Do you have wellness at work?

Wellness at Work – A Positive Position for You and Your Business

What is wellness and why is it important at work? The National Wellness Association defines wellness as "an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence." That is something worth pursuing at a time when we need it more than ever for ourselves, our businesses and our community. Improving wellness can have a very positive effect on how we feel about ourselves and our lives.
Physical health is a component that we most often associate with wellness and it is the aspect that I will focus on the most. However, wellness is actually much broader than just physical health. Six interrelated aspects of human life are commonly known to comprise wellness and they are; emotional, intellectual, occupational, social, spiritual, and physical well-being. The more positive outlook you and your work associates have in all six categories, the more likely you are to experience personal and professional success. It is a proven fact that a high degree of wellness at work translates to many measureable characteristics of successful companies. “Well” companies show reduced absenteeism, improved productivity, reduction in health care costs and injuries, and improved employee morale and retention. Here are just a few examples taken from the research.
Reduced Absenteeism - reports show that healthier employees spend fewer days away from work due to illness, saving a company thousands and even millions of dollars on down time and temporary help.
· To prevent back injuries among its employees, a county in California offered classes and fitness training to all its workers. As a result, there was a significant decrease in sick days related to back injuries, producing a net cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 1.79.WELCOA – 1999
Reduced Health Care Costs - preventable illness makes up approximately 70% of the total costs of illness and because much of these costs are linked to health habits, it is possible for us as individuals and our companies to take action toward reducing health care utilization and costs.
A 1992 analysis of the employees of GE Aircraft showed that medical claims submitted by the company's fitness center members decreased by 27%, while claims made by non-members actually rose by 17%.
Worksite Health Promotion Economics, 1995
Cianbro, a general contracting company based in Maine, has shown that employees who participate in it’s Healthy Lifestyle Program have seen a substantial reduction in inactivity (those who do not participate in at least 30 minutes of activity per day), obesity, stress, tobacco use, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
WELCOA – 2006
Improved Productivity and Morale - Although not as easy to measure as a reduction in healthcare costs, improved employee productivity and morale can have a considerable impact on your business and its profitability.
Union Pacific Railroad found that 80% of its workers believed that the company's exercise program helped to increase their productivity and that 75% felt that regular exercise was helping them to concentrate better at work.Incentive, June 1995
An ideal “Well” worksite allows employees opportunities to improve their wellness and one easily accessible component to begin with is physical fitness. As you can see from the examples above participation in physical fitness can lead to benefits much broader than physical results. So, what are some activities that you or your company can do to increase participation in physical fitness and how can you be a catalyst for change? Here are some ideas:
Walk at your lunch hour by yourself or with a co-worker
Join a gym alone or with a family member or friend
Put an incentive program in place to inspire employees to exercise
Organize a fitness outing or teambuilding event for your worksite
Seek out organizations that specialize in corporate wellness or physical fitness training
Form a wellness committee at work
Sign up for fitness events as a staff (fun runs, Pole Pedal Paddle, etc…)

You may even think of more ideas than I’ve listed here and I hope that implementing them is something that you can do immediately so that you and your company can reap the many benefits of improved wellness in your workplace. Good luck with pursuing wellness and making your company a better place.

The Athletic Club of Bend offers Fitness Teambuilding for organizations and Corporate Fitness Training and Education. Find out more by contacting Fitness Director Jenny Anderson at 541-322-5821.

Sources:
http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2951/Defining-Health-Wellness.html
http://www.welcoa.org/

WIN $100. with the BOD POD!

The BOD POD is here May 14th - May 17th. The BOD POD is a very accurate way to measure percent body fat. Measure yourself now and then again at the end of July. We will reward the male and female who lose the most body fat in that time period with a check for $100. Great added motivation that can keep you fit this summer! Sign up for the BOD POD at the front desk.

Yeah! It's time to workout outside

Our classes and fitness workshops are now heading outdoors! Some summer workshops you can try are; Maximize the Water, High Intensity Training, Multi-sport Training, Better Body Bootcamp. Some group exercise classes you can try are; Sports Conditioning, RAW (Real Athletic Workout). See our class schedule and personal training schedule for more details!