Creating a Corporate Culture of Wellness - Why We Need Corporate Wellness Programs

It is critical that our nation as a whole move from a focus on illness to a focus on wellness. This is not just the responsibility of employers. A change needs to take place on many levels. Individuals must be held accountable for behaviors that contribute to medical conditions. Families need to work together to address lifestyle issues. Communities should explore ways to reinforce healthy choices. Our entire country will benefit from making a culture shift.

Why a change is necessary:
• More than half of all Americans live with at least one chronic medical condition, accounting for 75% of all health care spending each year.
• Five chronic diseases--heart disease, cancer, stroke, COPD and diabetes--are responsible for 2/3 of all deaths in the U.S.
• We spend more than $2 trillion on health care each year but only 4 cents of every dollar is invested in prevention and public health.

Unfortunately, given our system of health insurance, most of us receive our medical benefits from our employers. It makes sense, then, that employers must take the lead in a change effort. The majority of employers, large and small, have implemented some level of wellness initiative in the past few years. Depending upon how these programs are developed and introduced in the workplace, they may be welcomed as a helpful tool for improvement or resisted as a type of “big brother” invasion of privacy.

The purpose for creating a culture of wellness is to improve the chances of wellness initiatives being successful with careful planning and expectations. One of the biggest complaints I’m currently hearing from employers is that they are not getting employee participation. Many organizations view this as a motivation issue. Other businesses operate from the belief that they don’t have the budget for a “state of the art” wellness program and therefore can only expect limited results. Creating a culture of wellness addresses these issues.

Here are some key areas that must be addressed by a successful wellness program:
• Smoking/tobacco cessation & prevention
• Regular physical activity
• Stress management/reduction
• Early detection/screening
• Nutrition education & promotion
• Weight management
• Work environment changes that encourage healthy behaviors

Most of us are familiar with these areas. My contention is that not enough attention has been paid to the last key area and this area needs to be addressed prior to outlining the features of a workplace wellness program.

It is more important that wellness programs be well-planned than well-funded. A study by the Trust for America’s Health found that by investing $10 a person per year in programs that increase physical activity, improve nutrition and prevent smoking and other tobacco use, we could save more than $16 billion annually within five years. Anyone who deals with employer sponsored benefits knows that this is a very small investment.

Successful wellness initiatives address three critical areas. The initiatives must follow a long-term plan, reinforce healthy behaviors and be phased in gradually. The long-term plan starts with a vision. How do you envision your healthy workforce? What is your long-range goal? Do you want a percentage of employees within a healthy weight range? Would you like to have a tobacco-free workforce? Define your key long-term goals and break them down into steps. Each step is an objective.

Since it takes 3-5 years to realize a return on your investment with wellness measures, it is helpful to develop a five year plan. Develop objectives for the first year that you can build upon in consecutive years. All behavior change occurs via small steps forward. It is important to focus on education and communication at each step. Avoid trying to accomplish too much, too quickly. People need time to adapt to changing expectations.

Next week: Creating a Corporate Culture of Wellness- How to Develop a Wellness Program

Our guest blogger this week is Patsy Deerhake, M.ED, Wellness Educator/Coach. She owns Wellness Within Reach. You can reach her at patsy@wwrcoach.com or 614-880-2639.

Make your Next Massage Twice the Relaxation!

You may already know the wonderful benefits of massage. It improves circulation, reduces pain, provides a calming effect on your nervous system, enhances your immune system, and just make you feel good!

So why not share the experience with someone else?

Scheduling a Couples Massage is a great way to share a relaxing massage experience. A Couples Massage takes place in a large massage room with two tables. Each client has their own therapist, and receives a full body massage at the same time. The room has a quiet ambience, with soft lighting, and music that lets your mind slow down and your thoughts to drift away.

A Couples Massage is a great way to introduce one or both of you to your first professional massage experience. You can be comfortable with asking questions, and talk to your partner in the room during the session. Or you can both close your eyes and silently enjoy the session.

A couple may not be just romantic partners. We have had mother-daughter sessions, sisters, or best friends. We have even had a father and son who just want to spend time together while relaxing.

Consider a "gift of massage" by inviting someone to a Couples Massage session. Or get that special couple a gift certificate that they can use to celebrate their wedding anniversary, new addition to the family or other shared event.

And with Valentine's Day coming this weekend, call today to be sure you get on our schedule!

Love and Health

Can love really keep you healthy?

Social relationships were studied in research by Dr. Lisa Berkman. In this study, Dr. Berkman found that people lacking in social and community support were more than three times more likely to die compared to others which strong social connections.

The relationship between social and community ties and mortality was assessed using a survey of 6928 adults in Alameda County, California and a subsequent nine-year mortality follow-up. The findings showed that people who lacked social and community ties were more likely to die in the follow-up period than those with more extensive contacts. She found this to be true even for subjects with unhealthy lifestyles. Those who lived the longest had both a healthy lifestyle and social connections.

From the Dr. Oz Website: Curing Your Back Pain

Treating Headaches with Massage Therapy

Headaches come in many forms. Three common types are migraines, tension-type headaches and chronic daily headaches. Migraines often involve recurrent attacks of moderate to severe pain that is throbbing or pulsing and often strikes one side of the head, can come on with or without an aura, and occur frequently in the morning, especially upon waking. Some people have migraines at predictable times, such as before menstruation or on weekends following a stressful week of work. Many people feel exhausted or weak following a migraine but are usually symptom-free between attacks. Tension-type headache, previously called muscle contraction headache, is the most common type of headache. Its name indicates the role of stress and mental or emotional conflict in triggering the pain and contracting muscles in the neck, face, scalp, and jaw. Tension-type headaches may also be caused by jaw clenching, intense work, missed meals, depression, anxiety, or too little sleep. Chronic daily headache refers to a group of headache disorders that occur at least 15 days a month during a 3-month period. Individuals feel constant, mostly moderate pain throughout the day on the sides or top of the head. These types of headaches can occur in teenagers and children and may be linked to stress from school and family activities.

Of the 45 million Americans who suffer from chronic headaches, more than 60 percent suffer from migraines. For many, it’s a distressing disorder that is triggered by stress and poor sleep. In a recent study, massage therapy recipients exhibited fewer migraines and better sleep quality during the weeks they received massage, and the three weeks following, than did participants that did not receive massage therapy. Another study found that in adults with migraine headaches massage therapy decreased the occurrence of headaches, sleep disturbances and distress symptoms. It also increased serotonin levels, believed to play an important role in the regulation of mood, sleep and appetite. Another study examined the effects of massage therapy on chronic, nonmigraine headaches. Sufferers of chronic tension headaches between the ages of 18-55 yrs received structured massage therapy treatment directed toward the neck and shoulder muscles during a 4-wk period. The results showed that the massage therapy reduced the number of weekly headaches. Headache frequency was significantly reduced within the initial week of massage treatment, and continued for the remainder of the study. A trend toward reduction in average duration of each headache event between the baseline period and the treatment period was also observed.

Sources: Annals of Behavioral Medicine, August 2006, International Journal of Neuroscience, 1998, American Journal of Public Health, 2002

The Power of Positive Thinking

Have you ever noticed how negative thoughts and worries creep into our minds without any invitation? How many of us can say we welcome and embrace negative thinking? Negative thinking has been shown to change our brain function by increasing stress and positive thinking can change the brain to reduce stress. And stress has been shown to effect the function of our immune system.


In a study published in 2003 in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, researchers compared how often people with either positive or negative emotions contract a cold. Their results indicated that those with a positive attitude were less likely to catch colds, while those who gave into negativity were more likely to complain about symptom, regardless of whether they actually have a cold. In fact, people with these negative attitudes were more likely to report symptoms that exceeded what one would expect from the common cold.

Successful professional athletes and business leaders use positive thinking to help them reach their goals. The same can apply for you and me. A "can-do" attitude may be what we all need. Best of all, your attitude is something you can control. You have the choice to have a positive outlook. When you think positively, you'll feel better and be able to perform in anything you do with more focus.

So, adjust your attitude. If you find yourself thinking, "This is going badly," pay attention to those thoughts and make a conscious choice to be positive. Think instead, "This will be tough. But I can do it." Putting a positive, or optimistic, spin on something always makes it easier to handle.

Workplace Stress and its Effect on Your Immune System

According to a recent study in an Italian medical journal, occupational stress and job insecurity have a significantly negative affect on the body's immune system.

The immune system responds to environmental signals. Natural killer cells or NK cells play a major role in the rejection of tumors and cells infected by viruses. High blood NK activity characterizes individuals with a good life style and mental health condition or those exerting physical activity. Mental instability, depression and a poor life style exert opposite effects. A poor work environment with low social support or repetitive and shift work, as well as unemployment, were shown to affect the immune response, inducing autoimmune disorders or reducing NK cell activity. The study looked at anxiety, job strain and insecurity and the NK cell activity of 118 men and 68 women working in a university. A group of older employees with high job strain and anxiety showed lower NK cell activity. Young employees with temporary jobs showed reduced NK cell activity, while workers in training underwent increased job strain, but anxiety, job insecurity and immune response were within a normal range. Analysis of all the data showed that anxiety and job insecurity (more than occupational stress) reduce NK cell activity, thus affecting the workers' health status.

From G Ital Med Lav Ergon. 2009 Jul-Sep;31(3):277-80