Balanced You

Exercise and movement

King County offers a variety of resources to promote exercise and movement, both at work and at home.

Activity Centers

Balanced You maintains more than 25 on-site Activity Centers at King County work locations. These are convenient spaces for employees to get moderate levels of physical activity.

King County employees can find more information on the intranet

Active&Fit Direct discounted fitness memberships

Employees with King County health insurance can access discounted fitness memberships through Active&Fit Direct.

For $28 per month plus tax, employees can choose any standard fitness center from over 12,500 facilities nationwide. Family members age 18+ can also join for $28 a month.

There are no contracts, penalties, or annual fees, and you can change gyms at any time.

The Standard Membership’s initial payment includes a one-time enrollment fee of $28 and your first two months’ membership at $28 each, for a total of $84, plus applicable taxes. Every month after that is just $28 plus tax.

For more information and to sign up, visit the link for your employee health plan:

• Regence (KingCare or KingCare Select) members - Active&Fit Direct
• Kaiser (SmartCare Connect) members - Active&Fit Direct

Exercise classes

Balanced You offers a variety of on-demand and live exercise classes to make it easy to move your body throughout the day, including Get Movin’ with Balanced You, Vivecorp Live and more.

Information about these classes is available on the Balanced You blog

Gym discounts

Looking for a gym or fitness center in your community? Many facilities in the Puget Sound area offer discounts to King County employees, their families, and retirees. Find more information on the employee discounts page.

Financial wellness

King County offers a variety of resources to support employee financial wellness. In addition to competitive pay and comprehensive benefits we also offer financial and retirement education and resources to support you from hire to retire.

My Secure Advantage

My Secure Advantage (MSA) provides employees with tools and coaching that support you in reaching your financial goals such as creating a budget, paying down debt, planning for retirement and more. Employees have free access to a variety of resources including a digital platform, calculators, webinars, and a Money Coach for up to 90 days each calendar year. Visit the MSA website at and click “get started” to open an account and enroll in the free Money Coach services, webinars, and more. When asked for your Employee ID, enter your PeopleSoft number.

Making Life Easier (MLE)

Employees and anyone in their households can access MLE’s work-life services that include brief consultations with a financial counselor or budget specialist who can help with issues such as debt reduction, home buying, budgeting, foreclosure prevention, bankruptcy prevention, financial goalsetting, estate/financial planning, identity theft recovery, and credit report review.

Find more information about the MLE program

• Contact MLE at 1-888-874-7290.

Retirement

Want to know the difference between defined benefit and defined contribution? What does PERS, Deferred Comp, and IRA mean? King County offers a variety of resources to help you demystify retirement planning and saving including a dedicated staff Retirement Navigator.

Mental health and well-being

King County offers a variety of resources to support mental well-being. Employees for a full list of resources – view our comprehensive mental health resource guide or log-in here.

Making Life Easier (MLE) and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Making Life Easier (MLE) offers up to 8 free confidential counseling sessions per issue, per year. MLE also offers online group support, digital therapy programs, certain legal services, and much more for employees and anyone in their household. Available 24/7/365.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a confidential and free counseling service for employees having work-related issues.

Learn more about these programs

Mindfulness classes

Balanced You offers Mindfulness classes available to all employees. The courses support and provide relevant information to employees working to reduce stress and improve well-being.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)

Balanced You offers MHFA training from the National Council for Mental Well-being for employees. MHFA trains you to notice and support people who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use concern and connect them to appropriate professional care.

Mental health benefits

King County offers comprehensive mental health coverage through employee health insurance plans such as counselors, psychologist, and psychiatrists that specialize in a variety of areas. Each health plan has additional programs to meet employee needs from in-the-moment support to long-term well-being.

Additional well-being resources

King County offers a variety of additional resources to support health and well-being.

On-site Flu Shots

Balanced You hosts on-site flu shots for King County employees each fall. Flu shots are free for all employees. Check the Balanced You blog for updates.

Omada

The Omada Diabetes Prevention Program is open to employees and family members age 18+ who are covered by a King County medical plan, including Kaiser Permanente Washington, Regence KingCare, and Regence KingCare Select and provides you with the tools and support you need to reach your health goals, whether that’s losing weight or improving your overall health.

Take the quiz and see if you qualify for the Omada program

WeightWatchers at work

Developed by nutrition and behavior change scientists, the WeightWatchers program guides you toward healthier habits with an individualized nutrition plan and innovative tools rooted in science. The WeightWatchers program is recognized by the CDC as an evidence-based Diabetes Prevention Program.

Available to all employees and benefits-covered spouses and state-registered domestic partners. Join WeightWatchers today through King County for 50% off the membership retail price.

Please note: The dollar value of the employer paid portion is a fringe benefit and will be included as taxable income to the employee.

Wellness and lactation rooms

King County provides private wellness and lactation rooms in a variety of worksites. The primary purpose of these rooms is to accommodate lactating people, according to King County’s Lactation Accommodation Policy. Some rooms may also be used by employees for resting and other wellness purposes. Locations are locally managed by departments.

Employees in work locations that do not have a designated lactation room should arrange with their supervisor and Human Resources Manager to identify a location to be used as a lactation room.