Guidelines Needed For Gyms With Quality
Services, Ethics And Professionalism
How
do you
choose what gyms to promote to your employees or members while ensuring
quality services? And, how do you prevent any and every gym or studio
in your city or community from promoting their services by offering
“discounts” to your employees? These were questions
recently put to the members of the Wellness Manager Discussion Group.
Workplace Wellness Programs Can Help
Reduce Risk Factors For Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular
disease (CVD) and stroke are the leading causes of death in the United
States. The estimated expense associated with all heart disease
combined is $304.6 billion, with $24 and $98 billion due to lost
productivity from cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, respectively,
according to the American Heart Association (AHA) policy strategy on
worksite wellness programs for CVD prevention.
Online Wellness Program Offers
Tournament-Style Health Supports
An
online
program offered by Health Enhancement Systems (HES) called 5 on 5,
creates a way to track healthy eating habits in the format of a
basketball tournament.
Research By IBI Finds Health And
Productivity Programs Critical To U.S. Business Employees
Health
and
productivity management (HPM) programs are vital to business in the
U.S. "burdened with the declining health of their employees, growing
pressures of lost worktime, increasing healthcare costs and global
competition, and the uncertainty of healthcare reform," according to
the Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI).
What Strategies Do You Use To Measure
Employee Engagement In Workplace Wellness?
This
question was posed by a member of our Workplace Wellness Management
Group over on LinkedIn. It’s a good question.
When It Comes To Salary, Your Title Could
Mean $10,000 More
Wellness
professionals come in a variety of titles and responsibilities. But
that title carries significant weight salary-wise, according to an
analysis of titles and salaries reported for the Wellness
Professionals’ Salary and Benefits Survey.
What’s New on Our Wellness
Management Facebook Page
Take
advantage of the range of useful tips, news updates, even
workplace wellness videos online at our Wellness
Management Information Center on Facebook. There is no cost
to join. New information is uploaded just about every day.
Following A Healthy Lifestyle Is On
Decline In U.S.
Despite
the
well-known benefits of having a lifestyle that includes physical
activity, eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, maintaining a
healthy weight, moderate alcohol use and not smoking, only a small
proportion of adults follow this healthy lifestyle pattern, and in
fact, the numbers are declining, according to an article published in
the June 2009 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
Repeatedly Working When Ill Boosts Risk Of
Long Term Sick Leave
Repeatedly
going to work when ill significantly boosts the chances of having to
take long term sick leave later on, reveals research published ahead of
print in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Preparing Your Workplace for a Possible
Swine Flu Pandemic
After
years
of worry about a possible avian flu pandemic, the United States instead
now faces a swine flu outbreak that has caused the government to
declare a public health emergency.
Few Employers Addressing Workplace Stress,
Watson Wyatt Surveys Find
While
employers acknowledge that stress is affecting business performance,
few are taking steps to address it, according to two surveys by Watson
Wyatt Worldwide.
New Study Shows Older Employees Are
Healthiest
A
new study
by ComPsych Corporation revealed more than half of workers in their 60s
have healthy diets, compared to only 17.7 percent of employees in their
30s.
Flexible Work Schedules Top Employee
ProductivityWish List
Asked
to name
the one benefit program that would make them more productive on the
job, an overwhelming majority of respondents (63 percent) cited a
"flexible work schedule" – the top reply to a recent poll by
LifeCare Inc.
Employees Reveal Why They Work When Sick
A
sense of
obligation to co-workers is the number one reason people go to work
when they are sick, according to a new poll by LifeCare Inc., a
provider of comprehensive specialty care services.
Depression Screening And Treatment Lowers
Employer Costs
Screening
and
treating workplace depression can lead to increased productivity and a
decrease in employer costs, according to a new study funded by the
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Different Psychosocial Factors Predict
Adoption, Maintenance Of Physical Activity Program
The
health
benefits of regular physical activity are well documented, yet only 32
percent of adults in the United States engage in regular exercise. Now
a new study by researchers at The Miriam Hospital offers some new
insight into the role of social and environmental influences on
physical activity behaviors.
Workplace Ergonomics May Lead To Higher
Productivity, Wellness Professional Asserts
The
concept
of "workplace ergonomics" is foreign to many businesses, but is
important to employee health and satisfaction, according to Sue
Peterson, M.S., manager of employee health and wellness at Microsoft
Corp., Redmond, Wash.
Employers Refocus Strategies To Promote
Wellness
After
decades of focusing on health coverage as the exclusive avenue of
providing financial protection against medical costs, employers are
starting to shift to a focus on wellness and prevention, according to
the recent MetLife Annual Employee Benefits Trend
Study.
Smoke-Free Workplace, Non-Smoking Spouse
Help Smokers Quit
A
smoke-free workplace plays a key role in long-term success for young
adults who quit smoking, according to Indiana University (IU) research.
Management Report: Obesity Costs U.S.
Companies as Much as $45 Billion a Year
The
rate of
obesity in the United States has doubled in the last 30 years, and
those extra pounds weigh on companies’ bottom lines,
according to
a report by the Conference Board. Today, 34 percent of American adults
fit the definition of "obese." Obese employees cost U.S. private
employers an estimated $45 billion annually in medical expenditures and
work loss, the report said.
Motivating Employees Always A Challenging
Goal, Managers Say
Motivating
and incenting employees to participate in their
organization’s
wellness programs is a much cited chief concern of wellness and health
promotion professionals responding to the Workplace Wellness Management
Survey, sponsored by WellnessJunction.
Practical Tips for Getting Your Employees
Internally Motivated Toward Wellness
Motivating
employees to participate in wellness programs consistently tops the
list of problems for wellness professionals each year, according to our
exclusive Wellness
Management Leadership Surveys.
Active Listening Essential for Wellness
Professionals – at Work and Home
After
a rough
day at work — placing others people’s problems into
perspective — you may be faced with communication conflicts
at
home as well. For that reason, effective communication is a
must!
Wellness Manager Professional Discussion
Group Fosters Information Sharing
Inter-office
weight loss challenges, fitness center membership incentives, wellness
and disease management, health risk assessments, indicators of success,
have all been among the information-sharing topics by members of the Wellness Manager Online
Discussion Group.
Online Resources To Help Wellness Managers
With Smoking Cessation Programs
Wellness
managers have a wealth of professional information on all aspects of
smoking cessation programs at their fingertips courtesy of
WellnessJunction.com and Wellness Program Management
Advisor.
HPM Bootcamp Program To Stamp Out
Healthcare Problems
Keeping
people healthy is crucial to how well business will succeed today and
in the times to come, according to Health & Productivity
Management
Advisors Inc. (HPM). To help kick-start the strong relationship needed
between employee health and productivity in America’s
workplace,
HPM has launched a hands-on approach for employees –
a boot
camp.”
16-Week Wellness Program Targets Hawaii
Local Community
Take
It Off Hawaii
is a wellness program that encourages residents of the Hilo area of
Hawaii to improve the health of the community and is sponsored by the
Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA).”
Coalition Launches Wellness Seminar
The
Wellness
Coalition America debuted a new series of educational and interactive
seminars for adults called “For the Health of It: Optimizing
Wellness.”
Insight For Workplace Wellness Managers:
What Motivates Employees to Change Lifestyle Behavior
While
nearly half (44 percent) of all employees considered themselves in
above average health, a surprising few (one in five employees) actually
adhere to the minimum standards of healthy eating, including consuming
one serving of whole grain and fruit each day, found a recent national
survey. And, only one in two employees undertake minimal physical
activity such as walking or gardening for ten minutes at least four
days a week.
Health Plan Includes Telephone And Online
Wellness/Health Improvement Programs
Health
Partners has expanded its mail-based services to include telephonic and
online health behavior change programs. The service is open to non-plan
members as well as members within the Health Partners’
network, according to Jackie Boucher, manager of phone initiatives and
outcomes advisor for the health plan’s Health Behavior Group.
Resources, Tips, Sharing, And Helpful
Hints Are Useful Benefits of Wellness Manager Discussion Group
Membership
Pedometers,
HRA resources, on-line wellness education resources, fitness center
management software, signage to promote walking, guidelines for a
wellness visit, studies on stress and workplace outcomes wellness
committees, and discussion of a wellness strategic plan were among the
recent discussion topics among members of the online Wellness
Manager Discussion Group.
West Virginia's Well City USA
Well
City USA
is an initiative that evolved out of the Well Workplace Awards. Similar
in approach, the objective of Well City USA is to engage entire
business communities in building healthy workforces, according to the
Wellness Council of West Virginia (WCWV).
Link To Our Site Offers Chance To Spread
Wellness Message to Employees, Staff
Wellness
managers looking for low-cost ways to enhance their wellness programs
are encouraged to link to the Wellness Junction Web site, free of
charge, at www.wellnessjunction.com.
Workplace Injuries And Illnesses Decrease,
DOL Says
The
number of
workplace injuries and illnesses has declined, and the U.S. Department
of Labor (DOL) expects the reductions to continue......
|
