It isn't just a snazzy name. The Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act (H.R. 2105) allows for
expenditures for physical fitness programs and exercise equipment to be
payable out of pre-tax health investment accounts such as flexible
spending accounts (FSAs), medical savings accounts (MSAs) and/or
medical reimbursement arrangements.
Consumers with these spending and savings accounts can currently pay
for prescription drugs and doctor visits with pre-tax dollars. The PHIT
Act will allow activities such as health club memberships, youth sports
programs, Pilates and Yoga classes, home exercise equipment, and other
fees associated with programs of physical activity to be paid with
pre-tax dollars as well.
Would this help motivate your employees to get active? Call, or, send a fax to your congressional representative's office asking for his or her support on Bill HR2105 - The Personal Health Improvement Today Act.
Any companies who offer to reimburse a portion of their employees' enrollment will earn their employees 10% off the total fees.
Employees of Recess Approved Fun Workplaces in the Portland, OR area
receive 10% off of our upcoming Health Immersion Program (a $50
discount). The program begins July 1.
This effective, two-month lifestyle modification program is the perfect
opportunity to help employees kickstart a wellness routine that is
likely to fit into their busy lives and produce amazing results.
FITNESS LEVEL
The average resting heart rate pre-program was 77 beats per minute;
post-program was 68. Resting heart rate is generally lower in
physically fit people.
The average systolic blood pressure pre-program was 123; post-program 117.
The average diastolic blood pressure pre-program was 78; post-program 73.
BODY COMPOSITION
Weight
The average participant weighed 160 pounds when program started and 152 when it ended.
Body fat %
The average participant lost 2% body fat.
Waist & hips
Average waist measurement was 33 inches pre-program; 31 inches post-program.
Average hip measurement was 41 inches pre-program; 40 inches post-program.
STRENGTH
Core
33% scored above average on a curl-up test pre-program; 70%, post-program.
Of the remaining 30% that were 'average' post-program, half doubled their core fitness score from pre-program.
Upper body
Average number of push ups to exhaustion was 17 pre-program; 30, post-program.
Lower body
Average number of seconds a participant could stand in a one legged
squat to exhaustion pre-program was 33 seconds; post-program, 92.85
seconds.
PARTICIPATION, SATISFACTION, BEHAVIOR CHANGE
82% of participants said that the attendance policy, grab bags, and prizes kept them motivated to stick with the program.
82% of participants said that they found links provided in the Web portal to be "extremely useful."
60% of participants said that program was a "huge influence" in
changing their behavior such that they now eat at least 5 servings of
fruits and vegetables every day, get at least 30-60 minutes of aerobic
activity per day and perform strengthening exercises at least 3 times
per week.
More than 70% of participants said that program made a difference
in changing their behavior such that they now cook healthier meals,
manage their stress better and stretch at least three times per week.
Far be it from us to want to turn away work that could put food on the table for Recess staff, but as wellness consultants we are often asked by clients to address issues stemming from workplace stress.
Probably no one is surprised to hear that many Americans find work stressful:
An NIOSH report from the early 1990s cites the following:
40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful;
25% view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives;
75% of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago;
29% of workers felt quite a bit or extremely stressed at work;
26% of workers said they were "often or very often burned out or stressed by their work."
Many employees cite their or their co-workers increased job stress and lack of ability to cope with such stress with an increase in physical or verbal hostility in the workplace.
Two reports in 2000 compiled by Gallup and Integra revealed that:
14% of respondents had felt like striking a coworker in the past year, but didn't;
25%have felt like screaming or shouting because of job stress;
29%had yelled at co-workers because of workplace stress;
14% said they work where machinery or equipment has been damaged because of workplace rage;
19% or almost one in five respondents had quit a previous position because of job stress and nearly one in four have been driven to tears because of workplace stress;
62% routinely find that they end the day with work-related neck pain;
34% reported difficulty in sleeping because they were too stressed-out;
12% had called in sick because of job stress;
Over half said they often spend 12-hour days on work related duties and an equal number frequently skip lunch because of the stress of job demands.
Is this your life?
If you can pick even three of these items and you feel they adequately describe your working environment, there is no amount of on-site yoga or wellness campaigns that can help. Your problem is systemic.
That is not to say that yoga or corporate wellness can't help those employees who participate better cope with a stressful situation, but if you look around and see the signs of deteriorating health and humanity in your workplace chances are good you have bigger issues to address.
What?!?! Me? Stressed?!?!?!?!
Recess reached out to professionals on facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN and the blogosphere to ask what they saw as the biggest sources of workplace stress. Their answers seemed to echo two main themes:
Lack of clarity and discipline in work processes.
Typified by responses like this:
"This is related to employees who refuse to answer or even acknowledge emails. And, as a project manager, I'm held responsible for not having an answer. That's stressful for me."
"Process. Inefficient coordination that wastes time kills spirit. "
This includes: passive, unfocused or unclear communication or hierarchy among team members, lack of consensus or goals, poor accountability to project deadlines or deliverables, leading people to feel as though they were constantly firefighting rather than working effectively and productively.
Lack of empathy and understanding.
Typified by responses like this:
"Unreasonable expectations. Often of the, "I want an answer today!" type, when the standard timeline is several days."
"When everyone needs everything RIGHT NOW. Clients don't care that you have other projects or other clients."
"Treating everything as an emergency, as a top priority, while less urgent items are ignored to become tomorrows' emergencies."
When coworkers or clients do not taking time to define their own goals, understand others' constraints, or coordinate shared project outcomes and timelines, the ensuing lack of clarity in communication seems to drive people nuts.
How do we stop this train wreck from happening?
Nope, wellness alone won't fix the underlying problems. This is something that even we at Recess have to grapple with as a wellness company. Perhaps the best advice we've had to offer in this arena is our own example. There is a quote by Thich Nhat Hanh that is displayed prominently in our office and included in every employee orientation at Recess.
"Our own life has to be our message."
Easier said than done. Especially if everyone at your company is communicating a different message. Getting everyone on the same page, unifying around a vision, mission, set of values and ways of doing business is hard work.
It means that at every level of the organization people need to be given time to work on the business as well as in the business and that all new hires, client acquisitions and business decisions must be constantly evaluated through this lens.
Cameron Herold was COO at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? His leadership helped build a presence in 46 states, 9 provinces, and 4 countries while being ranked the "2nd Best Company to Work for in Canada" by Canadian Business Magazine and "the #1 Company in BC to Work for" twice by BC Business Magazine.
During his tenure the company was studied by numerous MBA programs including Queen's University in Canada & Harvard. Click on Cameron's photo to hear his story.
He articulates in his talks the need for a broad and all encompassing vision that is then executed through a series of well orchestrated and disciplined internal processes and plans. Take a look at how that vision trickles down on a daily basis by clicking the photo to see a video of 1-800-Got-Junk's daily huddle.
Trying to implement suggestions like Cameron's can be difficult once organizational problems are endemic; however, doing so is probably the best way for an organization to achieve rapid business growth without churning and burning the exceptional employees and clients it worked so hard to find.
If you really want to eliminate workplace stress:
Define long term, mid term and short term goals based on vision.
Create systems that balance the skills, talents and availability of your workforce with a realistic plan for achieving your goals. This provides a basis for communicating your vision in a meaningful way to every person in your organization.
Manage the process. Track. Measure. Create structured and regular opportunities for employees to report on milestones, then get out of their way.
Of course the last bullet requires that you hire capable people who value your mission. Weed out employees, managers and clients who don't get it. Bad apples are like entropy inducing kryptonite for even the best run companies.
So while we don't want to discount the benefit that yoga and good health have on well being (after all we would be out of a job if that were the case), companies that wish to lessen the impact of stress should start by doing the difficult systemic work necessary to create a humane work culture.
Culture isn't something you can get through a workplace personalysis or a ropes course. Best management practices improve your company's bottom line and make work a more predictable, reliable and sane place for the people that keep your organization afloat.
Mention this coupon and receive a free additional class when you buy any group package through August 15, 2009. Find our group classes and pricing here.
