TULSA, Okla. (AP) — At the Holmes Organisation, you're not only encouraged to take a break from your work day, but also to take a walk or play Nintendo's Wii Fit during it.

Employees can grab fresh fruit from the break room and log onto a computer to upload their pedometer mileage. But if they want a soda, they'll have to bring it from home.

Holmes' wellness coordinator, Eric Moon, has swapped sodas for fresh fruit and lower-sugar beverages, and is challenging employees at the insurance and benefits company to take the stairs, park far away and walk long distances on weekends.

If they catch Moon taking the elevator to the 10th floor instead of the stairs, they can fine him $5.

If an employee walks the round-trip distance between Tulsa and New York City before November, the company will buy her airfare and a three-night stay to visit the Big Apple.

"We have tried to take walking to a whole new level," Moon said.

At Holmes, employees dine on roasted vegetable sandwiches from Jason's Deli while learning about the impact of air quality on health from an American Lung Association guest speaker. Typically, the group goes for one-mile walks after their "Wellness Friday" lunches.

The company purchased high-tech pedometers for employees and their spouses who wanted to participate in the walking challenge.

"We want them to take these behaviors home," Moon said.

The goal was to get employees walking as many as 12,000 to 15,000 steps a day. Several have reached that goal and exceeded it, some walking as many as 20,000 to 30,000 steps per day.

"You either make time for wellness now or make time for sickness later," Moon said.

Most employees want to be healthier, they just need help finding the tools and a balance that works for them, he said.

Cara Mohler, 31, a customer service representative at Holmes, said the company's wellness efforts have made it easier for her to stay in shape. She's one of the crew competing for trips by walking the equivalent of the distance between Tulsa and various cities. She's got her eye on the Big Apple and she's well on her way, logging more than 300 miles since January.

"It just makes a difference when there's support," Mohler said.

A few weekends ago, she and her husband opted to walk three miles each way for a Saturday breakfast at Brookside By Day.

"And I felt no guilt when they brought out the cinnamon roll," she said.

In tough economic times, when many cash-strapped businesses are cutting back, a few local companies say they refuse to skimp when it comes to employee wellness programs.

Employees' well being — and the potential health care savings from fitter workers — are too important to shortchange, they say.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group has a comprehensive employee wellness program focusing on healthy diet, exercise, stress management and illness prevention, and it's one of 10 national programs honored recently by United Healthcare for its efforts, said Chris Payne, senior manager of corporate communications.

Recently Dollar Thrifty employees dined on omelets, turkey sausage, sweet potato hash browns and fresh fruit to learn about healthy breakfast options and raise money for the American Heart Association.

"It's a complete win-win for us," Payne said. "It maybe started as, 'How can we bring down some of these health care costs?' But our heart is on the side of we want our people to be healthy."

Dollar Thrifty has walking and Weight Watchers groups, smoking cessation programs, an onsite fitness center and a reimbursement program for employees' outside gym memberships. Through his own participation in the wellness programs, Payne lost 29 pounds and lowered his blood pressure.

By spending on wellness, the company has saved on health care costs, Payne said by recent estimates as much as $3.56 in savings for every $1 spent.

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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com