workplace wellness

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and “muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups” for adult Americans.

But, a story published by NPR in April of 2011 counters that even that amount of due diligence may not be nearly enough to undo the hours of sitting Americans do each day.  Epidemiologist Steven Blair of the University of South Carolina points out that even if an individual is meeting their exercise recommendations; they are still sleeping, and conceivably spending ten or so hours immobile at their desks, commuting, or in front of their televisions.

Blair points out that we are just beginning to understand the risks of sitting and immobility, according to a 2008 study.  The study claims that “men who reported more than 23 hours a week of sedentary activity had a 64 percent greater risk of dying from heart disease than those who reported less than 11 hours a week of sedentary activity. And many of these men routinely exercised.

Dr. Toni Yancey, author of Instant Recess; Building a Fit Nation 10 Minutes at a Time  was also cited in the NPR article as saying, “We just aren't really structured to be sitting for such long periods of time, and when we do that, our body just kind of goes into shutdown."

Wellness companies are now getting hip to the benefits of ergonomic science in the workplace for more than the original concerns of repetitive stress syndrome and injury prevention and starting to incorporate concepts such as “sit to stand” work stations in order to promote opportunities to move at least every hour or so, and hopefully more often than that.

Comprehensive corporate wellness programs are informed by the latest science.  Providing your employees with the best programs ever keeps your competitive edge strong and healthy. 

Almost 60% of women ages 18-64 use the internet to look up health information.

How this female population uses the web to improve their health is unclear.  Additionally, the effectiveness of online behavior change programs in the workplace is still unproven.

What is clear, however, is that after visiting a health portal, these web surfers are very likely to embark on a program to exercise and lose weight. They prefer both online and offline information about wellness. They respond to incentives, especially cash in excess of $250 and reductions in health insurance premiums. They will use the web as a catalyst to schedule a preventative exam or reduce stress. The better educated they are, the more likely they are to track their progress via the web. And, as is the case with most critical changes in any behavior, spousal support goes a long way to ensure success.

The web is a great place to start, assess, and track healthy behaviors for college-educated women in the workplace. Keeping them motivated to sustain a healthy lifestyle takes offline support by a trusted partner, some cash, and the confidence in knowing that their information is secure.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines health as: “1 a : the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit; especially : freedom from physical disease or pain b : the general condition of the body <in poor health> <enjoys good health> 2 a : flourishing condition.”

A conversation about how to keep your company’s bottom line in good health is incomplete if the condition of your employees’ minds and spirits are overlooked.  If an employee isn’t sleeping, is depressed, anxious, or addicted, and they don’t have access to the tools that empower them to fix themselves and their loved ones, then your health and wellness plan may be fatally shortsighted.  When people are hurting emotionally, they may become a liability to your company, as well as to themselves.

These days, stress levels are off the charts.  Employees struggle because they don’t have the same breathing room as in the past; they may be singlehandedly performing jobs that used to require two or three people in half the time.  Everyone is plugged in 24/7.  Human beings are amazingly resilient, but also extremely fragile.  When something happens that affects hearts and heads, people need support, information and education to cope.  That’s a truly comprehensive wellness picture.

Smart business people make decisions for their companies that are based on numbers and facts, not fads.  A Duke University Health and Safety Surveillance study available in The Archives of Internal Medicine (2007;167:766-773) draws a line directly from a worker’s body mass index to the number of worker’s compensation claims they would file and how many days of work they would miss.  The higher the BMI (weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) the more lost workdays.  Workers that maintained a recommended BMI averaged about 14 lost workdays a year per 100 FTEs; workers classified as obese averaged 184 lost workdays per 100 FTEs for the same period.

As of this writing, most Americans receive health insurance from their workplace, which makes this information significant to you, the employer.  Your obese workers cost you over 21% more in health care costs than your normal weight workers.  Additionally, keep in mind that this study did not include issues such as absenteeism or presenteeism, although both certainly influence your bottom line.

A healthy body mass index is not a lifestyle choice any longer.  Your obese employees cost your company money.  That’s a fact.  Now, what are you going to do about it?  You’ve made the moves to make your workplace safer and greener, now implement the wellness programs you need to make your company leaner.

In January, IHRSA asked 30 of the most prominent names in the fitness industry to weigh in with their forecasts of what our business will look like this year.  IHRSA is a prominent trade association that has been serving the health and fitness industry for over 25 years.  I had the privilege to be asked to share my vision in Ask an Industry Leader.

Obesity is a nationwide epidemic.  Type II Diabetes is rampant among our children.  According to the CDC, 1 in 3 children born in the United States will become diabetic.  A smart company knows it’s not enough to focus on the individual employee; we need to empower them to take what they learn about wellness at work home to their families.  There are some meaningful changes that will make tremendous improvements in the culture of health in your employees’ h

The future of employee wellness starts with just one full time employee.