooseMyPlate.gov (https://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate) website is a resource available
that talks about the benefits of eating wholesome foods. Reading reminders on the benefits of
clean eating habits can be the tipping point for choosing an apple or a handful of carrots over a
cookie or muffin.
Physical
Cognitive, Motivational & Engagement Benefits of this Physical Activity
Physical Activity is important for a holistic healthy lifestyle. According to the Mayo
Clinic website, staying physically active controls weight, combats diseases, improves mood and
boosts energy. A great way to bring unity and community would be through signing up for 5k
every month or every other month depending on the availability. The 5ks can be for an
organization that people are passionate about or seasonal/themed to inject enjoyment. I would
encourage the team to take their lunches or breaks to go, if possible. While they are snacking on
their sandwich and apple they can go on a short walk to just sit outside to breathe in the fresh air
and let the sun hit their face. These small goals and changes can improve cognition and
motivation. Regular exercise helps prevent or manage a wide range of health problems and
concerns, including stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, depression, a number of types
of cancer, arthritis and falls (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2016). Exercise stimulates brain chemicals that
boost your happiness and help you feel more relaxed. It also sends oxygen and nutrients to your

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tissues and assists the cardiovascular system to work more efficiently, therefore having more
energy. (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2016)

Modifications and
Accommodations for Special Needs
The Walkaway Cafe values inclusion of all individuals, and to ensure that all employees
feel comfortable and welcome, team meetings will have some variety. The format listed below
leaves room for accommodation and modification. During indoor meetings, having a stretching
period or having five-minute mini breaks where chair exercises are performed will help all
employees stay fresh, and individuals who use a wheelchair can easily participate in these
activities. Outdoor meetings will be inclusive through pacing or having a colleague push
employees in a wheelchair. These active team meetings will also be inclusive for individuals
with cognitive disabilities that make it difficult for them to focus for a long period of time.
Breaking up the content with kinesthetic activities, puzzles and brain teasers and other types of
activities builds team rapport and includes individuals who need accommodation to help them
focus.
Healthier Team Meeting Examples
Healthy work environments will provide employees with optimal brain connectivity,
leading to positive engagement, as well as improved cognition. The American Psychological
Association estimates that more than $500 billion is siphoned off from the U.S. economy
because of workplace stress, and 550 million workdays are lost each year due to stress on the

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job. 60% to 80% of workplace accidents are attributed to stress, and its estimated that more than
80% of doctor visits are due to stress. Workplace stress has been linked to health problems
ranging from metabolic syndrome to cardiovascular disease and mortality (Cameron, Seppala,
2015). Work and team meetings can be stressful, so the Walkaway Cafe has designed and
implemented beneficial strategies to promote wellness during some of the most stressful times of
the week:
-Creativity to strengthen awareness: Playing motivational and upbeat music during team
meetings.
-Brain training games: Through social connections and curiosity, team members will
learn to communicate and think outside of the box.
-Meditation: By reducing stress and engaging in momentary moments of solidarity before
or after team meetings, team members will be mentally, emotionally, and physically
capable of handling trying situations.
-Physical activity- by using gear such as stress balls and participating in outdoor
meetings, walking and sightseeing is encouraged and team members have the opportunity
to stretch and move at a safe and comfortable pace.
-Chair exercises that promote physical activity from a unique, engaging perspective
(Wong, 2016) and improve focus and on-task time.
-Nature meeting walks: Bringing a sense of peace and openness instead of indoors dull
meeting environments.
Conclusion
As stated at the beginning of this culture-changing plan the Walkaway Cafe is committed
to promoting health and wellbeing of employees and customers through nutritious food options,

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physical activity promotion, and holistic health improvement. Following the example of stepping
into the shoes of our employees in order to make better decisions we will continue to stay on the
cutting edge of health and wellness. (Goldsmith, 2012) Like tossing a pebble into water creating
a ripple effect, Walkaway Cafe will be the initiator of change in our workplace and community.
Join us as we find our place in the big picture and live a fulfilling, nourishing life. (Mildon,
2015) The groundwork for all happiness is good health. Leigh Hunt

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References
Cameron, K., & Seppala, E. (2015, December 1). Proof That Positive Work Cultures Are More
Productive. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/12/proof-that-positive-work-cultures-aremore-productive
de Jager, C. (2010). Summary and discussion: Methodologies to assess long-term effects of
nutrition on brain function. Nutrition Reviews. 68(1). DOI: 10.1111/j.17534887.2010.00332.x
(Goldsmith D & Goldsmith L., 2012). The Best Way to Get a New Perspective on Work.
Retrieved from: http://www.fastcompany.com/3003776/best-way-get-new-perspective-work
Hill, L., Williams, J., Aucott, L., Thomson, J. & Mon-Williams, M. (2011). How does exercise
benefit performance on cognitive tests in primary-school pupils? Developmental Medicine
and Child Neurology. 53(7) pp 630. Retrieved from:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/doi/10.1111/j.14698749.2011.03954.x/pdf
(Mildon, E., 2015). 6 Ways a Holistic Approach can Change Your Life. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emma-mildon/6-ways-a-holistic-approach-can-changeyour-life_b_8427336.html
MyPlate. (2016). Retrieved November 06, 2016, from https://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate
M. (2016, October). Fitness. Retrieved November 06, 2016, from
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389
Seligman, H., Laraia, B. & Kushel, M. (2010). Food insecurity is associated with chronic
disease among low-income NHANES participants. The Journal of Nutrition.140(2) pp 304310.DOI:10.3945/jn.109.112573

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Smith, M., Segal, R., Robinson, L., & Segal, J. (2016, October). Improving Mental and
Emotional Health. Retrieved November 05, 2016, from
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/emotional-health/improving-emotional-health.htm
Wong, M. (2016). 5 ways corporate wellness is changing. Active Wellness. Retrieved from:
http://www.activewellness.com/blog/5-ways-corporate-wellness-is-changing