Sometimes in the dark months of winter it takes a little extra motivation to get out the door and get moving. And we know that one of our favorite little motivators (after a canine or human companion) is comfortable and attractive workout gear! Recess will be giving away an attractive, high performance marathon half-zip top (worth $85!) from lucy to one lucky newsletter/blog reader.
All you have to do to win is:
Forward our newsletter to a friend, or, comment on our blogbefore December 12, 2008. One lucky person will be chosen at random and the winner will be announced on our blog.
Dr. John Medina is a developmental molecular biologist and research consultant. He is an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University.
So what does this guy who knows a lot about brains, and not just because his is obviously pretty high powered, have to say about how to optimize our brains for work, play and study? Exercise. Yes. Not only does Medina show that exercise is the number one rule for brain health (hint: when our brain was designed regular movement was a fact of life for humans), but he strenuously emphasizes that our modern, sedentary work environment is actually hurting brain performance.
The US's labor landscape continues to undergo dramatic shifts. Manufacturing jobs are fading fast as the rise of the service economy dominates the landscape.
"It's good for us to displace low-wage, manual kinds of labor with higher-skill, higher-tech, higher-education-content labor," says Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President William Poole, who compares what's happening with the decline in agricultural employment of the early 20th century. The problem is we are treating service based workers like factory workers.
Workers' brain capacity is, at its core, the very product most service based companies sell; however, the sedentary cube land structured like a car assembly line is one of the least conducive set-ups for brain function.
In a Fast Company article provocatively titled "Why We Hate HR" Keith Hammonds writes, "In a knowledge economy, companies that have the best talent win. We all
know that. Human resources execs should be making the most of our,
well, human resources -- finding the best hires, nurturing the stars,
fostering a productive work environment -- just as IT runs the
computers and finance minds the capital. HR should be joined to
business strategy at the hip."
Creative, effective ways to mobilize wellness at work will be central to revolutionizing the effectiveness and productivity of the knowledge-based worker. Corporate wellness efforts for such companies cannot simply be seen as a small fluff program for the motivated few who thrill at the thought of spandex leggings, step aerobics in the lunch room, or a gym membership on the company dime.
Companies that want to win create a wellness brand and culture. You heard that right. They are not content with higgeldy piggeldy programs that sporadically pepper the company newsletter, but mostly rot in some dark corner of the organization far outside the view or interest of major decision makers and with lame participation rates hovering between 5-30%. Companies that use wellness creatively are cultivating a serious human and business advantage and like anything they work to their advantage expect to produce and defend serious results.
Do you love lucy? No, not Lucille Ball. We mean lucy.com.If you or someone you know loves lucy's comfortable and attractive gear then now is your chance to win some of your own. Over the next month we will be drawing names at random of people who forward our email newsletter and comment on our blog. Those lucky folks will get some nifty lucy gear. All you have to do is keep an eye on our blog. Start posting your comments and questions now and keep watch for more details!
