Warning: Are you Underestimating the Risks at Work?

A recent study has shown that Canadians significantly underestimate the risks to their wellness and wellbeing that a corporate environment can pose. The study showed that employees were severely underestimating personal health risks, and this points towards a need for more targeted wellness programmes in workplaces across the country.

 

This very recent study looked at the huge inaccuracies in self-reported heart risk factors, and it compared the answers of individual respondents on healthcare questionnaires in the workplace to their actual medical results. Researchers looked at three key areas: cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. By comparing the data, researchers found that employees were significantly underestimating the risks to their personal health.

 

Almost half of those who took part in the study had at least one very important cardiovascular risk factor that they did not know about. Some of the employees in this category (about 27 percent) were under the age of 35, making the data all the more shocking.

 

Around 21 percent of respondents were found to have high blood pressure, around 37 percent had high cholesterol levels and around 10 percent had glucose levels that were out with the recommended norms from Health Canada.

 

The survey looked at 893 employees, and revealed that, when compared to their actual medical test results, the self-reported risk of cholesterol was underestimated by a whopping 250 percent, high blood pressure risk was underestimated by 58 percent and the risk of diabetes was underestimated by 76 percent.

 

In order to maximise the return on a company’s investment in a wellness programme, employers should make sure that they bring in medical staff as well, to test employees, rather than relying on self reporting, which is clearly inaccurate.

 

This will help staff to get the most out of their wellness programmes, as they will truly understand the health challenges that they are facing.

Categories: actual medical, blood pressure, employees, health, high blood, nbsp, percent, personal health, risk, Wellness programmes, work

Wellness Programmes: How To Build And Sustain Them

Workplace wellness schemes are becoming increasingly popular in companies, but there are unforeseen challenges in creating a successful programme which benefits everyone. Both employers and employees benefits from having a wellness scheme in place, such as better morale in the workplace, lower rate of absences and a higher rate of employee productivity. In particular, for employees, wellness programmes can become an important part of being physically active and leading a healthy lifestyle. There are often cases where a wellness scheme triggers an interest in healthier living, such as yoga sessions bringing a personal sense of satisfaction to an employee or cycling to work improving one’s health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, there is no right way to approach developing a wellness scheme, but there are many common factors in programmes which are currently very successful. The main factors to remember are a commitment from management, involvement from employees, adequate resources and a focus on policies regarding workplace health, wellness and safety. Careful planning is required if you are to set up a successful scheme. Why not invite employees to input their ideas? A suggestion box or staff meetings can be a great forum for these ideas. You may need to develop a business case to convince senior members of staff that a wellness programme would be useful within your company. There are many stats to support the benefits of having a wellness scheme but it’s important that you make it clear why your company should develop one to help both employees and employers.

 

Your messages to management should communicate the benefits of such a programme, including the facts and figures on employee health and job satisfaction, and how this affects productivity. Be sure to collect information to prove that the scheme is beneficial; establish a planning committee to represent the views of different departments; be sure to know the facts on what your company is already offering in the way of health benefits and such. You should put activities into place, such as those which increase awareness and knowledge, develop skills and provide social interaction. These could be activities such as walking clubs, golf tourneys, corporate challenge events and national campaigns which your company can get involved in. Healthy eating should also be part of the plan so develop a policy on food catering for the meetings, so that healthy foods are available – perhaps you can look to develop a healthier menu in the company cafeteria. Your wellness programme should take steps to regularly monitor the progress of employees and evaluate how successful the programme is. You can do this, for example, by tracking the number of participants in a given activity, or the number of employees who support some or all components of a programme. It’s important that you identify all areas of excellence, as well as looking at the factors which affect the participation in your programme. Mistakes will happen but the important thing is that you learn from them and develop a stronger programme for the future. As the scheme develops, continue to evaluate it and make changes as you and the company require them. If you pay close attention to the key elements of a wellness programme within your company, and you ensure that the lines of the communication remain open at all times, you can develop a strong foundation from which to sustain an effective wellness programme which will leave a lasting legacy.

Categories: Advice, company, Corporate, employees, Programme, scheme, Wellness, Wellness Programme, Wellness programmes, wellness scheme

Work(Out) Buddies: Why Corporate Wellness is Getting Social

Recently, the city of Charlotte issued a challenge to its employees: log your workouts on a website that tallies points for each department. Amongst City Hall, trash talk ensued. Christina Fath, the city’s wellness administrator, recalls that, if Human Resources was in the lead, ‘Budget would come back with a reply-all, saying “We’ll walk at lunch.”’ The six-week challenge garnered the participation of 469 municipal employees, which is twice the number of people involved compared to other years. The 8,800 hours of exercise logged by this year’s group is equal to almost half an hour per employee per day – and now more employers want a piece of the wellness action. According to John Tozzi a corporate wellness writer for Bloomberg Businessweek in New York, ‘Tying workplace wellness programmes to online games or social media lights a fire under workers as no number of posters in the break room can.’

 

But why does social media work so well in corporate wellness programmes? Brad Bell, an associate professor of HR at CornellUniversity, explains, ‘That social aspect creates some level of accountability. You know that if you don’t show up, people are going to notice.’ Tozzi adds that this motivational aspect is no small thing. ‘Getting staff to take care of themselves isn’t easy,’ he says. ‘In a recent survey of 512 employers by Towers Watson (TW) and the National Business Group on Health, companies called workers’ bad habits their biggest challenge to keeping health benefits affordable and cited lack of engagement as the toughest obstacle to changing employee behaviour.’ Perhaps this is why Charlotte isn’t the only town that has put its faith in the social aspects of corporate wellness programmes.

 

San Francisco start-up Keas runs a website where its clients’ employees can form online teams of up to six players and compete to earn points. Like in Charlotte’s city hall, workers do this by working out more, but Keas takes it one step further by asking employees to also eat better and manage stress. Participants are also rewarded for taking surprisingly addictive online health quizzes. Keas co-founder Adam Bosworth comments, ‘People would literally spend hours a day taking tens and tens of quizzes. The HR people, frankly, were not thrilled to see people spending an hour a day learning about their health…At the end of the day, it’s the social support of the game that keeps people playing.’

 

Tozzi details, ‘Fitbit, a San Francisco company that makes a pinky-size wireless gadget that helps people track their walking and other activity, didn’t target the corporate wellness market but quickly got pulled into it. In early 2010, six months after the $99.95 Fitbit went on sale, semiconductor company Tokyo Electron bought one for each of the 1,100 employees at its U.S. subsidiary. Since then, Fitbit has supplied hundreds of employers, including 25 Fortune 500 companies…The novelty factor draws in employees who wouldn’t ordinarily participate, especially gadget-happy men…A study in progress involving staff at one insurance company suggests participants take 40% more steps six months into the programme. And the website encourages competition without forcing workers to get too personal.’

 

Then you have a company like HealthPrize Technologies, who draw on the same psychology that gets people to play slot machines or join airline loyalty programmes. When employees refill prescriptions or log on to record taking their daily dose, they are rewarded with points that go up on a leaderboard. While those at the top of the leaderboard gain prizes such as a $100 gift certificate to Starbucks or Amazon, Katrina Firlik, the neurosurgeon that co-founded HealthPrize Technologies, asserts that employees are more concerned with the gaming and social aspect of the programme. She even recounts, ‘There was a woman who was going to have major surgery the next day, and she e-mailed us that she was worried she was going to slip in her rankings.’

Categories: city hall, corporate wellness, corporate wellness programmes, employees, healthprize technologies, motivation, people, san francisco, social aspect, Social Media, Wellness programmes

Four Steps for Implementing a Corporate Culture of Wellness

Many businesses are implementing corporate wellness programmes, but there are those for whom such plans are a privilege, or optional extra. According to Joshua Love, the president of national corporate wellness company Kinema Fitness, ‘When I stop and think about employee wellness, I have to step away from my day to day responsibilities and take a look from the employer perspective. I think it’s a no-brainer to install a wellness programme at every company, no matter the size, demographic, location or what service or product the company provides. My belief is that no company can be successful without paying attention to the wellbeing of their people — and people can’t be successful without feeling good every day.’

 

Love continues, ‘We live in a fast-paced, busy world, full of constant distractions. We’re constantly dialed in with technology and always on the move. Which is why it’s so refreshing to walk into a company where you feel the environment is different, one where people seem motivated, excited, inspired and really love what they do. My experience with corporate wellness leads me back to Google in Mountain View, CA (and how Google maintains its status as one of the top 100 best companies to work for year after year). Google doesn’t just create jobs, they create a culture, one in which people are valued and appreciated every day. Google’s locations have full fitness facilities, daily classes and healthy food available throughout the day; as a result, employees feel cared for and valued.’

 

Do you have to be as lucrative or as large as Google to create a culture of wellness? Of course not; every company has the ability to implement some kind of wellness programme. But how do you do it? Love has a four-step process to help you install a wellness programme that‘s efficient, smart, scalable and goal-oriented:

 

1. Determine the Needs of Employer AND Employee: ‘First, we ask a simple question,’ says Love. ‘What do employees need, and how do those needs fit with the goals of the employer? It’s impossible to answer these questions without assessing both sides. It is essential to understand the mindsets, challenges, and your audience first before laying out a framework for its path. This includes surveying not only the employees, but also the employer. A simple health risk assessment (which your insurance carrier may offer) followed by biometric screens is a good way to assess problem areas.’

 

2. Analyze the Data and Create a Plan: Love details, ‘Based on our survey data, we try to determine what elements will work for the existing culture. Is it fitness classes that will motivate the employees, wellness workshops, individual health assessments, or some combination of the above? We always recommend combining wellness education with physical activity — otherwise, many employees will not take advantage of classes and programmes they need to see real benefits.’

 

3. Create a Communication Plan: ‘A culture of wellness doesn’t happen without reinforcement,’ Love asserts. ‘Employers must create a communication plan that lays out the programme’s framework and different methods (and times) to communicate the information to employees. This keeps wellness at the forefront.’

 

4. Put an Incentive Plan in Place: Love comments, ‘We have found, time and again, that rewarding employees for getting healthy and achieving results encourages the type of change needed to get a programme off the ground and encourage a real shift in employee culture. However, because the required behaviour changes are new, challenging, and difficult to sustain, programmes must include incentives and rewards throughout the year in order to drive long-term engagement.’

Categories: Communication, company, corporate wellness, culture, employees, incentives, nbsp, Wellness, Wellness Programme

Why Perception is Everything to Corporate Wellness

When it comes to the work-life balance debate, perception is everything. If your employees perceive themselves to be cared for in a workplace culture that encourages wellness, you might be able to boast a more committed and happy workforce in the new world of work which is arguably hi-tech, global and 24/7. According to a new survey by Virgin HealthMiles Inc. and Workforce Management Magazine, 77% of employees felt that ‘health and wellness programmes positively impact the culture at work.’

 

Judy Martin, of WorkLifeNation.com, details, ‘HealthMiles, a workplace health engagement company and part of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, surveyed about 1,300 businesses and 10,000 employees for its annual survey kicking off National Employee Wellness Month in June. The study found a strong link between the wellness and vitality of an organistion, and the wellness of employees. The result of which was increased job morale, satisfaction, commitment and performance…But measuring a culture of wellness in terms of spreadsheets still evades the bean counters to a degree. And while quantifying the bottom-line impact of such programmes is challenging…the trends in the survey are key to the bigger picture.’

 

Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin HealthMiles, comments, ‘Creating a culture-first mentality is a critical step for employers when it comes to building a highly engaged workforce. Employees become much more motivated and productive when they know that their employer cares about their total quality of life, which goes beyond traditional wellness and includes physical, emotional, financial and social health.’ David Ballard PsyD, MBA, director of the Centre for Organisational Excellence of the American Psychological Association, adds, ‘The impact of wellbeing on the bottom line can be difficult to tease out, since human behaviour is complex and determined by multiple factors. Even hard data like health care claims can be affected by plan design and other changes.’

 

The results of the survey also revealed that just 31% of organisations were ‘satisfied with their health and wellness metrics.’ However, ‘Quantifying such efforts also requires a change in perspective,’ says Martin. She notes, there are employers ‘who understand that wellbeing and performance are inextricably linked, although a return-on-investment might not be directly revealed on the spreadsheets. Every year the APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award highlights organisations that are putting more emphasis on the bigger picture of employee wellbeing. According to statistics from the APA, companies that meet the criterion of a “psychologically healthy workplace” benefit from improved work quality and productivity, lower absenteeism, presenteeism, less turnover, and better customer service ratings.’

 

Ballard points out, ‘Forward-thinking organisations are re-evaluating work practices and providing employees with resources that support wellbeing and performance. They are creating psychologically healthy workplaces that are diverse and productive, resilient and successful.’ However, Martin warns, ‘Alas, communicating those workplace initiatives to employees has been challenging. The Virgin HealthMiles/Workforce survey found that only 51% of employees surveyed said they have a good understanding of how to participate in health and wellness programmes being offered by their employers.’

 

That said, Fran Melmed, Founder of Context Communication Consulting (a communication and change management firm specialising in workplace wellness), argues that while the wellness argument can sometimes be a hard sell and tricky fodder for those in HR who have to communicate the benefits of such programmes, it doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable. ‘I’ve seen health and wellness programmes keep morale up and people on track during seismic change like downsizing, off–shoring, downturns in economy and business slowdowns – and those things can’t be discounted,’ she says. Martin concludes, ‘Perhaps [perception is] a harbinger of things to come in a competitive global marketplace where attracting and retaining skilled talent is crucial for the bottom-line.’

Categories: corporate wellness programme, employees, health, healthy workplace, perception, psychologically healthy, Research, Survey, virgin healthmiles, Wellness, Wellness programmes, workplace

What Everyone Ought to Know About Corporate Wellness

Throughout the country, corporate wellness and wellbeing programmes are becoming more widespread. The buzz is catching on and the news is spreading that these programmes lead to healthier employees, cuts in healthcare costs and an overall happier and healthier working environment. The programmes themselves vary widely from simply offering healthcare information to employees, to fitness education, to subsidised healthy lunches to a company gym. Some employees are even offered financial rewards for reaching certain health standards.

 

If you are an employer who is thinking of implementing or improving a wellness programme in your workplace, then the results really speak for themselves. It is a simple matter of fact that healthy employees work more productively, but it has also been shown that employees who are involved in wellness programmes are more likely to be hard workers because they feel valued by their employers.

 

The financial incentives for running a wellness programme have also been well proved. Healthier workers have lower levels of absenteeism, which tends to cost the company money. They also need less time off for medical appointments, and have lower costs of health care. On top of that, retention rates tend to be higher and employee job satisfaction is increased, reducing the costs associated with a high staff turnover.

 

The health problems that employees are helped with through a wellness programme can vary hugely. For some it is a case of increasing their levels of exercise and physical activity. For many it is a case of losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight. Smoking cessation is always a big one, and some employers offer a lower level of health insurance premium to those who do not smoke. Some employees have problems with sleep, and this can be helped through some of the channels that wellness programmes open up.

Categories: Corporate, corporate wellness, employees, health, Healthier, Programme, Programmes, Wellness, Wellness Programme, Wellness programmes

Could Wellness Programmes Be Costing The Sick?

Workplace wellness schemes sound like the answer to all of our prayers – a discounted gym membership or help quitting cigarettes, all for less money and right on-site at work? Great news to many. And this great news is something that’s becoming increasingly popular for a number of large companies who are offering this as an incentive to work for the company itself. But for businesses, the deal is about to get even sweeter – not such great news for the employees. A new health reform law will soon let employers reward their workers’ efforts to get healthy with discounts of up to 30 per cent of their healthcare costs, up from 20 per cent previously. They’ll also be able to penalise employees who fail to meet their health goals by the same amount, which has been designed to ‘weed out’ sick workers and lower the amount of days companies need to pay for employees being off sick.

Around 61 per cent of employers give workers financial incentives to get healthier, which is up from 36 per cent three years ago according to surveys. One in five uses penalties, and many more companies say they’re going to introduce this plan next year. Most current plans offer the carrot rather than the stick, but if poorly designed workplace wellness programmes can shift the cost towards those with the greatest healthcare needs, it could potentially discriminate against sick workers. This way of working would work similarly to this – if employers raise deductibles from £500 to £2500, workers can then earn ‘credits’ worth £500 each to lower the deductible if they meet certain targets for four factors, such as body-mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood pressure. This will wind up back to a £500 deductible, but if you’re on the wrong end of those tests, then your costs have immediately gone up.

Some people claim that the only way to reduce health costs is to motivate people with money, which will mean incentives will only apply to things workers have control over. But there’s a fundamental question behind all of this: how much should people bear the cost of their own healthcare? People are buying health insurance on their own and pay as much as 23 per cent higher premiums if they smoke or are obese, according to research. Such incentives are routine in other insurance markets – no-one questions why good drivers pay lower rates than the teens who smashed up their first car. Workplace wellness incentives should actually make people healthier and shouldn’t just be a way of shifting costs onto sick workers. There’s strong research to back up the fact that the higher the deductible, the greater the barrier is to accessing care. Someone may not be getting the basic primary care or care they need to treat a chronic condition, and if that’s the case, the sick workers within a company actually get sicker. This costs the health system in the long run, which is a lose-lose situation.

 

In order to tackle this situation, companies need to put more thought into their workplace wellness programmes and ensure that the result of the plans are to encourage healthier lifestyles in their employees. Tricking employees into doing something just to make your company more money could wind up being foolish in the long run, as it will come back as a cost in another way and could end up making your employees even more sick than they were to begin with.

Categories: blood pressure, employees, health, illness, people, sick, sick workers, Wellness, Wellness programmes, work, workers, Workplace Wellness

Get Off Your Backside: Is Sitting at Work Killing You?

What are you doing right now? If I were to put money on it, I’d say you were sitting down. You sit a lot. Whether you’re in front of the TV, at your desk or in the car, you sit down practically all day, every day, and that’s not good for your wellbeing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) physical inactivity is fourth in the list of major risk factors for chronic disease after high blood pressure, tobacco use and high cholesterol – bad company, indeed. How does this impact your corporate wellness? You spend most of your waking hours in the workplace – which, yes, is a pretty depressing thought. However, what’s even more depressing is the fact that you spend most of these hours sitting down, and that may literally be killing you.

 

In 2012, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that if you sit for more than 11 hours a day, your risk of dying within three years is 40% higher than people who sit for less than 4 hours per day. If you sit for eight to 11 hours per day, your risk for dying within the next three years is 15% higher than those less-frequent sitters. You may be thinking, “Well, I still run marathons or go to Zumba three times a week” but that doesn’t get you off the hook; your risks are just as high if you sit for extended periods during the day.

 

Basically, you need to just get off your backside and move more often. Dr. James Levine, Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic and an expert on the dangers of sitting, comments, ‘We know that as soon as somebody gets out of their chair, their blood sugar improves, their blood cholesterol and triglycerides improve, and that’s very consistent. Every time you get up it gets better. Every time you sit down it gets worse.’ But where do you come in as an employer? You need to get your employees moving regularly throughout the day, but how do you do that in a way that doesn’t impact productivity or negatively change the environment?

 

Kim Snider, President of Health Systems Group, details, ‘Health Systems Group works with our clients to recommend small changes on both the physical and cultural environments. These changes don’t take employees away from their work but help them to do it more actively. For example, making stairwells brighter and more appealing helps encourage people to take the stairs. Encouraging walking meetings or providing headsets so people can move around when they are on the phone, are small things that can make a big difference.’ However, even though these small changes are helpful, Snider points out you need something to motivate employees to choose the stairs.

 

‘Our search for a highly engaging resource led us to Tractivity,’ Snider recalls. ‘It’s a very simple but powerful tool that we combined with our own communications and programme strategies to create amazing results. Tractivity is a simple, reliable, sensor-based activity monitoring system combined with a web application called Tractivity Online that tracks and displays activity in a motivational and very engaging way.  Using this system we were able to easily implement a number of activity challenges. Tractivity allows administrators to create Challenges—like walking Route 66 or The Appalachian Trail—or individuals can design their very own and invite their friends to join. These Challenges motivate employees to increase their activity levels to support their team, reach a shared goal or win an individual race.’ Snider adds, ‘We realise that in order for our data to be meaningful and fully represent the success of our programs we’ll need more time. But the anecdotal evidence is in and tells a very good story.’

Categories: activity, employees, health systems, hours, motivate employees, nbsp, sitting down, Small Changes, systems group, Tractivity

The 5-Step Way to Deal with Employee Mental Health Concerns

It’s now commonly accepted that mental health issues are a concern. Therefore, as an employer you cannot keep your head in the sand; you need to take note of your employees’ mental wellbeing. Mental health issues have an impact on corporate wellness, not only affecting your employees on a personal level, but also your company’s success.

 

However, workplaces are still trying to minimise the issues relating to mental health of an individual as a strategy in order to delay action. According to a recent survey of ASX Top 300 companies, ‘over 40% of participants did not perceive mental illness as a potential risk to their organisation, and of those that did, close to half, said their organisation did not have policies in place to manage this risk. In addition, nearly 70% of those surveyed reported that they did not have a dedicated and properly trained resource to identify and manage an employee suffering from mental illness.’

 

According to Debra Brodowski, Manager of the Psychological Assessments Centre for Corporate Health, ‘From a broader workplace perspective, it is acknowledged that mental health issues do not only affect the actual individual in question. To this end, it is noted that there is a wider impact of the team members to consider when there is an employee with mental health issues. Team members may be supporting their colleague with a mental health issue, and as such this may take a toll on the team in relation to wellbeing, team workload, organisational morale, and workplace productivity.’

 

Therefore, it is vital that you address mental health issues in the workplace. In order to this effectively, you need to follow the five-step assessment process recommended by the WHS:

 

1. Identify the Risk: Brodowski explains, ‘An employer must identify any foreseeable hazard (read: perceived stressor) that may arise from the conduct of the employer’s undertaking and that has the potential to harm the health and safety of an employee or other person.’

 

2. Assess the Risk: ‘An employer must assess the risk arising from any hazard (perceived stressor) that is identified at the time the risk arises,’ says Brodowski. ‘Or before changes to work practices/ systems are made.’

 

3. Review the Risk: Brodowski urges, ‘An employer must review the risk when injury or illness arises (i.e. when stress due to work is highlighted) or when significant changes are proposed to work practises/ systems of work.’

 

4. Eliminate the Risk: ‘An employer must aim to eliminate the risk,’ Brodowski notes. ‘Or if not practical, control the risk.’

 

5. Control the Risk: ‘An employer must make attempts to control the risk,’ Brodowski asserts. You can do this in a number of ways. Firstly, you can isolate the person from the hazard or perceived stressor. Then, you could minimise the risk itself. Finally, you can take administrative steps, such as training, to reduce the risk.

 

Brodowski argues, ‘Under this risk assessment process, the duty of care for the employer shifts the focus from a reaction/ intervention model to one that is adopts a prevention/ elimination of risk stance. As an employer, to act appropriately to an individual who is presenting with mental health issue in the workplace, and therefore meet corporate responsibility under duty of care, there is a need to develop an appropriate framework to recognise, respond, and review each individual with a mental health issue as it arises.’ Indeed, there is a certain financial cost in doing so, but Brodowski urges, ‘The wider impact on workplace relationships, organisational culture and workplace productivity are much broader in nature and are considered to be more significant. As such, nowadays, effectively identifying and responding to mental health issues needs to be considered as a standard workplace health and safety practice for an e

Categories: assessment process, employees, health issue, health issues, Mental Health, perceived stressor, risk assessment, risk brodowski, team members, wider impact, workplace productivity

Wellness Programmes: Should You Offer Employees Incentives?

It used to be that implementing an employee wellness programme meant simply putting a few posters up in the office encouraging people to take care of their wellbeing. Some companies may have stretched as far as having a gym in the office, but that was really about it. Nowadays, however, businesses are starting to plough real money into programmes, using cash incentives – or even penalties – to get workers in better shape.

 

In fact, according to a recent survey from Fidelity Investments and the National Business Group on Health, nearly 90% of employers offer wellness incentives, or financial rewards or prizes to employees who work toward getting healthier. In 2009, this number was at a mere 57% in comparison, and the perks were lower too. Four years ago, the average US employee might expect an incentive of $260, but now they can rake in an average of $521. Fidelity benefits consultant Adam Stavisky comments, ‘They feel that if they pay more they’ll get a better result.’ But is this really the case? Stephanie Pronk, health and wellness consultant with Aon AON, argues, ‘Incentives themselves are not the silver bullet. It’s really important to change up the incentive design and keep people on their toes.’ With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the popular incentive programmes in use today.

 

1. Educational/Awareness Incentives: Jen Wieczner, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch, explains, ‘Companies offer rewards for completing activities that include an assessment of their personal health and risk factors. These can range from filling out a questionnaire about family medical history, diet and fitness routine, to taking a biometric screening for cholesterol, blood pressure and other factors.’ The Lockton Benefit Group state that your incentives need to be worth at least £60 to get about 75% of employees to participate, otherwise you’re looking at a participation rate of 30-50%. The pros here are that you introduce your workers to healthy behaviour and personal risk factors, as well as being able to tailor future endeavours to employee needs. However, your workers about their health risks won’t necessarily lead them to take action.

 

2. Incentives Based on Actions: In this wellness programme, your employees take action to improve their health to earn awards or to avoid penalties. Houston city employees, for example, have to complete three tasks in order to avoid a $25 monthly payroll surcharge. These include filling out a health-risk assessment, taking a biometric screening, talking to a health coach, signing up for a programme like Weight Watchers or getting a screening such as a mammogram. As a result, 90% of employees have completed three of the tasks or more, so you can see how motivational this model is. However, the con of this model is that the incentives don’t encourage long term healthy behaviour, only enough to complete the required programmes.

 

3. Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Incentives: You offer your employees incentives for an array of tasks, with bigger and complex tasks corresponding to bigger rewards. The plus point of this approach is that you give your workers to freedom to choose their own health activities, which they enjoy. JetBlue Airways Corp is one such company who goes in for DIY incentives, offering anything from $25 for a teeth cleaning, to $400 for completing an Ironman triathlon. Pronk notes that a wellness programme that lays out a tempting trail to follow will have more success keeping people involved. Still, the variety of options can be overwhelming for your employees, and you might be wasting your money on activities that aren’t effectively addressing your workers’ biggest health problems.

Categories: biometric screening, corporate wellness programmes, employees, employees incentives, health, healthy behaviour, incentives, Pros and Cons, risk factors, Wellness, Wellness Programme

How to Make Your Employees Take Part in Wellness Programmes

Corporate wellness programmes have been proven to provide positive results, both for you as an employer, and for your workers’ wellbeing. Why, then, do you struggle to get your employees to participate in the company’s health schemes? There are certain theories and employee surveys that point to several reasons why your workers might not want to participant in a wellness programme, and if you address these head-on, you might be able to encourage greater participation. Reasons why your employees don’t participate in corporate wellness programmes include:

 

• They think you’re trying to learn about their health issues to somehow use that information against them.


• They believe that Health Risk Assessments are not reported about collective workers but individually, and won’t have their name associated with their individual results.


• They don’t want to improve their health, despite knowing it’s good for them.


• They don’t need help and are already living a healthy lifestyle.


• You send mixed messages by offering wellness programmes but also having junk food available in workplace vending machines.


• You don’t participate, so your employees don’t believe it’s important.


• They know it will save you money, but don’t think there’s anything in it for them.

 

In order to tackle these issues, you and your employees need to comprehend exactly what a wellness programme entails. Barb Hendrickson, President of Visible Communication, explains, ‘Today, it can mean everything from a company gym membership to a simple smoking cessation programme offered to employees, to a full-blown, structured programme where employees can choose their areas to track, set their own goals, and have access to professional health coaches along the way. Structured programmes offer the best way to track results, especially if you start with a Health Risk Assessment (HRA) for each participant. HRAs are conducted by third-party companies and report results only in the aggregate. The more you stress this to employees, the better.’

 

As well as addressing the concerns listed above, how can you get your employees to engage in your wellness programme? Hendrickson puts her faith in two strategies: offering incentives and inserting game mechanics.

 

1. Incentives: According to Hendrickson, ‘Incentives can dramatically increase participation, as well as results. One study conducted by MED-STAT of Ann Arbor, Michigan, documents an almost 250% increase in participation with the introduction of non-cash incentives.’ So which incentives work best? Hendrickson details, ‘AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals invited employees in their Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters to participate in healthy cooking classes hosted by local celebrity chefs and to attend a health-tips seminar given by an Olympic runner.’ Other incentive ideas include:

 

• name-brand merchandise


• gift cards


• corporate-identified merchandise such as tote bags and apparel (especially when used in exchange for registration)


• gym memberships


• perks unique to the company (prime parking spots, preferred vacation times, etc.)


• formal employee recognition by management and peers


• one-on-one time with the CEO or other executives

 

2. Wellness as a Game: Making wellness more fun and engaging encourages participation, especially if you have a lot of younger workers who grew up on video games. Hendrickson notes, ‘Medical information is notoriously dry, boring, and can be confusing; the use of game components allows for the information to be broken into small bites the employee can comprehend and remember.’ To make your wellness programme more game-centred, remember the following tips:

 

• Make it simple. ‘Clear rules and a simple, point-based format that is consistent throughout the program will be easy to understand,’ says Hendrickson.


• Make it interesting. Hendrickson advises, ‘Mixing in periodic challenges or competitions will keep the participants engaged.’


• Make it social. Hendrickson recommends, ‘Provide ways that employees can socialise to compare scores, exchange tips, and encourage one another. Just the knowledge that others will see their progress provides some motivation, but support and encouragement from peers also contributes to success.’

Categories: corporate wellness, corporate wellness programme, employees, employees don, Health Risk, hendrickson, include nbsp, participation, Wellness, Wellness Programme, Wellness programmes

How to Create a Happy Office by Making Sure You’re Healthy

A corporate space is a difficult one in which to incorporate physical activity. Nevertheless, numerous studies have shown that employees who have better wellness and a strong sense of wellbeing perform better in the workplace when compared directly to employees with poor wellness or low morale.

 

In the past, employers have not been too concerned about the health or lifestyle of their employees, seeing it as ‘private business’, but there is becoming more and more awareness of the impact that wellness can have on the performance of employees and, therefore, a company.

 

Companies are now looking at wellness-related ways to get the most out of their employees, by keeping them healthy, making them feel confident and empowering them to take control of their own careers.

 

There are lots of different ways to go about this, from wellness programmes to individual mentoring, but one way that you may not have considered is hosting an outdoor team building exercise. This is especially useful in an office where the work is generally computer based or desk based, and employees spend long periods of time sitting down. The opportunity to get outdoors for a fun series of activities can improve their mood and physical wellness, and can also encourage them to adopt a healthier way of life. Those who participate in the physical activity and feel the rush of endorphins afterwards may feel themselves drawn to taking more physical activity in the future. All that fresh air could also trigger creative thinking, which could be of huge benefit when back in the office again.

 

Think, too, about changing the menu in your workplace canteen. A healthy menu offering employees the opportunity to consume good, nutritious food can make a great difference to employee wellness and wellbeing.

Categories: activity, employees, fitness, nbsp, performance, physical, physical activity, Wellness

What Everyone Ought To Know About Workplace Wellness

The term ‘wellness’ is used a lot these days, especially in corporate environments. You will hear this word in the media, in insurance documents and within the HR departments of big companies, but what does it really mean?

 

Many of us have now read up more on how wellness in the workplace is an important thing and we now understand that employers can play a strong and very positive role in the wellbeing of their employees.

 

It is very easy for employers to get a bit tangled up in the wellness programme procedure, however, instructing employees to participate in specific programmes and fill in certain health assessments, without having a clear idea of what they hope to achieve from the programme itself.

 

This kind of surface approach tends to produce middling results at best, as it narrows the focus of wellness to what becomes by and large a simple case of nagging. This kind of programme fails to realise that the best way to motivate employees and change habits in the long term is through company-wide wellness programmes that engage employees fully and actually support them as they make serious lifestyle changes towards healthy behaviour, rather than simply lecturing them on how they ought to be behaving.

 

This is important at a time when around 52 percent of Americans surveyed recently admitted to being disengaged at work, whilst only 18 percent claimed to be actively engaged in their job.

 

To fix this, a culture-first mentality must be created in the workplace, where productive employees are created by focusing on their quality of life in every possible sense, including work-life balance, social, spiritual and financial wellbeing and even physical and mental health. Employers should care truly about their employees and aim to be a supportive part of their lives in a holistic sense.

Categories: culture, employees, employers, nbsp, Wellness, workplace

Employee Wellness: 4 Career Breakers to Avoid

As tenuous as the job market is today, employees are doing everything they can to stay in the good graces of their employers. If they get fired or laid off, people know how difficult it may be to find another job. Because of the uncertainty of the job market right now, people may wonder what they can do to make sure their employers keep a favorable opinion of them. Taking these ideas into mind can help people remain in solid employment and avoid being terminated from their employment.

 

 

1. Fraud and Theft

As company leaders continue to fight for profits, they have little patience for employees who steal or commit fraud. When employees are caught engaging in either, they are often immediately terminated and sometimes face criminal charges for their actions. An employee who wants to stay gainfully employed and in the good graces of his or her employer should be as transparent as possible in his actions and words. When the employer knows that this employee can be trusted, that individual is far less likely to be eyed for early termination or firing.

 

 

2. Calling in Sick Frequently

Having employees in the office or in the store means that customers can be helped immediately and the company can make money. When employees call in sick all the time, their employers may soon start to look down on those calls and perhaps view those individuals as being less than eager to work for the company. People who want to keep their jobs amidst this tough economy are encouraged to reduce the number of times they must call in sick for work. If they must call in sick, they can evade suspicion if they bring a doctor’s note or proof of any medications they are taking for their illness.

 

 

3. Driving Under the Influence

Most employers today have little tolerance as well for employees who incur DUI charges against them. Even if the DUI occurred outside of company time, employers still often look at the employees’ actions as being representative of their character in general. Even more, it is largely assumed that an employee’s actions off the clock can still be taken as representative of his or her employer.

 

In some states a DUI charge is considered a felony, such as in the state of VA, thus carrying heavy penalties. One Virginia DUI lawyers group states “Felony convictions can have very serious consequences for an individual, including a permanent criminal record, a negative impact on one’s employment opportunities and career, and a potential sentence of imprisonment.”

 

When employees are facing DUI charges, they also could face immediate dismissal from their jobs. Retaining an attorney is essential to obtain help. They can perhaps salvage their legal future and their employment when they hire a legal representative for help. An experienced attorney can negotiate with the court and the employer to help that person retain his or her job and face reduced punishment in the legal system.

 

 

4. Unethical Behavior on the Job

An employee’s actions away from work have just as much weight as his actions on the job. When an employee is caught engaging in unethical behavior, such as committing adultery or stealing, he may put his employment in jeopardy. Some employers view these actions as those that they want to keep away from their company. They also do not want that employee to have a negative influence on other workers who perhaps have higher standards.

 

With the job market continuing to stabilize, it can be vital that employees take every action possible to keep their jobs. They can avoid suspicion and disfavor by avoiding these actions. This will help ensure a longer and brighter future for the current job, but also for any future job opportunities that may arise.

 

 

Lisa Coleman shares some tips on what to avoid when working in a career to maintain a healthy employment. She recently read online about how a DUI can affect such a career, and how a Virginia DUI lawyers firm can help in such a situation.

 

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/codnewsroom/8637906595/

Categories: Calling in sick, caught engaging, DUI, dui charges, dui lawyers, Employee Wellness, employees, healhty employment, healthy career, job market, lose of job, nbsp, nbsp nbsp, theft

Why Happy, Healthy Employees Matter

Some people are fortunate enough to be given the chance to get their dream jobs. After all, it has been said that when you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work at all. But even if you love your job, there are other factors that can burst your happy bubble, draining you of creative juices until you are burned out and unable to fulfill the tasks that you are required to do. Burnt out and unhappy, your health begins to suffer and you will be unable to perform as well as you once did. The moment you are unable to fulfill the work that has been assigned to you, everything snowballs, triggering a chain reaction that will affect everyone, especially when you are part of a team. This paints a very clear picture of why happy, healthy employees matter. But if you need further enlightenment, the following reasons should be enough to convince you.

Happy = Productive

 When you are happy at your workplace, you tend to be inspired to work your ass off everyday because your company cares about you and your wellbeing. How does your company show that it cares? Through employee benefits like insurance plans and other incentives. One of the things that can easily burn a hole through your wallet is medical expenses. Even just one unexpected stay at the hospital is enough to put you in debt, especially with expensive doctors’ fees, admissions fees and medication. With health plans, you are able to set your mind at ease and worry less about the possibility of getting sick since you know that you will be covered in case your health is compromised.

Another benefit that will make employees happy is legal plans. This is not a requirement when it comes to employee benefits. But when a company offers this, it is a great bonus that will take a load off an employer’s shoulders especially when he or she may be encountering problems like identity theft. Employees may also require other assistance from lawyers like reviewing a legal document or purchasing a property. An attorney’s exorbitant hourly fees can also put a dent in their wallet so having legal plans is sure to make them happy and at the same time help them save money.

If you have your own company and plan to include legal plans in your employee benefits, you can check out budget packages from legal services providers like Legal Shield. There are informative clips on LegalShield YouTube Channel that can guide you on which coverage is best for your employees.

Healthy = Happy + Productive

Employee health is something that companies should nurture. What better way to do so that to offer activities that help promote good health. Regular exercise is very important, more so for those who spend majority of their time working in front of a computer screen. What you can offer is a free gym membership or perhaps a subsidized one, so that employees can work off their stress and release endorphins, which in turn can contribute to happy feelings and overall well being. Another option is to offer healthier food options, if the company has its own canteen that caters to its employees. When you combine good health and happiness, it will minimize sick leaves and promote more productivity among employees.

About the Author

Based in San Diego California, Tiffany Matthews is a professional writer with over 5 years of writing experience. She also blogs about travel, fashion, and anything under the sun at wordbaristas.com, a group blog that she shares with her good friends. In her free time, she likes to travel, read books, and watch movies. You can find her on Twitter as @TiffyCat87.

Categories: company, employee benefits, employees, employees matter, happy, health, Healthy, healthy employees, legal, legal plans, plans

How to Establish Your Seniority when You’re a Young Boss

In today’s crazy employment market, there’s no telling who might end up with the job. A person may have 25 years experience in your profession, but end up with a boss who’s 25 years old. If you’re a young boss, it can be hard to establish the right relationship with your older employees – how do you earn their respect without offending the seniority of those who have been around longer than you? How do you handle their errors or encourage and empower them if they just look at you as a youngster?

 

1. Hold regular reviews of skills and knowledge to address the gap.

While you can’t deny the value of experience, new technologies and methods are always happening, and so you need to ensure that your employees have the up-to-date knowledge that goes hand-in-hand with experience. Older employees are often eager to learn new things so that they can be ‘in the loop’ and belong with the rest of the group.

 

2. Maintain courtesy in all interactions with your older employees.

Respect for your elders is still important in our culture, and so courtesy and respect should be your buzzwords no matter what the interaction calls for. They will only respect you if you show them the same courtesy, and giving respect is also a part of generally being professional – which is important to anyone’s corporate wellness.

 

3. Agree on your working style.

If you reprimand an older employee, they may feel more embarrassed by the fact that you’re young than by the error itself. Establish with your employees that their input is invaluable, but sometimes there will be discords and errors and you will have to step up and pull rank. Ensure your employees know that what you say and do will be done with regard to the wellbeing of the company, as well as the careers of everyone involved.

 

4. Establish seniority

As we do have a culture in which elders are to be obeyed – and no one believes this more than older people – it can be hard to establish your seniority.  However, make sure that you quickly assert that you have more access to a broader vision and wider frame of information. Lay it out in logical terms, so that the confusion of having a young boss is eliminated.

Categories: employees, establish, older, Older Employees, respect, Seniority, Young Boss

What Are The Best Corporate Gifts to Celebrate Diwali?

During Diwali, people celebrate in many different ways, and the festival includes joy, light and good foods. It is also traditionally celebrated in the corporate environment, with gifts frequently being the norm. Employers believe that not only does giving gifts boost the wellness and wellbeing of their employees through boosted self-esteem and confidence, but it also directly benefits the company as employees who feel valued are likely to work harder. The trickiest thing can be finding a suitable gift to buy though, and there are various options available.

 

Sometimes companies do a bulk order of gifts that show the company design of logo (pens, mugs, mouse mats and so on) but these are generally not popular. Traditionally, Diwali gifts from employers used to come in monetary form, or in the form of shares in the company (this also made sure that employees had a vested interest in making sure that the company did well!)

 

Sometimes companies now hire creative agencies to actually design their Diwali gifts. This can mean that gifts like mobile phones, special coins, toys, kitchenware and home appliances can be given, but can also feature the company logo at the same time. This means that the employees are happy because they have a great new gift and there are also advertising opportunities in it for the employers.

 

Gift hampers are another popular option. Diwali hampers usually contain products such as sweet, fruit and nuts, and a logo can be incorporated into a gift basket too.

 

If none of the above is suitable, gift vouchers can also be used. This means that the employee is able to choose something that they really want, rather than having something that simply sits on the desk or in a cupboard and never gets used.

Categories: company, Corporate, Diwali, diwali gifts, employees, gift, gifts, suitable gift

What Are the Best Gifts for Your Employees at Diwali?

Diwali is probably the most celebrated festival in India, and this includes within corporate settings. The wellness and wellbeing of employees is intrinsically linked to how they feel in their job, and so it is in employers’ best interests to keep them happy, and a thoughtful gift at Diwali can go a long way to achieving this.

 

During Diwali, there is much celebration of the happiness and prosperity of those around us, such as family, friends, neighbours and colleagues, so a gift is actually very appropriate as part of this festival. Many employers already do celebrate by providing their employees with gifts.

 

It is said that when Lord Rama returned to his Kingdom Ayodhya on the day of Diwali, the people of his kingdom were so happy and delighted that they celebrated with fireworks, lights and worship, and that he distributed gifts to them, and this is where the tradition of giving gifts originates. The tradition of employers giving a gift to employees has actually stood for a long time now. Initially, it came in the form of a bonus that workers were paid by their employers – usually a salary in advance or a few shares in the company that they were working for. Shares were particularly popular, as workers tended to work harder for a company that they felt they had an actual investment in.

 

Times have changed, however, and now corporate gifts have taken the place of these bonuses or shares. Corporate gifts are often things like sweets, chocolates, apparels and watches, or other utilities such as cameras and microwaves.

 

Many employers also gift a bonus in addition to this, such as a fixed sum of money for each employee. A lot of employers believe that this gesture actually gains them money rather than loses it, because they feel (quite rightly) that it will make their employees feel valued, and that this will give them loyalty to the company, and increase the likelihood of them working hard for the company.

Categories: Corporate, corporate gifts, Diwali, employees, employers, gift, gifts

Diwali Can be Wonderful When Celebrated With Colleagues

Diwali is celebrated all over the world by the Indian community, and it is a festival of joy, light and celebration. The sheer pleasure of it helps to improve the wellness and wellbeing of millions, as they revel in the annual celebration, but can this also be transferred into a corporate environment? Increasingly, the answer to this is yes.

 

Corporate Diwali gifts are actually an important part of the celebrations, and date back for years now. Employees and employers alike look forward to the opportunity to exchange a bit of good will. Employees benefit by receiving a much-welcomed gift from their employer, and the employers themselves benefit by receiving the goodwill of their employees, which frequently leads to increased productivity from employees who feel both happy and valued as part of the company.

 

Celebrated by Indians both in India and throughout the world, Diwali is about celebrating love and friendship, and these are important qualities to value in the workplace as well as at home. Some companies even get fully into the spirit of things, with Diwali decorations around the office as well as gifts.

 

The gifts given by employers can vary hugely, but traditionally they are of the monetary type, either in the form of a cash bonus, or in the form of a few shares in the company. The latter is a particularly popular option, and has the added bonus of giving employees a real financial investment in the company that they are working for, which gives them an extra incentive to work particularly hard and ensure that the company is performing as well as it possibly can.

 

Other employers prefer to be a little more low key, and buy their employees a special Diwali card and give them a small gift such as special fruit, trinkets, handmade chocolates, special food in a gift basket or some kind of cake.

Categories: company, Diwali, employees, employer, employers, gift, nbsp

How to Fire Your Employees with Compassion

Getting fired isn’t fun for anyone, but sometimes it’s a necessary act. There are ways to make the situation worse or better though, and for the sake of both the employer and the employee, the latter is preferred. It helps take a difficult situation and make it amiable and sympathetic, even if it isn’t what either party wants to say or hear. The first thing any person planning on firing someone should do is give the individual as much notice or warning as possible – no-one wants to find out they’ve lost their job and then have no time to plan around the news. The second is to give them as much understanding as you can – this helps the individual to know what to say when looking for a new position, and also helps them to understand why they’ve lost their job and others in the company have not.

 

Experts agree that you shouldn’t ever fire someone on a Friday. While it may seem like a less awkward way of doing things, it actually gives the fired employee the entire weekend to feel miserable during a period of time where no businesses will be working, so they can’t even feel productive in looking for a new position. Firing someone during the week at least gives them chance to seek out resources and find help where they need it.  Monday or Tuesdays are the best days to do the deed, as it gives them a launchpad from which to make plans and act on them. Don’t schedule a meeting with remaining staff to inform them about what has happened, as this will only lead to unwanted questions and also promotes a slightly morbid atmosphere. You don’t want to make the loss of someone’s job gossip worthy, so if you need to inform colleagues then do so individually and quietly. Don’t broadcast the information to people who don’t really need to know, though. Depending on the office culture, keep it to office managers, direct supervisors, human resources and IT, if necessary.

One of the most important things to remember is that the situation should be thought through and planned – don’t try and wing it, in the hope that it will work out when the time comes. This situation is difficult enough and must follow a legally sound practice in order to give the individual everything they need, resource-wise. Some companies or occupations have disclosure requirements which determine what is necessary to reveal to the employee, and ad-libbing could put you at risk of a lawsuit if they haven’t received the information they really need. On a less serious note, it could simply open you both up to miscommunication, which isn’t fair on either side. The chances are they will only hear that they’ve been fired and very little else, but it pays to be concise and fair them regardless. On that note, put everything that you’ve said in writing – this is important for both parties. No doubt the fired employee will have many questions later when the news has had chance to sink in, and having the information to hand can come in handy when this happens. It will also help if there are any discrepancies later on, as you can confirm what information was actually provided.  Lastly, offer help to them should they require it – this may be in the form of a reference when they get a new job, resources to help them look for a new job, or help with their CV if they need it. The most vital thing to remember is to be professional throughout – though it is difficult, there is no reason that professionalism needs to go out of the window.

Categories: employee, employees, fired, fired employee, firing, Information, situation, time, ve lost, work