The Healthy Employee

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

 

Exercise at Work – No Need for a Gym.

Employees Can Exercise at the Office. 

Good intentions and reality seldom meet.   Research has shown that moderate levels of regular exercise can improve health, improve mood and reduce the chances of getting sick.  But the fact is that people are so busy, it’s hard to for them to make time to take a walk, take a yoga class or go to the gym.  And for many others, they just don’t want to take a walk or do yoga.  So how do you get people to exercise so they can be healthy?  Because if we don’t help employees figure out how, healthcare expenses will continue to escalate.

 

Research says that people will get health benefits from just 15 minutes of moderate exercise 3 times a week   So here’s an idea … what if people could get 15 minutes of exercise several days a week …. at work?  Without having to change clothes, drive to the yoga studio or head down to the fitness center.   

 

Stretching is Exercise!

Exercise does not have to be time-consuming, hard or make you sweaty.   Did you know that exercise can be as easy as stretching and simple movement? Yes, just moving your body is exercise.  Now, that doesn’t sound too time-consuming or difficult, does it?  

 

It does not have to involve a huge time commitment, and stretching can end up giving you great results. Here are just a few of the benefits people can expect from a regular stretching program:

• Reduced muscle tension
• Increased range of movement in the joints
• Enhanced muscular coordination
• Increased circulation of the blood to various parts of the body
• Increased energy levels (resulting from increased circulation)

Stretching comes naturally to all of us. You might notice that if you have been sitting in a particular position for a long time, you stretch unconsciously. It feels good.  In addition to that good feeling, a consistent stretching program will improve flexibility and joint movement.   If you are sitting at your desk right now, just try it.  Roll your shoulders up and back.  Or stretch your arms out straight and flex wrists – hands up, hands down.  Or just slowly tilt your head to the left toward your shoulder and then to the other side.

 

At the Workplace - Consider an Exercise Coach

 People just don’t think about doing exercise at their desk, during the workday.  An on-site coach will act as a catalyst for action – show people how to exercise while at the office, remind people to stretch and move around on a regular basis, lead people through programs that are effective but won’t take a lot of time or disrupt productivity.  In fact, short bursts of activity/exercise will likely improve productivity.  One Proactive Partners on-site coach can reach anywhere from 250-750 employees per month.  It is amazingly cost-effective as well as time-efficient for the employees and the company.  And no special equipment or significant space is required.  To find out more, go to www.beproactive.com or email the team at Proactive Partners

At the Computer – Short, Guided Stretch videos make it Easy

Consider Take5Moment programs – a collection of short videos delivering guided movements, stretches and stress-relief advice for desk-workers.  Employees could get almost 50 minutes of exercise a work week if they did a Take5Yoga stretch in the morning and in the afternoon at their desk.  Go to www.take5moment.com to see what they could make available to employees.

STRESS - IT’S SCREWING WITH PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE QUALITY

Fortune magazine reported that “stress in the workplace is skyrocketing” and has reached “record levels.”    Another publication cites that American business loses an estimated $200-$300 billion dollars per year to stress related productivity loss and stress-related healthcare expense. To put this in perspective, this amount is higher than the total cost related to all strikes and the net profit from all Fortune 500 companies.  

STRESS – BIG IMPACT ON ABSENTEEISM AND PRESENTEEISM

We’ve all heard that stress impacts absenteeism and presenteeism, but here are some amazing numbers.  Employees self-reported the following in a recent survey:

44% say they miss 1-2 days per year due to stress.

33% say they miss 3-6 days per year

23% say they miss more than 6 days per year –wow!!!   

These same employees say that stress impacts effectiveness when at work

48% say they come to work 1-4 days per year when they are too stressed to be effective

29% come to work 5 or more days per year too stressed to be effective

Is anybody actually working???

WHY ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES STRESSED?

42% cite workload

29% cite people/coworker issues

16% cite juggling work and personal life

13% cite lack of job security

But wait, there’s more.  A recent ABC News report says that the recent credit crisis is making things worse.  Your employees are scared.   In the ABC News report, Richard Chaifetz, CEO of ComPsych , a company that provides Employee Assistance service  states that our calls in general for mortgage-related issues are up over three times compared to last year.  (Employees have) become preoccupied with financial issues while at work. You see absenteeism, lack of performance and turnover as people look for jobs that may pay more.  Financial worries manifest themselves in the workplace as employees moonlight to pick up extra money, or can cause anxiety, depression, absenteeism and productivity problems that affect the bottom line.   

THE NEW REALITY

These things aren’t going away – workloads will continue to increase, people will continue to be challenged on how to balance work and personal life, whether it’s financial worries (the mortgage, funding college, replacing the car) or just finding the time and energy to help kids with their homework.  

A KEY JOB SKILL  - STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress happens.  The good news is that it is possible to teach people to more effectively manage the stress.  They can learn to be more productive, more effective in the face of stress.  A couple of places where you can learn more about this –

www.beproactive.com

www.heartmath.com

www.corporateathlete.com

HABITS – THEY’RE HARD TO CHANGE

HABITS ARE HOW WE GET THROUGH THE DAY

Everyone is busy, busy, busy  –  with work, family, household chores, helping friends, school or church.  It never ends.  Lots of habits are part of each and every day – habits that help us manage, make things easier, help us cope.  Many habits are good – brushing your teeth morning and night,  kissing your spouse before you leave, checking email and voicemail when you first arrive at work to see if a customer called. 

BAD HABITS AND HEALTH

They are part of the day as well.  Bad habits are contributing to health problems that cost your company’s healthcare system lots.  For example, eating behaviors become habit.  The stop for coffee and a breakfast pastry.  Taking a ten minute mid-morning break and crusing by the coffee-break room to grab a few cookies.  Eating fast food or whatever’s convenient for lunch – not necessarily thinking about the health or nutrition value.  We do most of it without thinking. 

And how about exercise habits (or lack of exercise habits).  We park as close as we can to the train station or the office – even though a brisk walk from the farthest point would be a good thing.  Another simple thing - good posture.  It’s hard work and requires thought – it’s easier to slouch while sitting (which is almost all day working at your desk), to lean back in the car when driving home, walk with our head down, shoulders rounded.  Good posture is actually good exercise.  But we don’t do it – because we don’t think about it.  

 

It’s possible to get exercise right at the office, but it means doing things differently.  So without some catalyst, it’s not likely to happen.

CREATING NEW, HEALTHY HABITS

It’s really hard to create a new habit.   People want to do the right thing, but often don’t know what to do and then get caught up in the day’s activities and routine.  And just plain forget.  Let’s take exercise as a “for instance”.  Exercise is key to health and wellness. Everyone knows it.  And yes, people forget to exercise.  By the time they think of it, they’re too tired.  What’s the answer?  Believe it or not, people can exercise during the day at work .  Easily.  Yes, at work.  It’s actually simple, does not get in the way of work and would probably increase productivity because moderate exercise actually acts as an energizer.    Employees are interested, willing to make an effort  if someone helps them, reminds them.

INTERNET – GOOD BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH

The internet is not really helping change everyday habits.  A recent survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that the Internet is useful but definitely not changing lives.  It’s good for consumer research, providing information, educating people on what they should do.  But old habits prevail in most daily tasks.  People need help on a regular basis, not just with information but with action.  Check out www.beproactive.com for ideas – their on-site coach concept makes lots of sense.  Or go to www.take5moment.com.  Or review some research done by Deborah Fallows – she shows that when people do internet searches, they have low attention span and shallow searching which does not lead to success for health.