The Healthy Employee

Higher Productivity, Lower Costs

MAKE HEALTHY EMPLOYEES PART OF THE PLAN

If your business runs on a calendar year basis, you are probably putting the final touches on the budget plan for next year.  If you have set aside some $$$ to support wellness programs, great.  But please look at the programs.  Consider how you can use those funds to really get people moving and to create a true culture of health.  Your employees need help doing this stuff.  Just "putting it out there" isn't enough.   

SOME HEALTHY EMPLOYEE PROGRAM OPTIONS

There are ways to provide help without spending a fortune.  It takes leadership and high-touch programming.  Proactive Partners is one resource...go to www.beproactive.com.

An interesting no-cost resource - Take5Moment.com.  It's an innovative YouTube-esque free on-line library of video segments and blogs.  They show people who are short on time how to Take 5 (minutes)  to manage stress, release tension built up from hours at the computer, get energized in the late-afternoon.  And if 5 minutes is too much time, they have Take 5 mini's.   And they have just expanded their offering in the "Office and Work" category.  Worth a few minutes of your time. 

AND SPEAKING OF "TAKING 5"

I personally am taking off.  Time for me to retire.  So Debra will  be taking over the blog site.  And she plans to update the posts about once a month.  So check back to see what The Healthy Employee has to talk about.  We hope it will be helpful.  Thanks for listening.  Barb

STOP MAKING EXCUSES. CREATE A WORK CULTURE THAT EXPECTS HEALTHY BEHAVIOR FROM EMPLOYEES.

HEALTH CARE COSTS – A BIG DEAL FOR YOUR BUSINESS

No news there.  And you also know that 50% of those healthcare costs are a result of poor lifestyle behaviors of your employees, not genetics or bad luck.  Your team has talked about ways to control the costs but you've decided that you can’t really do anything about it.  Or you assessed that the investment will be too significant, it will cost alot and the savings may not ever materialize.

                   

WORK CULTURE – EXPECT  EMPLOYEES TO BE HEALTHY

Leadership can make it clear that the company expects people to take care of themselves, to make an effort to be healthy.  For business reasons – healthy employees are more productive and less expensive.  Leadership will need to model the healthy behavior, but it is amazing how the organization pays attention to the leaders.  If they do small things in visible ways, the organization will begin to “get it”.  And some people will actually emulate and mirror that behavior.  It takes a little planning, but not that much. No need to spend a fortune.  Set a tone.

 

ONE AREA TO FOCUS – PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, EXERCISE.

This is one lifestyle behavior that doesn’t require significant investment of money or time but that can make a big difference in an individual’s health.  Show them how to make exercise fit into their busy day through small, everyday activities that would include education, exercise workshops, activity breaks.  Once a week one of the company’s top leaders can participate.  It would create a buzz.  No special equipment or no gym is required – see www.beproactive.com for ideas on how to affordably provide an on-site coach to make this happen.  

 

HELP EMPLOYEES UNDERSTAND HOW TO ELIMINATE EXCUSES

The old perception that you have to exercise for 1 to 2 hours a day is not accurate.  Research shows that good, solid exercise routine doesn't have to last for more than 20 minutes to be effective.  And the 20 minutes can be done in small 5 or 10 minute invervals.   Ask employees if they  can't find 20  minutes exercise, then how do they manage to find 1-2  hours (or more a day ) to watch TV?  That’s the average American TV time daily. 

 

SHARE WITH EMPLOYEES - TOP EXCUSES FOR NOT EXERCISING

Excuse 1: I don't have time.
Solution:  It’s only 20 minutes, not  hours.  It's not necessary to carve out  20 straight minutes for exercise. Fit in 5 or 10 minutes of activity a few times a day. Take a short, brisk walk around the block at lunch. Climb a few flights of stairs between meetings.  Intentionally park the car further from the door at work, the grocery store, the hardware store, carry out your own groceries and take the stairs instead of the elevator add up. It can be part of your day -  not something extra that someone needs to do.

 

Excuse 2: I don't like gyms.
Solution:  If you find health clubs too crowded or intimidating, don't go. There are plenty of other places to exercise. Try taking a walk over lunch at work, do light exercise at home, go to a community recreation center.  A gym is absolutely not necessary.

 

Excuse 3:  "I can't afford to pay for a gym membership or for home equipment.

Solution:   See solution to excuse #2.  The fact is, you can get in shape, lose weight, improve health, improve energy without ever setting foot in a gym. Walking and or jogging around your neighborhood or in the local park don't cost a dime and will give you all of the benefits of a cardio workout at the gym. Doing light exercises such as leg lifts, stretching, lunges and pushups at home cost nothing.

 

Excuse 4:  There’s no gym that is convenient.  

Solution:   See the answer for excuse #2 and 3.  I have nothing else to say.

 

Excuse 5: I'm too out of shape,
Solution:  That’s definitely not an excuse. In fact, it’s the very reason to begin.  Just get started, do something - 5 minutes of walking or stretching.  Climb the stairs for 3 minutes.  Start slowly. Try short walks a couple times a week at first, and then build up to more challenging activities.

 

Excuse 6: I'm too tired.
Solution: That's precisely why you should. Exercise helps boost your energy.  Move around for a few minutes and your energy will increase.

 

Excuse 7: I've never exercised and it's too late to start.
Solution: It's never too late to start. Provided your doctor gives the OK, you can exercise well into old age -- and still accrue many health benefits. So get out there and get moving, just start slowly.

 

EXPERT ADVICE.FROM PROACTIVE PARTNERS

Go to www.beproactive.com.  As the HR leader, you can get ideas and tap their expertise on how to get a wellness program moving.  And remember…there are 1440 minutes in every day.   Get employees to find a way to devote  20 of them for physical activity.  Your healthcare bills will benefit.

 

EMPLOYEE HEALTH - YOUR COMPANY’S HUMAN CAPITAL ASSET

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM AN EMPLOYEE? 

Results.  You want the person to be present.  Be productive.  Be a performer.  To do this, the employee needs to be healthy.  And part of the health equation  -  manage stress.  Stress can have  significant impact on a person’s health if it’s not managed.  Everything from heart disease to high blood pressure to fatigue that leads to lack of focus and poor decision making,  higher absenteeism, lower presenteeism.  According to the Journal of Occupational Health & Environment and also  Gallup Attitudes in the American Workplace survey, 19% of absenteeism, 40% of turnover and 50% of healthcare expenditures are attributable to workers who report high stress.  And lots of people report stress on the job.  The Gallup Attitudes in the Workplace survey reported that 80% of workers feel stress on the job.  These are the folks who are taking care of your valuable customers.  Yikes!!!

 "Stress in America continues to escalate and is affecting every aspect of people's lives - from work to personal relationships to sleep patterns and eating habits, as well as their health.“    Dr. Russ Newman, Exec Dir, APA.

 

Please notice I did not say eliminate stress.   We need work to be challenging, fast-paced and always pushing forward, solving problems – it’s the only way to make a business successful in this competitive environment.  So if the work environment is going to be stressful and we know that people’s family/home life adds another layer of stress, what can we as employers realistically do about it?

 

TEACH EMPLOYEES HOW TO MANAGE STRESS

Managing stress is a critical job skill – as important as computer skills or basic accounting.  Proactive Partners can help with a solution – Perform Under Stress, Reach for Success workshops.  They take a practical approach, teach practical skills to productively respond to stress.  Performance-focused techniques can be used “in the moment”, not on a mountaintop in Tibet.  And the workshop content is grounded in peer-reviewed and published research on stress.  Visit www.beproactive.com to get information. 

 

HELPING EMPLOYEES MANAGE STRESS ALSO MAKES SENSE FOR THE BUSINESS BOTTOM LINE

 

Health care costs in the U.S. now exceed $2 trillion each year.  Probably the majority of your company's health expenditures are for stress-related disorders including depression.  Go ask your benefits team about your healthcare costs that are a result of stress.  You may be surprised by the numbers.  Teach people to manage stress, you will get health benefits and cost savings.  The team at Proactive Partners can show you the data - visit www.beproactive.com to get in touch.

 

FREE THOUGHTS.

This really is an important issue and I hope that I have provided some helpful perspective.  But the good news is that these are free thoughts  - and they are worth every penny you paid for them!! 

 

HEALTH CARE COST CONTROL – THE POWER OF PREVENTION

Chronic disease IS the 21st century epidemic.

 

At the turn of the 20^th century, major causes of illness and death were infectious diseases such as influenza, pneumonia and tuberculosis.  Thanks to vaccines, environment, social and technological improvements, today these post a significantly smaller threat.

 

Today, it’s chronic disease.  Chronic diseases are among the most common and costly of all health problems.  Amazingly, chronic diseases are among the most preventable.  Three modifiable health-damaging behaviors -tobacco use, lack of physical activity and poor eating habits -  cause the majority of problems.  And these three contribute almost equally to the health challenge.  If your company is serious about controlling health care costs, you can’t ignore the power of prevention.

 

Prevention – Key to Addressing Health Care Cost Issues

Prevention is significantly smarter than spending health care dollars just to treat disease.  Treat the disease without changing the behaviors that caused the disease .... and employees will be back with the disease for expensive treatment over and over. 

 

You Can Help Employees with Physical Activity….PREVENTION at the workplace.

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, physical inactivity is a leading contributor to disease and disability.  Everyone has heard (ad nauseum) about the impact of exercise and physical activity on heart health.  Were you aware that physical inactivity accounts for 22% of colon cancer, 18% of osteoporotic fractures and 12% of diabetes and hypertension?  The stats for how physical activity can improve health, prevent disease go on and on. 

 

But at Work?

Yes, you can create a true culture of wellness, bring focus and priority to being healthy and getting regular physical activity to work.  And you won’t hurt productivity.  You may even improve it.  Proactive Partners can show you how to do this.  Visit their website – www.beproactive.com. 

Do at least 3 of these things simultaneously and it will have an impact in your work environment:

            Education.  It’s simple.  Teach people, educate them on the importance and the           

            benefit of physical activity.  And teach people “how” to exercise.  Lectures and mini-workshops can

            teach people how to exercise at their desk, during the lunch hour, at home while watching

            TV.  Maybe it's obvious to you, but most people don't know what to do.

            Activity Breaks.  Communicate that the 15 minute break in the morning and the

            afternoon would be a great time to take a short walk, climb stairs, do some lunges        

            down the hallway, do some simple stretches.  And actually set up “formal” activity break

            locations and activities.  It will get people’s attention and some people will participate.  They

            will benefit from the activity and probably be more productive because they are more

            awake/alert because of the exercise.

            On-Site Coach.  Yes, add overhead.  A small cost that can have significant

            impact.   A coach at the worksite can get people moving on a regular basis…and the data

            says that your employees only need 20 minutes of moderate physical activity several times a

            week to get health benefits.  Proactive Partners can show you how a coach can make this

            work … impact hundreds of your employees daily for less than you are spending on phone

            coaching.   Go to www.beproactive to learn more.

            On-site Fitness Center.  If you already have one, look for ways to encourage

            increased utilization.  Talk with Proactive Partners (www.beproactive.com) for ideas on how

         to make this space more impactful for employee health.  And if you don’t have one, think

         about it.  Proactive Partners can help you think through the cost benefit of this action

         (www.beproactive.com ).

 

FITNESS FOR YOUR BRAIN

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS A SMART MOVE…LITERALLY

Most of us know that physical exercise is good for blood pressure, the heart, controlling weight, but did you know that physical exercise is also good for the brain? It can make you smarter and better at what you do according to a WebMD feature article by Jean Lawrence.  Physical activity, physical exercise actually trains the brain.   Cristin Anderson, MS, wellness and fitness coordinator of the University of San Francisco explains that exercise affects many sites within the nervous system.  "When one exercises," Anderson says, "you can think more clearly, perform better, and morale is better.  This is pure science -- stimulate your nervous system and function at a higher level."

Help employees exercise by providing activity breaks.  It will increase productivity by energizing them and actually improve clarity of thinking, improve function.  Consider an on-site coach in the workplace to cost-effectively make this a reality – www.beproactive.com to find out about a workplace coach.

 

AND MENTAL EXERCISE IMPROVES HOW WELL THE BRAIN WORKS.

“There is a growing awareness that challenging your brain can have positive effects," Dr. Cohen said. He said the plasticity of the brain is directly related to the production of new dendrites, the branched, tree-like neural projections that carry electrical signals through the brain “Every time you challenge your brain it will actually modify the brain,” he said. “We can indeed form new brain cells, despite a century of being told it’s impossible.”  New York Times “Exercise Your Brain or Else You’ll….uhhh.  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/technology/03brain.html

 

GET MOVING

If you think you’re going to get smarter sitting in front of your computer or watching television, think again. Get some physical exercise – go take a 10 minute walk.  And then go do some mental exercise – read for 15 minutes or do a crossword puzzle.  Then you can sit down and enjoy some TV. 

 

Visit www.beproactive.com for ideas on how to engage your workforce in healthy habits.

 

CAREER, FAMILY, HAPPINESS, HEALTH, FUN. HAVE IT ALL!!!

YEA, RIGHT �-- �HAVE IT ALL. �

We work long hours, spend a ridiculous amount of time commuting, doing work stuff at home� ( email on the Blackberry at the kid’s soccer game, checking voicemail on the way home from the grocery store), doing home and personal stuff at work (need to schedule time to see the dentist, find someone to fix the back porch screen, get the car serviced).�� And you need to find time to see your parents, who aren’t doing so great.� �

�

ARE WE MODERN SLAVES?

It certainly feels like it.� The United Nations' International Labor Organization (ILO) has the proof:�� "Workers in the United States are putting in more hours than anyone else in the industrialized world."� And studies show that U.S. work hours are increasing.

If your laundry basket is as full as your "in" basket, you are not alone. �The job keeps getting more demanding.� �Kids seem to have organized activities every day of the week – they need a full time limo-driver to get them to their activities.�

�

It doesn’t make sense given all of the advances in technology - it’s supposed to be getting easier, not harder, right?

�

EMERGING SOLUTIONS – 1) ON-SITE SUPPORT and 2) FLEXIBLE WORK OPTIONS

1)� On-site support was started by the dot-com companies – a work concierge service to make it easy for employees to get dry cleaning done or groceries delivered and never leave their work cube.� Some new on-site service concepts – on-site exercise coaches to teach employees how fit exercise into their busy week – key for health and healthcare costs.� See www.beproactive.com.�� Or stress management workshops to teach employees how to manage stress productively, effectively and become more productive at work and healthier at the same time.� See www.beproactive.com�and www.heartmath.com.�� There are even companies putting physician offices at the workplace so you don't have to take lots of time to do your check up or deal with that sore throat – www.wholehealthnet.com.�

�

2) Flexible work options.� Technology can be part of the solution.� There are some great ways to enable people to work remotely.� See www.edbrill.com.� Companies that want to be seen as "employers of choice" know that they need to be more flexible and supportive of employees' lives outside the office than many were a decade ago. �Particularly true for the younger set. �A study by the Families and Work Institute showed 85% of employees under 30 wanted more flexibility in their work schedules.

�

Flexible does not mean reduced work quality or commitment.� People want better work-life balance – they want to work differently; they are not asking to take their hand off the career lever.� They are willing and able to use technology and can be productive from almost anywhere. Go to http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/19/work-life-balance-lead-careers-worklife07-cx_db_mn_0319worklife_land.html for an interesting article about how to get your company to think about flex time (just click to skip the “welcome screen”).

�

Flexible Work Caution: It’s not all roses.� Flexible working with its 24/7 access to company email and information via cell phones and BlackBerries could simply translate into round the clock working for some employees, a new report has warned.

YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY. HEALTHY WORK-BREAKS IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY. IT MAKES SENSE FOR THE COMPANY AND THE EMPLOYEE

CAN A WORKPLACE REALLY ENCOURAGE BREAKS AND STILL BE COMPETITIVE and PRODUCTIVE?

Popular belief is that breaks and exercise will reduce productivity by interrupting the work. In practice, studies show quite the opposite – productivity doesn’t reduce, but in fact can increase.  According to a new Cornell University study, when workers were reminded on a regular basis to assume good posture, take short breaks and stretch, they did more accurate work and as a result were more productive. 

 

Research by Traci Galinsky, a captain in the U.S. Public Health Service and a member of the human factors in ergonomics research team at NIOSH, found that when workers get up and walk at regular intervals over the day they are more productive. "We found that not only does that reduce the discomfort that accumulates over the work day, it also tends to enhance performance enough to offset any productivity loss that you'd expect by giving the breaks. Overall work quantity was maintained," Galinsky said. "The breaks appear to allow for recovery from fatigue so that when they go back to work, their work is enhanced."

 

"Work to Live" author Joe Robinson cites several studies showing that breaks improve productivity. Short intervals for relaxation allow us to sustain high levels of effort more of the time.

 

CREATE BOOSTER BREAKS RATHER THAN TRADITIONAL BREAKS

It is common for workers to have two 10-15 minute work breaks each day.  Unfortunately work breaks frequently involve health-compromising behaviors such as snacking or smoking. .  Work breaks are important but currently underutilized opportunity to help an employee feel better, be more productive and even become healthier. 

 

Show people how to use that 10 of their 15 minute break to do some stretches, to do some light exercise or deep breathing to relax the mind and body before they get their cup of coffee.  They will feel better and honestly be more productive.  If they stretch and exercise somewhat regularly – two or three days each week -  they will get health benefits as well.  An on-site coach could help motivate and teach people how to do this – see www.beproactive.com for information about how Proactive Partners can provide affordable workplace coach programs.

 

A 5 MINUTE BOOSTER BREAK IS A GREAT PLACE TO START

People don’t have to stretch for 15 minutes (although they will find that it really feels great).  Just taking 5 minutes to stretch, do a few exercises or some deep breathing to relax the mind and body can make a difference.  There’s are some great programs offered at www.Take5Moment.com

 

MY ADVICE TO COMPANIES

Encourage employees to take breaks through the day and teach them how to take a healthy break, a booster break so they feel good at work all day.  It will improve performance, enhance productivity.  Talk to the experts at Proactive Partners - www.beproactive.com.

 

MY ADVICE TO EMPLOYEES

Take frequent breaks.  And do light movement during your breaks – stretch, walk around the block, do some lunges down the hallway, do the stairs a couple of times just for the exercise.  You will feel better through the day.  And at the end of the day you go home feeling more energized, feeling better so you can enjoy your family. 

 

MANAGE STRESS TO IMPROVE WORK PERFORMANCE AND HEALTH

We can’t avoid stress.

 

It’s part of a normal day .  At work there are customer demands and deadlines, traffic that keeps getting worse both morning and evening, and from the moment the alarm rings to bedtime, people struggle to cope with busy family schedules.  It’s hard to find time to decompress, to relax.  And the constant pressure is causing health issues – headaches, sleep problems, immune system weakness, muscle tension that causes backache.  The list is long – lots of small aches and pains and sometimes some big problems like heart disease or high blood pressure.

 

Do you have stress in your life?  The bottom line is that everyone does.  I remember when a researcher asked me if I felt stress on a regular basis, I said  “no, not really”.  He laughed and made me realize that I was kidding myself.  Stress is part of every day for all of us.  And the consistent stress we all experience causes interesting chemical changes in our bodies.  Many of them aren’t so good for us.

 

STRESS MANAGEMENT CAN BE LEARNED.

I was amazed, but I learned that it is possible to control and manage your body’s response to the environmental stress.  Yes, stress can be managed.  It’s not hard to learn.  The folks at HeartMath have done a lot of research on this topic.  And Proactive Partners have teamed up with the HeartMath folks to bring stress management skills to the workplace.  Why the workplace?  First, ongoing stress will generally make an employee less productive, less effective.  Managing the response to stress can actually make a person more focused, can help the person make smarter/better decisions despite the stress, can improve problem solving skills, can enhance performance. And then there’s the health costs that companies are dealing with as a result of people not effectively coping with stress.  So a company has two reasons to teach people to manage stress.  Check out www.beproactive.com and  www.HeartMath.com

 

ARE YOU STRESSED?

Here are some stress quizzes you might find interesting. 

 

http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/tc/interactive-tool-what-is-your-stress-level-what-does-this-tool-measure

 

http://www.webmd.com/hw-popup/life-change-stress-test

 

http://www.webmd.com/hw-popup/resiliency-quiz

 

EXERCISE IS ANOTHER WAY TO MANAGE STRESS.

Something as simple as light exercise can make a difference in a person’s ability to control and manage stress.  This WebMD article talks about the benefits -

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/exercise-benefits.  Proactive Partners experts can bring exercise to the workplace that will help with stress and health for employees.  Go to www.beproactive.com to find out about their coach solution - it's a process that will really connect with your employees.

 

MANAGE STRESS FOR SUCCESS.

Controlling one’s reaction to stress has long been recognized as a key skill.  Thomas Jefferson said,  "Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances

 

OFFICE WORK – IT’S A PAIN IN THE NECK – LITERALLY

Every day, all across the country millions of workers spend hours sitting at a desk in front of the computer. Sitting in the same position with little or no exercise throughout the day can cause headaches, neck and shoulder pain and muscle cramping.

 

RESEARCH SHOWs neck and shoulder pain EASED with simple exercises

Researcers in Italy recently conducted a study on a group of government workers and found that a simple series of exercises and stretches can make a difference.

Researchers followed a group of 192 office workers for eight months. Throughout the study,  participants performed a series of neck and shoulder exercises every few hours while at the office. In addition, they performed basic relaxation exercises at home daily for 10 to 15 minutes. At the end of the study headache frequency fell by 41 percent and daily aches and pains fell by 43 percent.  Go to http://www.ohsonline.com/articles/64148/ to see a more complete report.

 

EMPLOYEES SHOULD MAKE STRETCHING, NECK AND SHOULDER EXERCISES PART OF THEIR WORK DAY

Mid-morning, early afternoon, late afternoon.  It doesn’t take a lot of time – just a few minutes.  These stretch breaks will ease tension, relieve routine aches and stiffness.  Stretching and bending regularly acts as an energizer, gets the blood moving.  Much more effective and healthier than a coffee break! 

 

EMPLOYEES SHOULD DO IT AT THEIR DESK  J J J TEACH EMPLOYEES HOW THEY CAN STRETCH IN THE OFFICE, RIGHT AT THEIR DESK

Here are a few simple stretches.  They’re easy.  Share them with the organization via email.  Recommend that people do them 2 or 3 times each day.  You can also call experts at Proactive Partners to get a more tailored program - visit www.beproactive.com to get in touch.  But here are the stretches that will get you started:

*  Shoulder Shrug

1. Sit straight with your shoulders relaxed. Inhale and squeeze your shoulders up toward your ears.
2. Hold tightly for several seconds and relax as you exhale. Repeat several times.

*  Neck Stretch

3. Sitting straight, exhale and let your neck drop forward. Relax for about 2 seconds, then lift your head to the center.
4. Let your head drop to one side, relax, and return to center. Repeat to the other side.
5. Do the whole sequence 5 to 10 times, the more often the better.

*  Stretch Your Spine

1. Sit straight in your chair. With your hands clasped behind your head, exhale and turn slowly to the right.
2. Look behind you, twisting as far as comfortable without strain. Hold for several seconds, and inhale as you return to the starting position.
3. Repeat on the other side.
4. Repeat 10-15 times.

*  Shoulder Stretch

1.       Stand with legs slightly bent and feet hip-width apart.  Or you can sit.

2.       Put your right arm across the front of your body so your forearm is near your left shoulder.  Extend until you feel a light stretch in the back of your right shoulder. 

3.       To push the stretch a little further, hold your right arm at the elbow with your left hand.  Hold for about 8-10 seconds and repeat on the other side.

4.       Repeat 3-5 times.

 

GET A COACH, GET HELP

Your employees will want to do stretches to relieve tension and reduce/eliminate headaches. While the stretches aren’t difficult, remembering to do them regularly is.  Proactive Partners has an interesting coach concept – visit www.beproactive.com to learn about how you can get a professional to lead stretch breaks and lots more very cost-effectively.

 

Or try an on-line version.  There’s a stretch demo on youtube.  It does a nice job. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl_Ck2LCGoE  .

 

Or you could get DVD’s for employees to use at their computer.  Check out www.take5moment.com. 

 

 

CONTROLLING HEALTHCARE COST. A CORE BUSINESS ISSUE -- PREVENTION IS THE KEY

PREVENTABLE ILLNESS MAKES UP APPROXIMATELY 80% OF THE BURDEN OF ILLNESS AND 90% OF ALL HEALTHCARE COSTS.

Should it matter to you as an employer?  Why should you care???

Think about it - what is a healthy employee realy worth

When an employee is not healthy, not well, the business feels the impact long before the medical bills start to accumulate.  Employees who are not 100% healthy are less productive, less efficient, have lower functionality and higher absenteeism.  Due to high blood pressure or high blood sugar or lack of sleep because of stress or anxiety because of stress, people are tired, not thinking clearly, not focused, not able to get the job done or not able to get the job done well.  That’s all before you start to see significant medical costs for treating acute and chronic disease (physician visits, medication) and severe health events.  Health is not a fringe business issue – it’s mainstream.  You want and need healthy employees. 

Help Employees Understand and Take Action

Make it clear that prevention is a priority.  Set up screenings at work, have all employees complete a Health Risk Assessment survey, establish health education forums and exercise breaks (vs. coffee breaks).  Work to create a culture of health.  Make it clear that you value employees and that you REALLY value healthy employees.  Start quoting Benjamin Franklin who said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

What Are the Leading Health Indicators?

According to NIH Healthy People 2010, the leading health indicators listed below will be used to measure the health of the nation over the next 10 years. Each of the 10 Leading Health Indicators has one or more objectives from Healthy People 2010 (a National Institute of Health program) associated with it. As a group, the Leading Health Indicators reflect the major health concerns in the

United States

at the beginning of the 21st century. The Leading Health Indicators were selected based on a number of factors including the importance as public health issues.

            The NIH Leading Health Indicators are—

                        Physical Activity 

                        Overweight and Obesity 

                        Tobacco Use 

                        Substance Abuse 

                        Responsible Sexual Behavior 

                        Mental Health 

                        Injury and Violence 

                        Environmental Quality 

                        Immunization 

                        Access to Health Care 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - IT'S FIRST ON THE LIST AND FUNDAMENTAL TO PREVENTION

 

Above is the NIH list.  Separately, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services developed an excellent report which clearly presents the need for immediate change relating to regular physical activity to effect a healthier nation.  The report uses more than 30 scientific publications to establish and support the relationship between physical inactivity and chronic disease.  Exercise is a key part of prevention.  Make it clear that employees need to get regular exercise to be healthy, to stay healthy.  Show them how to do this within their busy schedules and how to fit exercise into the workday without getting in the way of the work.  It can be done – see www.beproactive.com for ideas. 

What If You Have Chronic Disease?

For people with chronic ailments, exercise used to be viewed as asking for trouble. However, current evidence suggests that in both health and disease, the overall prognosis is better for the exerciser than for the sedentary. For example, a recent study showed that intensive workouts can not only slow the progress of coronary disease, but actually restore lost coronary function when the disease is still stable.

                "We've yet to find a disease state where exercise isn't helpful."
                        Miriam Nelson, Ph.D.  Tufts University

Visit these websites to learn more, convince yourself prevention should be part of the business agenda.

preventdisease.com

http://odp.od.nih.gov/

http://www.healthypeople.gov/About/goals.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/ataglan.htm#top