Engagement Culture….Parsing the Synergistic Facets of Employee Engagement
Talent engagement is a process – Analyzing the engagement culture encourages us to scientifically identify the angles of creating employee engagement. Creating an engagement culture with health, checks off many boxes on the corporate wish list.
It’s common knowledge that employee engagement is imperative to the success of an organization. Engaged employees work harder, much better retention, more conscientious, become brand ambassadors, are more loyal…and let’s face it – are much more of a pleasure to work with.
ABCD:
Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
We can look at different organizations and see various levels of engagement, or even within the same organization…..By analyzing the multi-faceted dynamic components of our engagement culture, we understand how there is a synergy between multiple forces. These forces will vary by ages and stages…keeping our eyes on these moving parts, will help us promote health engagement and the engagement culture much more scrupulously. Focusing the engagement culture through health, just makes sense. We can almost interchange the words healthy and engaged, so let’s accomplish both.
The Kinetics of the Engagement Culture….
Physiological…Endorphin = Endogenous Morphine – aka “runners High” physiologically feel a thrill from engagement
Psychological: Adds meaning and a “feels right” in our minds⇒our mind is happily immersed
The Self: This fits the person I want to aspire to be. The drive toward self actualization
Socially: We are an important part of the pack – we are pack animals
Emotional: Helps us feel balanced from the engagement.
Feelings of purpose, pride, progress, connection, meaning, inspiration and loyalty
Incentivizing: Appropriately Incentivizing will always support the journey to engagement
Intellectual: We are doing this for good reason, it is healthy…..building health literacy is an important aspect of intellectual engagement
Organizational: Time, integrating the behaviors we want to reinforce into our lives, comfortably and unobtrusively. Ultimately, these new behaviors will help our our flow, they are not going to interfere with my many demands and responsibilities
Family: This engagement culture will carry over to my family – it will enhance and support family life, not make me feel like I have to choose between work and family. A 2014 employee engagement study found respondents (89%) would try a sustainability tactic at home that was introduced at work. The results emphasize how powerful the workplace can be in driving broader behavioral change and impact.
Mood: We are all in better moods, because there is an engagement culture
Competitive Edge: Healthy competition is an intrinsic motivator. Leverage it – corporate challenges are key to engagement!
Consistently Evolving….No – Not an Oxymoron. Just like we should always shake up our exercise, keep engagement fresh, new & exciting
Requited…Like a romantic drama, our commitment needs to be reciprocated
Intrigue…A quest for more…..Intrigue keeps us coming back for more
Fun: According to the 2016 Global Corporate Challenge, “The connection is clear: happy employees are high performing employees”
We can’t look for one almighty answer for engagement. Engagement tactics are also going to vary employee demographics – our reach and appeal needs to be flexible and adaptable. People above the age of 40 might be looking for more physiological cues – feeling better, not feeling so rusty getting up in the morning – where as those below thirty might be more engaged by the incentivizing, wearable technology, thrills……
Willis Tower’s Watson’s Global Benefits Attitude survey found that the 56% of employees believe their employer now has a role to play in helping them live healthier lifestyles and 3/5 employees view managing their health as a top priority in their life. Cultivating a culture of wellness is a cornerstone in the engagement culture.
Corporate health programs…what a wonderful way to affordably make the world a happier, healthier place.
Shira Litwack – The Corporate Happy Place medical fitness professional, Cancer Exercise Specialist , Medical Exercise Specialist, Holistic Nutritionist
Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health
Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 12 years:
Articles featured in: European Registry of Exercise Professionals, The National Post, Investment Executive Magazine, Directory of Greater Toronto, Canadian Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, Prostate Cancer Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Anytime Fitness, Today’s Black Woman, Today’s Seniors, Medical Fitness Network, FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Willow (Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support),Myeloma Canada, Cancer Exercise Training Institute, Urban Poling for Breast Cancer, ROW – Recovery on Water for Breast Cancer, Sirius XM Doctor Radio
Effects of Diabetes – Diabetes Sucks the Life out of Us
The Multigenerational Effects of Diabetes – Physiologically, emotionally, financially, community
Diabetes is all about our master hormone Insulin, and mostly caused by our lifestyles, insulin resistance. Insulin helps control blood glucose levels by signaling the liver and muscle and fat cells to take in glucose from the blood. Insulin therefore helps cells to take in glucose to be used for energy. A lack of insulin or a losing the ability to respond to insulin (insulin resistance) leads to diabetes. Insulin is our master hormone, and masters our health.
Yes diabetes sucks, it can suck the life out of us physically, emotionally and financially. The vast majority of type 2 diabetes is a product of lifestyle. Lifestyle choices are passed down in families with a far greater influence than genetics. Given our continuing diabetes epidemic – we can most efficiently break this deadly trend educating larger populations – communities and companies.
The National Diabetes Statistics Report is a publication of the CDC providing updated statistics about diabetes in the United States. The data is collected from hundreds of sources around the country. Data here is from the 2017 report:
30.3 million people, 9.4% of the U.S. population—had diabetes in 2015
This total included 30.2 million adults aged 18 years or older (12.2% of all U.S. adults), of which 7.2 million (23.8%) were unaware of or did not report having diabetes
The percentage of adults with diabetes increased with age, reaching a high of 25.2% among those aged 65 years or older
33.9% of U.S. adults aged 18 years or older (84.1 million people) had prediabetes in 2015, based on their fasting glucose or A1C level. Nearly half (48.3%) of adults aged 65 years or older had prediabetes
Among U.S. adults aged 20 years or older with diagnosed diabetes, the estimated crude prevalence of chronic kidney disease (stages 1–4) was 36.5%
In 2014, a total of 52,159 people developed end-stage renal disease with diabetes as the primary cause
Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2015
Financial Effects of Diabetes
The total direct and indirect estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2012 was $245 billion
Average medical expenditures for people with diagnosed diabetes were about $13,700 per year. About $7,900 of this amount was attributed to diabetes
After adjusting for age group and sex, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were about 2.3 times higher than expenditures for people without diabetes
The Effects of Diabetes
Diabetic complications are far reaching:
Because diabetes ravages the blood vessels and nerves, there are no limits at all to how much of the body can be destroyed. Diabetes most directly attacks heart health, kidneys, eyes, risk of stroke. Because diabetes effects the nerves, it can destroy mobility, digestion…..and yes memory. High blood glucose levels, over a number of years, can damage the nerves, including those of the brain, which increases the risk of dementia.
Having diabetes can also cause a mental health condition called diabetes distress. This condition shares some elements of depression, mood swings, anxiety, and stress. An estimated 33 to 50 percent of people with diabetes experience diabetes distress at some point during the course of their disease.
We feel better – diabetic and non diabetics – when we control our blood sugar.
10 Steps to Preventing and Managing Diabetes
Quit smoking – and yes – lower exposure to second hand and third hand smoke
Manage Body fat levels: Body fat releases some nasty hormones creating havoc with the endocrine system
Drink water…Try not so much at meal time as it can dilute precious digestive enzymes – rather in between meals.
Muscles are your BFF in life: All exercise and regular bouts of physical activity through out the day are imperative for every aspect of mental and physical health – but muscles are NOT just for body builders. Muscles are a critical contributor to metabolism & endocrine regulation – Muscles are imperative for blood sugar control. A nasty reality of life called sarcopenia – loss of muscle mass with age – aka use it or lose it – it a perfect explanation for increase risk of diabetes as we age. It is well proven people well into there nineties and centenarians can build muscle.
Nutrition: Yes to control blood sugar, but nutrition to support exercise and muscle growth. Understand glycemic Index. Unfortunately it is not law in North America to label glycemic index, but it is in many countries of the world. I’ve linked my interview with Dr. David Jenkins – father of the glycemic index
sleep well Restorative sleep – a critical component to hormone regulation
Go for regular diagnostics to our healthcare professionals
We should all know our blood sugar levels – dialogue with your healthcare professionals, review your blood tests with them. Knowing certain basic biomarkers is more vital than knowing our weight.
With all of our wonderful wearable technology – we now have devices that track valuable biomarkers of health in non invasive ways, while enjoying the fun and healthy competition of wearable trackers. Clearly – these devices do NOT replace medical diagnostics – but they can sure help us have more educated, informed conversations with our healthcare professionals.
Managing prediabetes is a great lifestyle – Unfortunately we live in a world that is very supportive of diabetes – with all of our information on controlling and preventing diabetes – we are enveloped in a world that provides an endless supply of high sugar nutritionally deprived carbohydrates, and an inaccurate view of how to be physically active and to get exercise. It is also a great way to prevent many of our other chronic illnesses – including many cancers, heart disease….. The effects of diabetes can be so insidious, the connection is frequently overlooked. We need to focus on targeting large populations of people – so we can start passing down healthier lifestyle habits as part of our legacy.
Corporate health programs…what a wonderful way to affordably make the world a happier, healthier place. Effective corporate wellness programs preventing the devastation from the effects of diabetes
Shira Litwack – The Corporate Happy Place medical fitness professional, Cancer Exercise Specialist , Medical Exercise Specialist, Holistic Nutritionist
Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health
Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 12 years:
Articles featured in: ezines, ArticlesInk, European Registry of Exercise Professionals, The National Post, Investment Executive Magazine, Directory of Greater Toronto, Canadian Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, Prostate Cancer Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Anytime Fitness, Today’s Black Woman, Today’s Seniors, Medical Fitness Network, FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Willow (Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support),Myeloma Canada, Cancer Exercise Training Institute, Urban Poling for Breast Cancer, ROW – Recovery on Water for Breast Cancer, Sirius XM Doctor Radio
Health Tracking – The #1 Way to Promote Proactive Healthcare
Health tracking is the most motivating, effective form of health support. I am devastated when I see articles knocking them down, even if unintentionally. Not all forms of health tracking are equal in terms of data or capabilities. However, fitness trackers are powerful, and even if certain trackers may slack in certain areas – an all or none approach in anything, loses many people.
In my many years of medical fitness, corporate health….I have worked with thousands of people who feel helpless or just too busy and stressed to think about their health. I have also seen the power of fitness trackers, healthy competition -both with themselves and others.
Our wearable devices have come a very long way from the plastic pedometers in the Special K box of cereal. The variation between devices is immense. My goal here is to help sort through using the trackers effectively for adherence and sustainability, and choosing the right tracker for you or your employees.
Just an fyi…..I have looked over many of the lists comparing available health trackers……very few of these lists present all the trackers available….I don’t know…..Maybe they don’t want to compare their favoured tracker to possible competition – beware. The truth is – when choosing a tracker – know the truth – know what is important to you. What biometrics and activity would you like to track? What do you find the most motivating? What is within your budget? Some of the more celebrated devices do NOT supply the most thorough data, and are very expensive. Make your choice based on science and fact, not marketing budgets.
February 2017 study: HERO ( Health Enhancement Research Organization) Wearables in Wellness Case Study Report:
BP started incorporating wearables in 2013. More than 75% of eligible participants enrol in the company’s annual “Million Step Challenge,” and 79% reach their goal.
HERO report makes clear, wearables are most effective when employers understand their role in a larger wellness initiative………….“We see a lot of promise in the use of wearables as a component of a comprehensive workplace wellness program,” says Jessica Grossmeier, vice president of research for HERO. “Early research supports that a device, on its own, will not change health behaviors over the long term.”
Provide ongoing enhancements to program design and engagement strategies, never allowing the program to feel stale.
Keep programs relevant and fresh by responding to program evaluation data and employee feedback to continuously improve your approach.
Develop goals and objectives for your program and leverage available wearables data to evaluate achievement of those goals.
Its unfortunate but the calorie somehow stole the spotlight with health and fitness. Yes, we must watch our calorie intake, and try to make sure the calories we consume feed us the nutrition we need. However, lets take a look at the painfully oversimplified equation:
It’s Complicated….Very Complicated
Calories IN − Calories Burned ➾ we lose weight or gain weight
If only life were so simple….the truth is knowing these variables accurately……NO
It became very popular for many years for cardio respiratory equipment – treadmills,
ellipticals, stair climbers, bikes…..to provide “calories burned”. This number is calculated based on the weight entered at the start of the workout, age, sometimes heart rate, duration of workout, effort…..et voila – we are told the calories we burned. Again – this is calculated based on some generalized superficial data, not on the individual and their metabolic rate and other unique data such as lean muscle mass or our basal metabolic rate.
Perhaps, in our wellness programs we should focus on optimizing our metabolism by fine tuning the many factors that sabotage our best efforts. Track those variables and behaviors. Many of our “best intentions” to improve our health – actually back fire on us – causing metabolic mayhem.
Many fitness trackers do not gather the data necessary to give an accurate number of calories burned – thats totally OK – however, do not depend on this number in making health decisions. Example: Your fitness tracker told you that you just burned 1,000 calories in that 1 hour at the gym……that, sorry to burst your bubble, is not very likely. Please don’t go out and have a hunk of red velvet cake based on those numbers.
A recent study by Stanford researchers demonstrated that most fitness trackers are not accurate with calorie expenditure data. As explained above, calorie expenditure is a calculated value – determined by a number of biomarkers. If the tracker does not measure those variables – it is not going to provide the most accurate measure of calorie expenditure. If accurate calorie expenditure is the important feature of health tracking for you, choose a tracker that measures the pertinent data to make that calculation.
Physical Inactivity is the new smoking. We need to get people physically active for mind, body and soul, for the future of our children and the future of our economy. Health tracking promotes:
a solid pivotal position for creating wellness programs
creating health challenges and healthy competition motivating adherence
camaraderie
corporate health culture
family health
healthy lifestyle choices
good moods and happy hormones
I am in awe that we have the technology to really monitor our health – of course wearable devices are not a replacement of medical advice and diagnostics – but they are an incredible way to take charge of our health, and finally make that move from our society of sick care to a society of true health care.
Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health
Shira Litwack, medical fitness professional, Cancer Exercise Specialist , Medical Exercise Specialist, Holistic Nutritionist
Employee Wellness Toronto, Ontario – But offered worldwide!
Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 12 years:
Articles featured in: ezines, ArticlesInk, European Registry of Exercise Professionals, The National Post, Investment Executive Magazine, Directory of Greater Toronto, Canadian Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, Prostate Cancer Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Anytime Fitness, Today’s Black Woman, Today’s Seniors, Medical Fitness Network, FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Willow (Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support),Myeloma Canada, Cancer Exercise Training Institute, Urban Poling for Breast Cancer, ROW – Recovery on Water for Breast Cancer, Sirius XM Doctor Radio
Corporate Responsibility Through Preventative Healthcare
Enabling corporate responsibility is our duty as anyone who services the corporate world… third party advisors, HROs and yes, corporate wellness providers. We lead people to healthier, happier more productive lives, fulfilling on many levels a large part of corporate responsibility. Connecting employee health to larger societal health is vital. We all know the studies, healthy employees are more productive, less absenteeism and presenteeism. … As a company develops a more holistic understanding of how health and wellness are linked to other important social and environmental challenges, and business challenges, it creates an awakening to the many intricacies and facets of employee health. Where many corporate health models sabotage their own success – is weak follow through.
presenting in a manner that is supportive of participation
enabling implementation and adherence
incentivizing ➪for continual support and adherence & creating a corporate health culture
Our current model of healthcare is sick care, and sadly, employers are drowning by following this same path. Health care dollars are usurped from a reactive, episodic acute care model, and of course the long term needs and dollars of chronic care. We can find different dollar values thrown around, depending on which of the thousands of costs are being tallied, but suffice it to say chronic care costs, between care and lost productivity hundreds of billions yearly.
The massive opportunity for the health of society and our economy:
Preventive healthcare
Leading healthier lives (which is a sweeping statement) and stopping the onset of illness is the holy grail of healthcare transformation and sustainability. It is the ultimate investment companies can make. We all agree we are only as strong, resilient and energized as our people.
In terms of corporate health, the model of preventive care can be further defined for implementation and precision:
•Proactive care solutions: Providing solid, science based knowledge of healthier living, helping employees with implementation, adherence, provides a health centric motivating environment to respect the endless value of health. A proactive approach also ensures that preventive action is taken to intervene well before the onset of symptoms, far before illness. Proactive health should not be confused with diagnostics, which are a part of proactive health, but certainly not the only aspect of a proactive process.
•Predictive care solutions leverage cutting-edge health technologies and sophisticated gathering of data to not only stratify risk, but even predict risk and intervene even further upstream. This can be done through effective health risk assessments (HRA), metrics and reporting from the proactive tools. Predictive care solutions available and are a lost opportunity for health when not implemented. With the increased collection of personal health and lifestyle data and improved analytics, we can generate accurate insights earlier. This allows us to anticipate issues, pinpointing where behavioural intervention is needed and provide actions to take before risk factors even arise.
NCD: Non-infectious and non-transmissible diseases that may be caused by genetic or
Breakdown NCD: Courtesy World Economic Forum
behavioral factors and generally have a slow progression (could have been incubating for years in which hopefully identified and prevented) and long duration. These include cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. According to the CDC, 80% of chronic illness is lifestyle, behavioral, however, people need to be made aware of what many of these behaviors and exposures are.
According to a study released in 2011 by the World Economic Forum, Harvard School of Public Health “The U.S. Government and Global Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Efforts”:
NCDs are the leading causes of death and disability globally, killing more than three in five people worldwide and responsible for nearly half of the global burden of disease.
Among the leading causes of preventable illness and related disability
Cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes account for about 80% of NCD deaths
NCDs are responsible for 3.9 million deaths each year in the Region of the Americas, representing 3⁄4 of all deaths.
An estimated 200 million people in the Americas are living with NCDs, which has a tremendous impact on their life, well-being, and ability to work. This, in turn, poses major challenges to the economy, the health system and other sectors of society.
If modifiable risk factors (behavioral) were eliminated, 80% of all heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes would be prevented and over 40% of cancer would be prevented.
The causes of NCDs and their risk factors are largely determined by the social, physical and economic environment. Thus, combating NCDs requires action on the social determinants in a person’s environment, not just healthcare. Creating healthy environments and making healthy choices available and known, are critical.
Just a scary stat: Diabetes and Insulin, our master hormone: $245 Billion, Annually . Diabetes is 90% preventable
Conclusion from World Economic Forum study on Non Communicable Diseases:
A final thought: Economic policy-makers are naturally concerned about economic growth. The evidence presented in this report indicates that it would be illogical and irresponsible to care about economic growth and simultaneously ignore NCDs. Interventions in this area will undeniably be costly. But inaction is likely to be far more costly.”
Corporate wellness programs are potentially an affordable, very effective way to reduce the economic, personal and social burden of illness. Shifting to a preventive paradigm requires a holistic and employee-centred approach that involves participation and dedication from employers and employees. Again, we need to provide programs that
Provide solid science
Assess employee needs
Is supportive of corporate responsibility
Teach, don’t preach
Interaction on numerous levels vital to learning and sustainability
Creates camaraderie & passion to infuse the corporate health culture
Inclusive of the science of change and behavioral modification
Implementation – providing employees the guidance for adherence, work/life integration, organization and time
Is inclusive of family support
Incentivize the employee for participation in a manner that is supportive of the employee’s health efforts and the health centric environment of the company
It HAS to be fun, invigorating, encouraging…not another miserable obligation and time demand in the employee’s life
Follow the hard science. A number of vague studies have been released stating that proactive health and wellness programs do not really impact the corporate bottom line. Where these myopic snapshot falls short…. …what are they measuring? Do they have an accurate, measurable value, scientific means of data collection as to illnesses that were prevented? Were they categorizing all corporate wellness initiatives into one lump? What were the measures of adherence? For these studies to deny the impact of preventative health education and implementation, is to deny greater studies lead by global health researchers and organizations….. Science proves that a strong proactive model for health which preempts illness, acute and chronic, is vital for health and economics.
World Health Organization on Corporate Responsibility:
Courtesy World Health Organization
“The workplace directly influences the physical, mental, economic and social well-being of workers and in turn the health of their families, communities and society. It offers an ideal setting and infrastructure to support the promotion of health of a large audience. The health of workers is also affected by non-work related factors.”
“A health-promoting workplace recognizes that a healthy workforce is essential and integrates policies, systems and practices conducive to health at all levels of the organization. Rather than a series of projects, workforce health promotion is an ongoing process for improving work and health.”
Providing health information is a start, but only a start. Corporate responsibility affects: shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees and their families, communities, financiers, society…..and of course their own survival. The impact of health is omnipotent.
Corporate Responsibility with Health….Best In Corporate Health
The supplement like a flu shot against oxidative stress…..
Why are we not controlling chronic illness? We must control the wildfire of inflammation and lower oxidative stress. We know oxidative stress is at the root of chronic illness such as cancer, heart disease, depression, diabetes, arthritis….. inflammation ages us and leaves us susceptible to disease. ….We take a flu shot to prevent the flu – one simple supplement to lower your oxidative stress by as much as 40%. 7 patents, 24 peer reviewed studies on pubmed, accolades from American Heart Association, Mayo Clinic, National Institute on Aging….Washington State: “may well become the most extraordinary therapeutic and most extraordinary preventative breakthrough in the history of medicine.”
Shira Litwack, medical fitness professional, Cancer Exercise Specialist , Medical Exercise Specialist, Holistic Nutritionist
Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health
Employee Wellness Toronto, Ontario – But offered worldwide!
Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 12 years:
Articles featured in: ezines, ArticlesInk, European Registry of Exercise Professionals, The National Post, Investment Executive Magazine, Directory of Greater Toronto, Canadian Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, Prostate Cancer Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Anytime Fitness, Today’s Black Woman, Today’s Seniors, Medical Fitness Network, FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Willow (Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support),Myeloma Canada, Cancer Exercise Training Institute, Urban Poling for Breast Cancer, ROW – Recovery on Water for Breast Cancer, Sirius XM Doctor Radio
Cancer Awareness – Measuring ROI in Lives and Dollars
February is National Cancer Awareness Month. Newly released data from the American Cancer Society, for 2016, reports:
1,685,210 new cancer diagnoses
595,690 cancer deaths
According to the CDC, 75% of chronic illness can be adjusted with lifestyle – however, where this fall shorts is a completely incomplete explanation of lifestyle. We all know certain basics – Don’t smoke, eat right & exercise. That’s great – but even if we are following that advice, it falls painfully short – and we are all left wondering …why do we still get sick.
According to 2014 research from IBI, Integrated Benefit Institute, a leading workforce health and productivity research and measurement organization, cancer costs businesses $19,000/100 employees per year.
Cancer Costs:
In lost work time & treatment: $19,000/100 employees/year
Lost work time and presenteeism $10,000/ 100 workers
Medical and pharmacy treatments $9,100
Absent 3.8 more days per year
Lose the equivalent of 1.8 more days per year to presenteeism.
At any given time, about 1/4 of employees with a history of cancer are in treatment.
Employees with cancer have an average of approximately four other conditions that complicate care management strategies
Impact on productivity, co-morbid conditions:
depression (16% of employees with cancer)
chronic fatigue (22%)
obesity (19%)
anxiety (14%)
chronic back or neck pain (23%)
high cholesterol (30%)
and hypertension (24%).
“Cancers present complex challenges for the workplace. At a basic, human level, a cancer diagnosis is a frightening, sometimes emotionally devastating, event. It is natural that co-workers and supervisors will want to provide support to a friend and colleague when told he or she has cancer. At the same time, balancing privacy and workplace accommodation is a critical, but sensitive, issue. Many employees with cancer will frequently feel too sick to work, while others report that remaining on the job keeps them ‘connected’ and provides a sense of routine as they undergo treatment,”
(Past) IBI President Tom Parry, PhD.
At the root of all of our chronic illnesses is the reality of oxidative stress, and a resulting condition of chronic inflammation. Nurturing our cell-being – sadly, is not incorporated into employee wellness programs, except at Best In Corporate Health, aka, Cell-Being.com.
Oxidative Stress – The Root Cause of Chronic Illness
Oxidative Stress:The imbalance between the production of free radicals in the body and the ability of the body to neutralize / detoxify their harmful effects with antioxidants. Some chemistry geek – Free Radicals: A molecule that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell ….Reactive Oxygen Species. Our redox state, the balance in our body between free radicals and antioxidants, determines the status of our inner biology, our cell-being. Uncontrolled oxidative stress can lead to inflammation – which a certain amount is necessary – however chronic inflammation has been proven to be at the root of all of our chronic illnesses….cancer, diabetes, heart disease, depression, Alzheimers, macular degeneration, respiratory, our ability to focus, mood disturbances, autoimmune disease……….
Cancer awareness is all health awareness. Building cancer awareness into our employee wellness programs will provide a brilliant ROI, measured in both dollars, and lives.
Author…..Living a Life to Prevent Cancer is the Healthiest Lifestyle of all…..
Shira Litwack, medical fitness professional, Cancer Exercise Specialist , Medical Exercise Specialist, Holistic Nutritionist, Corporate Health Provider
Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health
Employee Wellness Toronto, Ontario – But offered worldwide!
Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 12 years:
Articles featured in: ezines, ArticlesInk, European Registry of Exercise Professionals, The National Post, Investment Executive Magazine, Directory of Greater Toronto, Canadian Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, Prostate Cancer Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Anytime Fitness, Today’s Black Woman, Today’s Seniors, Medical Fitness Network, FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Willow (Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support),Myeloma Canada, Cancer Exercise Training Institute, Urban Poling for Breast Cancer, ROW – Recovery on Water for Breast Cancer, Sirius XM Doctor Radio
Cost of Smoking Employees A Quantitative Study by Micah Berman
The cost of smoking – very few actually crunch the numbers so Micah Berman has done it for you. You will say – time to implement an quit smoking program.
A June 2013 study by our guest Professor Micah Berman of Ohio State U reveals the costs of employees who smoke is far greater than estimated by the CDC years ago. The average cost burden of a smoker to the employer is approaching $6,000/year greater than a never smoked employee. Professor Berman’s data is crucial to companies considering implementing a smoking cessation program. Professor Berman will be delving into the data with us, and discussing the legalities & intricacies of encouraging smoking cessation programs, or choosing to not hire employees that smoke.
Beginning this summer, Micah Berman is joining the faculty of Ohio State University as an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the College of Public Health and Moritz College of Law. Prior to joining Ohio State, Micah taught law school at New England Law | Boston, where he founded the Center for Public Health and Tobacco Policy. The Center provides legal and policy support to state and local public health programs in New York State and Vermont. Previously, Micah established and directed the Tobacco Public Policy Center at Capital University Law School, which worked with Ohio’s tobacco control program. In addition to working with state and local governments, Micah has served as a senior advisor to the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products and as a member of the NIH Director’s Council of Public Representatives. Micah received a J.D. with distinction from Stanford Law School and a B.A. in Public Policy from Brandeis University
Bottom line:
Companies Pay Almost $6,000 Extra Per Year for Each Employee Who Smokes
Ouch
SO I know this could start a brawl – but it does beg the question – why would companies hire smokers? – yes it is an addiction – but it is still a voluntary behavior. Businesses are increasingly adopting smoking related policies, everyone of us knows the challenge of meeting budgets….so I think we can all understand why this is such an important study with profound impact.
Best In Corporate Health….quit smoking part of our corporate wellness programs. Let us look after employee wellness!
Coupling is a skill that affects workplace wellness just as a functioning family.
Family life, roles have changed drastically over the last couple of generations.
The two most significant work trends affecting American businesses and families in recent years:
The exponential growth of two-income families
and
increasing levels of job stress
The #1 failure of a corporate health process is not including spouses in the process
Having one stressed-out spouse can harm couple’s work and home lives — but what about when it’s both?…and then there is coming home and dividing up in home chores, children wanting attention…..Our roles as spouses have flipped and flopped, leaving most people stunned, confused, often resentful bickering over what’s fair, and stressed beyond manageable limits.
According to statistics, most people are not happy at home:
we know the divorce rate is over 50%
A 2013 study found over 60% of individuals are stuck in an unhappy marriage but will not walk away for fear of financial or emotional hardship
There are going to be health consequences for both the individual, and the workplace.
The corporate happy place, needs its roots at home with functional coupling.
As always – let’s listen to the data
The 2015 UK study of “changing together” published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA):
Behaviour -Change programs are more successful if they were aimed at couples rather than individuals.Couples who work together to change their unhealthy habits appear to have more successful outcomes.
At Best in Corporate Health we encourage full participation of spouses in our health processes at the same cost..the truth is for long term sustainability….health is a family affair.
If marital discord is an employee issue – we have relationship coaches to help.
We all agree how important employee health is to performance, productivity….but spousal support can be the great determinator of success or failure of a health process.
The Web of influence of the supportive partner for effective coupling:
The state of the marriage…how it affects personal performance in the workplace
Supporting each other in a healthy lifestyle..the reality of embracing healthier choices
A 2012 study conducted by Florida State University professor Wayne Hochwarter concluded:
Those who reported high levels of stress but strong spousal support — as compared to stressed-out employees without such support — experienced the following positive benefits:
•50 percent higher rates of satisfaction with their marriage;
•33 percent greater likelihood of having positive relationships with co-workers;
•30 percent lower likelihood of experiencing guilt associated with home/family neglect;
•30 percent lower likelihood of being critical of others (spouse, children) at home;
•25 percent higher rates of concentration levels at work;
•25 percent lower likelihood of experiencing fatigue at home after work;
•25 percent higher rates of satisfaction with the amount of time spent with their children;
•20 percent higher views that their careers were heading in the right direction; and
•20 percent higher level of job satisfaction.
Effective Coupling is a vital part of our Cell-Being …..
It’s common knowledge that employee engagement is imperative to the success of an organization. Engaged employees work harder, much better retention, more conscientious, become brand ambassadors, are more loyal…and let’s face it – are much more of a pleasure to work with.
