Your Physical Well-Being

Earn Rewards for healthy living with Manulife Vitality, an app-based program that helps you know more about your health, improve your health and enjoy the rewards. The program is available to all VIU employees with extended health care coverage. Check out the Vitality webpage for full info and to register for this voluntary program.

The Vitality app boosts your motivation and rewards you for making healthy lifestyle choices. This program gives you the tools you need to reach your personal health and wellness goals, directly aligning with the invitation for action to encourage employee well-being in VIU’s People Plan. Learn more about Vitality online or visit the FAQ page.

Best Doctors is a healthcare consulting service available to VIU employees and eligible family members. Whether you are seeking an expert second opinion on a medical diagnosis, questioning surgery, need help finding the right specialist, or want advice about a health issue, Best Doctors will provide you with the answers you need to confidently move forward with your care. VIU employees and family members who are eligible for employee benefits can call 1-877-419-2378 or email customer.ca@bestdoctors.com.

Mealime - The Answer to "What's for Dinner"  Healthy eating made easy…with Mealime, an app that makes meal planning, food shopping and cooking healthy meals easier than ever. Comparable to well-known meal kit services, Mealime makes grocery shopping, discovering new foods, building your kitchen skills and planning healthy meals as painless as possible. VIU employees get a 40% discount on a Mealime Pro monthly subscription by following this link: my.mealime.com/business/vancouver-island-university

Lifestyle Health Coaching – telephonic one-to-one coaching. When it comes to your health, how are you feeling? Feel like you could use a little extra help to get you where you want to be? Manulife’s Lifestyle Health Coaching service might be what you need to convert “not so good habits” into “healthy” ones. Working with a qualified professional Lifestyle Health Coach is like having a virtual trainer, nutritionist or health supporter completely dedicated to you. This program is available to all VIU employees with extended health care coverage. Contact the service by calling 1-855-584-4004 or emailing mycoach@manulife.ca

Nutritional Coaching by Homewood Health. Eating is one of life's greatest pleasures. It's also an area in life where we can get into trouble if we aren't careful. Working with a nutritional coach can help you sort through the conflicting information that's out there and develop a dietary plan that works for you. Whether you want to boost your energy levels, eat a more heart-healthy diet, reach weight loss goals, or address special dietary needs, Homewood Health offers tailored support. Call 1-800-663-1142 for confidential, customized coaching.

Home Office Ergonomics

• Office Ergonomics Self-Assessment Tool: The MoveSafe Office Ergonomics Self-Assessment Tool will help you identify and resolve potential office ergonomic issues. Learn how to adjust and position your equipment to fit you better, and take the time to make any necessary modifications as you work your way through the assessment.

• View this MoveSafe webinar (password: MoveSafe) to learn tactics on how to set up a home office as well as movement to keep the body  healthy.

• Ergonomics @Home: Tips on Working From Home: Attention to safe work, health and wellbeing in the home office or workspace is as important as it is when on campus. When working from any new workspace, it is important to conduct a workspace self-evaluation and incorporate regular stretch breaks.

• Setting Up Your Home Workstation: If you are used to working with a sit-stand desk at work, here are some creative solutions that could be improvised for the home office. If you have a portable stand-up solution—or other portable ergonomic equipment such as a mouse—at the work office, you could borrow those items from VIU to use at home until staff are recalled to campus. 

• MoveSafe Home Office Worker Guide -- everything you need to know about preparing and maintaining the body, imparting movement into the workday, preparing your work area, adapting available home furnishing to establish an ergonomic home office and learning how to sit properly, hold a mouse properly, text without neck strain, etc.