Tag Archives: Wellness

Kiss My Kettlebells: Examining Corporate (And Our Own) Wellness, Part One

1 Nov

I had the great pleasure of presenting “Kiss My Kettlebells: Examining Corporate Wellness” at the second annual HR Reinvention Experiment, held last week at the Hot Shops Art Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

What a great discussion!

To give you a sense of our conversation, I first asked participants to explore their own wellness journey, a conversation that isn’t always made and frequently no easy. But I would contend that we will only be able to influence others in wellness if they believe we are active wellness participants– we simply need to be on that journey. If not, we risk looking like hypocrites.

For this exercise I asked them to think about where they were in seven key wellness categories. These seven categories were identified by Dr. Jerry Wagner, who was kind enough to offer them as a resource. You can find out more about them at his web site called Employee Wellness Collaborative.

I appreciated the honesty of the participants regarding where they were on the journey. One person talked about how they were working to improve their financial wellness, an often overlooked but increasingly important wellness category. Our more challenging economic times have certainly put more stress on employees regarding their financial wellness. It was encouraging to hear one participant talk about the financial education programs they have offered their employees, and how that has improved morale and productivity. It’s clear providing resources in areas such as financial wellness will be more important for more employers.

Another participant talked about her challenges regarding career wellness. She has recently completed additional higher education, and is hoping to grow in her current employer. As she was sharing tears welled in her eyes as she discussed her goals and dreams. We have people working with us right now who are also feeling strong emotions about where they are on their wellness journey, and we will gain more productive, committed employees if we can help them achieve their wellness goals.

And what about yours truly? Several months ago I was given some sobering information about those annoying scores like cholesterol and blood pressure. They shook me up a bit, and by good fortune I was given the opportunity to participate in a corporate wellness program that featured these lovely little devices called kettlebells. Several months later I’m in far better shape, and am healthier than I’ve been in years. I told my wife she’s just going to have to figure out another way to get rid of me! In truth, I feel much better, and am glad I’ve gotten a little further along the wellness path.

How about you?

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Wellness and Employee Engagement, Again

26 Oct

treadmill

A good post in the Montreal Gazette profiles two employers that have done an outstanding job creating a highly engaged place to work. Part of their strategy is helping employers through wellness. Here’s how one of the companies sees wellness and engagement:

Pfizer recently received the highest possible accreditation by Quebec’s Bureau de Normalization as a “healthy enterprise” for its Viva program.

Viva, says St-Pierre, is an employee wellness program based on prevention, awareness and employee support.

“It promotes healthy lifestyle habits through a three-pronged approach: physical activity, nutrition and work-life balance. Employees have access to coaching by health-care professionals, such as a kinesiologist or a dietitian and we have health fairs and workshops.”

In addition, there is an on-site gym, flexible work arrangements that feature Friday afternoons off and the Viva internal website that offers wellness information.

Congratulations to yet another employer who sees the value of wellness in helping employees achieve a healthier lifestyle and, in doing so, create a more productive, engaging place to work.

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Winning At Wellness

11 Mar

award

The online Insurance Journal showcases a company, Texas Mutual, that was one of ten companies recently recognized for their wellness programs.

Our research continues to show concern on the part of an employer for the well being of employees to be a significant driver of overall employee enagagement. Developing and implementing a wellness program is only one way an employer might show care and concern for this engagement driver, but we think it’s an important effort in this category.

I’m pleased that my new employer, the Silverstone Group, actively promotes wellness in the workplace. I’ve already seen the benefits of their efforts up front and personal. I encouage all employers to seriously consider wellness as a key component of their overall engagement strategy. Besides, the cost-benefit to an employer, regardless of impact on employee engagement, is more than worth the effort.

(Graphic courtesy of www.lumaxart.com)

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Grown Ups Need Recess Too…

6 Mar

 playground

… Such is the claim by Dr. Stewart Friedman at Harvard Business Online. He comments on research published by the journal Pediatrics, which shows that recess breaks are good for the educational achievements of children. Dr. Friedman posits the same thing can happen for we grown ups:

The paradoxical lesson of this story is relevant not just for school children but for us grownups, too: taking time out to restore and rejuvenate ourselves results not in reduced performance caused by less time dedicated to work, but to increased performance caused by the stronger, more focused effort you bring to work after fruitful rest.

But in the midst of this soul-crushing, terror-inducing recession, how can anyone think seriously, and without guilt, about undertaking activity that isn’t directly reducing costs or increasing revenues? The short answer is that you can’t afford not to.

Dr. Friedman goes on to offer several ideas of what you can do to refresh yourself daily. He mentioned my favorite– crossword puzzles. I’m hope you find something that allows you put the pressures of the day behind you, at least momentarily, so you can return to them with a stronger constitution.

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Employee Engagement And Well Being– Two Sides Of The Same Coin

26 Feb

Consultant News has published a research study by Hewitt that shows yet additional evidence that well being and employee engagment may be two sides of the same coin– very much linked together:

“Research carried out in conjunction with the 2009 Best Employers in Canada study has established that highly engaged employees experience better health and overall well-being. This finding reinforces the benefits for both employers and employees of increasing employee engagement, according to Hewitt Associates, the global human resources consulting and outsourcing company that conducts the annual study.

“The 115,000 employees surveyed as part of the 2009 study clearly revealed that high engagement goes hand-in-hand with better health and well-being,” said Neil Crawford, leader of Hewitt’s Best Employers in Canada study. “Employees at organizations with high engagement reported better physical health, lower job stress and work overload, and greater financial security. In addition, they also believe that their employer’s benefits plan contributes to their overall well-being, although there is room for improvement with respect to retirement savings programs.”

I read of the governmental plans to “reform” our health care, which is all fine and well. But perhaps the most important reform we can make would be to create better workplaces which, amongst other things, cares about the health and well being of employees. According to this study this may be, as they say, exactly what the doctor ordered.

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Winning Employee Wellness and Engagement, From My Hometown

2 Feb

 Here’s a report about a group called  Simply Well from Omaha, Nebraska that is doing outstanding work in helping employees take greater responsibility for their own health and, in doing so, enjoying the benefit of increased employee engagement. The article features a local company:

The case study featured was the Greater Omaha Packing Company, Inc. (GOP). GOP has annual sales of nearly $1 billion and is ranked 5th in beef processing nationally. Since implementing simplyWell in 2001, GOP has experienced significant improvement in employee engagement as well as measurable clinical improvement.

Founder and President of simplyWell, james T. canedy, MD, attributed the group’s success to giving employees the right information at the right time as it relates to their health.

“By engaging patients in their own health and providing them the appropriate tools, they can manage their health more effectively,” said Dr. canedy. “Our studies show that a higher engagement rate in one’s health drives a trend of decreasing risk and cost. That is what simplyWell focuses on”.

This results is very much in keeping with our studies of outstanding workplaces– a committment to employee well being is a significant driver of employee engagement.

Consider:

  • Are you actively working to improve your well-care efforts?
  • What benefits could you experience with a greater emphasis on “health care”, instead of simply diagnosing and treating disease?

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