Well-being is certainly taking off at Bell Helicopter—the latest approved worksite to join the Blue Zones Project® movement for longer, better lives. Blue Zones Project is a community-led well-being improvement initiative working to make Fort Worth one of the nation’s healthiest cities.
As one of Fort Worth’s largest employers, Bell Helicopter impacts the well-being of more than 4,100 workers every day. The aircraft manufacturer of commercial and military aircraft joined the Blue Zones Project movement back in 2015, building upon its existing LIVE WellatBell program and taking significant measures to support overall well-being while making healthy choices easier for employees.
It wasn’t long before Bell Helicopter began working toward Blue Zones Project approval in the fall of 2016, hoping to help its current and future employees improve their total well-being in the years to come.
“We want to empower our employees to live their best lives, not just here at work, but also at home and in their communities,” said Allison Mullis, executive vice president of Human Resources. “Blue Zones Project provided the resources and the framework for us to take our commitment to well-being to a new level.”
To date, more than 25 percent of employees at the company’s North Texas facilities have taken the Blue Zones®Personal Pledge to improve their own well-being, but Bell Helicopter didn’t stop there. Blue Zones Project also worked with Bell to implement a variety of evidence-based best practices based on lifestyles of the world’s longest living people.
In addition to scheduling daily stretch breaks, Bell offers employees walking maps with paths to track their steps around its campus, individual quiet rooms for meditation or lactation, and designated Blue Zones Project parking spaces to encourage employees to walk a little farther. Meanwhile, the café at the Lawrence D. Bell Employee Center reworked its menu to increase the availability of healthy options and the company’s chef held the first plant-based cooking class for employees last year. Their efforts earned the café its own designation as a Blue Zones Project Approved™ restaurant and today, signage showcases Blue Zones inspired food and drink selections.
“Having Bell Helicopter as one of our early supporters has played a big role in the success of Blue Zones Project in Fort Worth,” said Matt Dufrene, vice president of Blue Zones Project, Fort Worth. “By becoming a Blue Zones Project Approved worksite and café, Bell is demonstrating how companies can support overall community well-being by providing employees the tools they need to live longer, better lives.”
Since efforts kicked off in Fort Worth nearly two years ago, more than 60,000 individuals have become involved in a Blue Zones Project engagement activity. Additionally, more than 200 organizations—including worksites like Bell Helicopter, restaurants, schools, grocery stores, and faith-based organizations—have become Blue Zones Project Approved™ or Participating Organizations.
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