I recently attended a conference where I had the chance to listen to two employees of the Cleveland Clinic talk about the "culture of wellness" that the clinic is creating for its employees. They explained the approach was simple. They focus on four areas that can be impacted during the workday: tobacco, food, body and mind.

The tobacco part was fairly obvious. Smoking was banned on Cleveland Clinic's campus years ago. After all, who wants to walk through a gantlet of smoking employees to enter a health care facility? Many employers have followed suit and have banned smoking on their campuses.

A little more daring is the way Cleveland Clinic is addressing the kinds of food available in the workplace. Of course the deep fryer was removed from the cafeteria, but Cleveland Clinic went even further in an attempt to challenge some of the most cherished of workplace traditions. Sugary soft drinks were pulled from the vending machines and cafeteria, and even the birthday cakes and candy jars, so prevalent throughout the American workplace, were discouraged. In their places appeared healthy snacks, such as nuts and fruit.