9 ways office food fuels employee satisfaction and productivity
Food can play an important role in motivating employees to spend more time in the office, work more effectively while there and generally view their workplace more positively, finds a nationwide survey of nearly 1,100 full-time professionals across more than a dozen different industries. The survey by Seamless, the leading service for ordering delivery and takeout from restaurants in the U.S. and U.K., also reveals the importance of food as a means for building and fostering relationships with clients.
Since the average employee works more than 40 hours a week, “food remains a relatively untapped perk that companies can use to measurably improve employee retention and happiness and show their appreciation, while separating themselves from competitors. Free food all the time is unrealistic for most companies, but the occasional pizza party or afternoon treat goes a long way,” says Nick Worswick, vice president and general manager of corporate at Seamless.
Here are nine positive ways food can be used to inspire healthy eating in the workplace and foster higher productivity levels among employees.
1. Employee Satisfaction
While a majority (60%) of employees say they are satisfied with their current employment situation, 69% feel that more perks – including gym memberships (40%), stock options (22%) and food perks (20%) - would have a direct positive impact on their job satisfaction.
2. Recruiting Advantage
Nearly half of the respondents note that the availability of free lunch would strongly influence their decision to accept a job offer.
3. A Pat on the Back
Sixty percent report that having more food at the office would make them feel more valued and appreciated by their employer.
4. Team Building
More than 60% of respondents agree that company-provided lunches would encourage them to eat with their colleagues, fostering more internal collaboration.
5. Motivation and Productivity
One-third of the employees surveyed divulge that it takes food to make them show up to optional meetings – and another 20% admit to making their decision after knowing what’s on the menu.
6. Client Camaraderie
Forty-three percent of employees say sharing food or a meal with clients helps foster a better working relationship. Food also tops the list in terms of the best client gifts, with 41% noting that food is the very best option for corporate gifts.
7. Time to Spare
More than half of employees say they would spend less time away from work if food were available. Half of the respondents (51%) report spending more than 10 minutes per day picking up lunch or other food outside the office.
8. Healthy Choices
More than half of employees also say having food perks in the workplace would help them eat healthier.
9. Peace of Mind
Nearly half of respondents feel that more food perks in the workplace would make them more satisfied with their employer, in turn reducing 40% of respondents’ personal stress.
11 Small Changes to Help Workers Manage Their Stress
Source: https://safetydailyadvisor.blr.com
You can't eliminate the stress your employees bring to work, but you can identify and eliminate organizational stressors. And you can provide tools and information to help workers manage their stress on their own.
Stress management expert Susie Mantell (www.relaxintuit.com) is a firm believer in the power of incremental steps when trying to manage stress on the job and at home. Here are some ideas Mantell recommends that you can use for a safety meeting on stress management:
· Prioritize, streamline, delegate, and discard. When facing a task, ask if it's really necessary to do today, if there's an easier way to do it, or who might be able to help.
· Break it up. Take 2- to 3-minute breaks every hour throughout the workday. Mantell also urges employees to "commit to doing one fun thing every single day without exception." Laugh, play a game, or cook a meal, as long as it's enjoyable.
· Make time. Build time into your schedule for creative expression, healthy eating, moderate daily exercise, time with friends, and time in nature.
· Be on time. "Last minute equals high risk," says Mantell. Running late creates stress in us as well as in others. Build in cushion time between appointments to allow for traffic and the unexpected.
· Send negativity flying. If a co-worker is on the warpath, visualize an airplane with an advertising banner over that person's head. Imagine each negative word floating up into the banner, flying by and out of view. "Getting out of the line of fire can defuse a tense moment and preclude anxiety and stress," Mantell explains.
· Relax and watch what happens. Do mini-meditations or mindful breathing while you're shifting between tasks or in line at the cafeteria. Getting a message, rocking a baby, rebuilding an engine, or playing an active sport can also produce a meditative state of relaxation.
· Get essential nutrients. Go beyond vitamins and begin to think about daylight and laughter as essential daily nutrients. Get outside and take in some fresh air, even if it's just 10 minutes on a wintry day.
· Consider what you're consuming. Rethink the role played by sugar, caffeine, and alcohol in your life. These can increase stress levels.
· Watch your words. Negative internal chatter and self-recrimination are distracting and demoralizing. Never say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to your best friend.
· Be kind. Do something kind for a different co-worker every day. Mantell points to the "cumulative, positive transformation that takes place when it becomes second nature to create joy and reduce stress for others."
· Sleep on it. Sleep deprivation is threatening to become an epidemic in the United States, and stress is a major culprit. Try to get restful, restorative sleep every day, and watch your stress level decline.
Fight Back Against Workplace Stress
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Stress is a big problem in the workplace, and the signs are everywhere.
Ever awaken at 3 a.m. in a sweaty panic over a work problem, a presentation you have to make, or looming deadline? Maybe you've lost your temper with the kids when the real problem was related to work.
The signs and symptoms of job stress are many and diverse—from a racing pulse to skipped meals, headaches, weight gain, depression, and lack of energy.
Whatever the cause, and however it manifests, workplace stress continues to be a problem—one that can cause reduced productivity, increase in accidents, and a spike in costs.
Stress Stats
The American Psychological Association (APA) observes that, "While stress levels appear to be balancing out, they remain high and exceed what Americans consider to be healthy."
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According to the APA and other sources:
· 69 percent of employees say work is a significant source of stress, and 41 percent say they typically feel tense or stressed out during the workday.
· 51 percent of employees report that they have considered or made a decision about their career (such as leaving a job or declining a promotion) based on workplace stress.
· While more than half of adults say they are doing a good or excellent job of knowing when they feel stressed, half of them aren't doing as well at preventing stress.
· Although 94 percent of adults believe stress can contribute to the development of major illness, a sizeable majority still thinks that stress has a slight or no impact on their own health.
· More employees are reporting that their employers provide sufficient opportunities for them to be involved in decision making, problem solving, and goal setting—one hopeful sign, since these are all steps believed to reduce employee stress.
Signs of Stress
As if life outside of the workplace isn't stressful enough for most people, when they come to work, they often encounter more stress—lack of control over work, heavy workloads, productivity demands, tight schedules, conflicts with co-workers, and worries about job stability.
When workers are stressed for any combination of reasons, the effects can be insidious. Dr. Albert Ray, physician director of Patient Education and Health Promotion for Kaiser Permanente in southern California, points to common signs and symptoms of stress:
· Acting angry and having a short temper
· Dealing with others in a curt, inhospitable manner
· Being present, but not fully productive
· Transformation from a friendly team player to an introvert
· Mocking the organization's strategies and visions
· Physical symptoms, ranging from itchy skin to chest pain, fatigue, abdominal cramping, and ringing of the ears, among many others
· Emotional problems like depression, anxiety, compulsive behavior, and substance abuse
And, of course, another symptom is carelessness. Workers may be too tense or worn out to pay attention and take proper precautions. That's when stress can lead to accidents and injuries.
Wellness Programs Can Reduce Worker Medical Costs by 18 Percent: Study
Source: https://www.workforce.com
By Sheena Harrison
Workplace wellness programs can reduce medical costs by more than 18 percent for the average worker, according to a report published by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The January edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, published by the Elk Grove Village, Illinois-based ACOEM, includes a study titled "Medical Care Savings From Workplace Wellness Programs: What Is a Realistic Savings Potential?"
The report said wellness programs could reduce costs for risks such as physical inactivity, smoking, high blood pressure and obesity. If the risk factors were lowered to "theoretical minimums," health care expenses could be lowered by an average of $650, or 18.4 percent, for all working adults, the study said.
Cost savings can reach up to 28 percent for aging employees and retirees who participate in wellness programs, according to the study.
"Medical care savings from workplace wellness programs will increase with time given that more eligible wellness program members participate, effective control of heightened risk factors improves, and greater risk reversal can be achieved," the report says.
2013 Flu Season Hitting Workers Hard
Source: https://ohsonline.com
Data from the BLS Current Population Survey indicate absences were higher in January 2013 than in any month since February 2008.
More than 4 million American workers were working part time in January 2013 or were out because of their own illness, injury, or medical appointment, and this number was the highest for any month since February 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Feb. 19. The chart accompanying the brief report showed how the numbers tend to spike during peak flu season each year.
The data come from the BLS Current Population Survey. It showed 2,853,000 people were out part time because of their own illness, injury, or medical appointment, while 1,202,000 did not work at all during the survey reference week because of illness or injury.
"The number of workers with an absence because of their own illness, injury, or medical appointment shows a regular spike during the months of December through March. Although not all absent workers who supplied this reason were sick with a cold or the flu, it is likely that the increase in absences during the winter months is related to the seasonal illnesses that are typical during this time of year," BLS noted. Its report is an update of "Illness-related work absences during flu season" by Terence M. McMenamin in Issues in Labor Statistics, originally published in July 2010.
Workers are classified as at work part time if they worked fewer than 35 hours during the survey reference week.
Weight Loss Is Employees’ Top New Year’s Resolution
Source: https://www.compsych.com
Thirty-nine percent of employees say losing weight is their top health concern while 26 percent say stress has them most worried, according to a ComPsych Tell It Now poll released today. ComPsych is the world’s largest provider of employee assistance programs and is the pioneer and leading provider of fully integrated EAP, behavioral health, wellness, work-life, HR and FMLA administration services under the GuidanceResources brand.
“Weight loss is, not surprisingly, the number one health concern this year,” said Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, Chairman and CEO of ComPsych. “What is significant is that many more employees are aware of stress as a major contributor to health problems. Corporate wellness programs that address both physical and emotional health are uniquely suited to help employees make lasting lifestyle changes, which will ultimately reduce health and disability costs while improving productivity.”
Employees were asked: Which health issue are you most trying to stay ahead of this year?
39 percent said “weight loss”
26 percent said “stress”
17 percent said “exercise”
9 percent said “diet improvement”
6 percent said “quitting smoking”
3 percent said “other”
ComPsych’s build-to-suit health and wellness program – HealthyGuidance® -- targets employee behavior and lifestyle issues before they become significant health risks. Drawing upon more than 25 years of behavioral health experience, HealthyGuidance uses a consultative, high-touch approach, empowering employees to make healthy lifestyle changes through expert guidance. The program offers:
• Comprehensive health risk assessments and screenings
• Live, telephonic wellness coaching with behavioral, health and nutrition experts
• Online health management tools including diet and exercise programs and incentive tracking
• Action-oriented wellness seminars, turn-key wellness challenges and award-winning communications
• Targeted programs such as tobacco cessation, weight management, stress reduction and more
Flu Season Turns Corner, But Challenges Remain
Source: United Benefit Advisors
Although the height of the flu season looks to be waning, employers can expect the effects of the annual wave of sickness among the U.S. workforce to linger for a few more months.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently predicted that high flu activity will hang around for a few more weeks and then start to drop in late February or early March, except in the West, where the flu arrived later this year, according to USA TODAY.
"We're not at the end but we're nearing the end," said Michael Jhung, an epidemiologist with the CDC.
This year's bout of flu hit the East in December, nearly a month earlier than usual, the CDC reported. That quick start to the flu season means the virus is already running its course in most areas of the country.
The early emergence and ferocity of this year's outbreaks (CDC reported that this year's virus is sparking more severe symptoms than in past years) has rekindled the debate over mandated paid sick time for employees.
The topic is especially hot in New York City, which is pondering a sick-time ordinance under the shadow of a tight municipal election, according to The Associated Press. Two likely mayoral candidates are pressing for the City Council to decide on the measure, which has languished for nearly three years.
While the topic makes for good politics, many employers worry that mandates on employee sick time could be devastating to their businesses. Michael Sinensky, who saw four of his seven bars shut down after Hurricane Sandy, told the AP that his business simply can't afford "additional social initiatives."
Many employers, though, are starting to re-evaluate the public health benefit of containing diseases compared with short-term costs of paid sick leave, said John A. Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "Right now, where companies' incentives lie is butting right up against this concern over people coming into the workplace, infecting others and bringing productivity of a whole company down," Challenger told the AP.
For now, an employer's best defense against a flu-ridden workforce is to protect employees before they fall ill, according to online posts by Smart HR Manager and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, which cite some tips that businesses can implement to stave off productivity-killing outbreaks:
- Make flu vaccination a priority. It might be too late to help much this season, but employers can start making plans now to prepare for next year.
- Be prepared to educate employees about the importance of vaccinations and ways to stay healthy, such as regular hand-washing with soap.
- Find out what your employees want and expect from an immunization program.
- Be flexible in allowing employees to go off-site to get flu vaccines.
- Encourage workers to not share phones, computers or equipment unless absolutely necessary.
- Keep common areas in the office clean.
Fighting over the flu
Source: https://www.benefitspro.com
By Kathryn Mayer
I feel like we’ve been debating to the point of excess recently. Right now, we’re all about the gun debate. And the debt ceiling. And abortion. And Lance Armstrong.
And maybe it’s partly the industry I cover that’s so prone to getting people fired up about things that I feel it even more—what’s causing rising health care premiums? Can the government really tell us we have to buy health insurance? Whose fault is it that we’re getting so fat? Should we raise the Medicare age?
Sure, I like a good debate as much as the next person, but it makes me a little worried about our quick reaction to cry controversy when it’s over the flu.
We’ve heard a lot about the flu season so far. Even though it’s still early in the season, we’ve heard the words “epidemic,” and “widespread” being thrown around a lot, so it doesn’t sound good.
Of course, it’s not something to take lightly: It’s highly contagious, it costs businesses and employers millions of dollars and it takes tens of thousands of lives a year.
So it’s not really a surprise that we keep getting reminded—from our doctors, from insurers, from the CDC—to get our flu shots to help prevent the flu season from getting worse. And that’s where the debate comes in.
There are a ton of people who simply refuse to get the flu vaccine. But it’s been the health care workers who have refused it who’ve been making headlines. As one example, an Indiana hospital fired eight employees—including three veteran nurses—after they refused mandatory flu shots. It sparked the debate over employee personal rights or patient safety.
Mandatory flu vaccinations for health care workers are becoming more and more common—a number of medical organizations—including the CDC—have recommended it, citing patient health and well-being as a top priority. It’s no surprise as to why: People who are most at risk are already in the hospital. Within a few years, I’m sure it will be less common for hospital and health care workers not to have the mandated vaccine—and it’s a good idea.
Of course, there’s ton of excuses floating around for not getting it: egg allergies (the FDA has approved an egg-free vaccine); fear of needles (there’s a nasal flu vaccine), being so healthy they won’t get the flu (vaccines often work best in healthy people), and religious beliefs (which is so vague, it’s almost the perfect excuse).
This doesn’t even address the irony that these are the same people promoting healthy living and the vaccines themselves. I’m all for personal rights, but when it directly affects the health of other people, I get concerned.
This isn’t about more government mandates or whatever haters want to call it; it’s about social consideration.
No vaccine is ever guaranteed—and the flu shot is one of them. It’s only prevents getting the flu 60 percent or 70 percent or so of the time. But we also know that even for those who get the flu after the vaccine, it significantly slows down the virus.
This debate has as much relevance for me as arguing over washing our hands—which, if you haven’t heard—is a good thing to do, too.
Authors expose obesity myths
Source: https://www.benefitspro.com
By Marilyn Marchione
Fact or fiction? Sex burns a lot of calories. Snacking or skipping breakfast is bad. School gym classes make a big difference in kids' weight.
All are myths or at least presumptions that may not be true, say researchers who reviewed the science behind some widely held obesity beliefs and found it lacking.
Their report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine says dogma and fallacies are detracting from real solutions to the nation's weight problems.
"The evidence is what matters," and many feel-good ideas repeated by well-meaning health experts just don't have it, said the lead author, David Allison, a biostatistician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Independent researchers say the authors have some valid points. But many of the report's authors also have deep financial ties to food, beverage and weight-loss product makers — the disclosures take up half a page of fine print in the journal.
"It raises questions about what the purpose of this paper is" and whether it's aimed at promoting drugs, meal replacement products and bariatric surgery as solutions, said Marion Nestle, a New York University professor of nutrition and food studies.
"The big issues in weight loss are how you change the food environment in order for people to make healthy choices," such as limits on soda sizes and marketing junk food to children, she said. Some of the myths they cite are "straw men" issues, she said.
But some are pretty interesting.
Sex, for instance. Not that people do it to try to lose weight, but claims that it burns 100 to 300 calories are common, Allison said. Yet the only study that scientifically measured the energy output found that sex lasted six minutes on average — "disappointing, isn't it?" — and burned a mere 21 calories, about as much as walking, he said.
That's for a man. The study was done in 1984 and didn't measure the women's experience.
Among the other myths or assumptions the authors cite, based on their review of the most rigorous studies on each topic:
—Small changes in diet or exercise lead to large, long-term weight changes. Fact: The body adapts to changes, so small steps to cut calories don't have the same effect over time, studies suggest. At least one outside expert agrees with the authors that the "small changes" concept is based on an "oversimplified" 3,500-calorie rule, that adding or cutting that many calories alters weight by one pound.
—School gym classes have a big impact on kids' weight. Fact: Classes typically are not long, often or intense enough to make much difference.
—Losing a lot of weight quickly is worse than losing a little slowly over the long term. Fact: Although many dieters regain weight, those who lose a lot to start with often end up at a lower weight than people who drop more modest amounts.
—Snacking leads to weight gain. Fact: No high quality studies support that, the authors say.
—Regularly eating breakfast helps prevent obesity. Fact: Two studies found no effect on weight and one suggested that the effect depended on whether people were used to skipping breakfast or not.
—Setting overly ambitious goals leads to frustration and less weight loss. Fact: Some studies suggest people do better with high goals.
Some things may not have the strongest evidence for preventing obesity but are good for other reasons, such as breastfeeding and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, the authors write. And exercise helps prevent a host of health problems regardless of whether it helps a person shed weight.
"I agree with most of the points" except the authors' conclusions that meal replacement products and diet drugs work for battling obesity, said Dr. David Ludwig, a prominent obesity research with Boston Children's Hospital who has no industry ties. Most weight-loss drugs sold over the last century had to be recalled because of serious side effects, so "there's much more evidence of failure than success," he said.
Five trends in wellness incentives for 2013
Five trends in wellness incentives for 2013
Employers want return of investment for their wellness programs. They want to know what incentive dollars are really being used for. Here are five trends to look for in wellness incentives in 2013.
1. Personalization of incentives
The idea of incentivizing people to participate in wellness programs is one of the few to be embraced with equal enthusiasm across the board.
While the concept held enough innovation and promise to spur health plans and employers to spend over $60 billion last year to motivate consumers to engage in health, incentives have often been primitive in execution. Incentive dollars flow to plan members as reward or encouragement for healthy behaviors, but what consumers do with that money has until now been largely a mystery to employers and health insurers.
A 2009 survey conducted by MasterCard and Harris Interactive found 61% of employees participate in a wellness program if incentives are offered versus only 26% when there is no added incentive. Additionally, 25% of employees reported that being incentivized was actually the driver and the very reason they agreed to enroll in a wellness program at all.
Instead, the answer is to better tailor the incentives to fit the person, and to provide incentives that motivate while driving program ROI. A recent study from the Journal of Economic Psychology shows consumers prefer to be incentivized with cash. Yet the utility of cash (even cash rebated to a paycheck) leads many to decisions that fail to drive long-term engagement, satisfaction and ultimately outcomes.
2. Incentives tailored around health related products and services
Health incentives need to focus on an emotional affinity felt by participants toward earned rewards—a paradigm that has the potential to create the initial embrace of health behavior change and perpetuate it. Yet, today’s healthcare dollars are stretched thin, and employers want to make sure every dime spent on health and wellness programs is targeted to accomplish health goals. They have increasingly offered discounts to fitness clubs, healthy foods, supplements and Weight Watchers as incentives.
3. New focus on analytics
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) increases the cap on wellness incentives—now at 20% of an employee’s total health insurance premium cost—to 30% and then 50% by 2014. This provides an opportunity to create an incentive program with influence.
Yet as increasing dollar amounts are being driven towards wellness/incentive programs; understanding exactly how funds are being spent; what they are being spent on; and how the actual spending is impacting outcomes and ROI will be critical to understanding the overall impact and success of wellness incentive programs. To that end, rich new data sets being driven by innovation in payments technology will play a key role over the next 18 to 24 months in determining how funds can better be allocated within programs to achieve results.
4. Deeper integration of wellness incentives into overall care continuum
Through a richer data set of spend analytics tied back into larger Big Data initiatives focused on efficient healthcare dollar allocation, the role of wellness incentives, their impact on behavioral economics, and ultimately their importance within the overall care continuum will be far better understood. Health plans and employers will increasingly have the ability to design and integrate highly targeted incentive dollar programs to reduce costs, and improve outcomes.
5. Continued focus on gamification
The recent gamification of wellness programs, employee challenges and the role that both competition and fun in wellness program engagement will continue, as these wellness tools have proven successful in driving initial and—in many cases—longer term engagement and results. That said, there will be an increased focus in 2013 on the actual currency being offered as rewards.
According to a March 2012 study by Fidelity and the National Business Group on Health, employers on average are spending a $169 per-employee per-year on wellness platforms. Yet they are spending nearly three times that on the actual incentive, or $460 per-employee per-year. The incentive dollars represent the single greatest investment into wellness programs. Until now, these dollars have been limited in their ability to be tangibly measured and evaluated for their effectiveness. This will be a critical area of change in 2013, and one that will fundamentally shift how actual incentive dollars are perceived and utilized across all aspects of healthcare to drive cost reduction.