The Power of Well Being

By Lily Z. Winsaft

Disease. We all know what it is…the lack or absence of ease expressed as a physical condition. Lack of ease also expresses itself in our mental and emotional bodies. Disease has to do with imbalance; it usually starts off as either mental or emotional distress, which when left unmanaged can wreck havoc on the physical body. Well-being, on the other hand, is about balance. We all desire well-being – it implies a level of quality in our life that is pleasing, joyful even. Quality of Life (QOL) has become a major buzzword within the human resources arena. That’s because every employee wants it. Every human being deserves it.

Nature has bestowed upon us miraculous bodies capable of healing. When we understand that we are not merely a physical body, but rather that we inhabit our physical body and that we also possess a mental body, an emotional and a spiritual body, and that these bodies are intertwined, each affecting the other at all times, then we can begin to take more notice of our thoughts and emotions. Our thoughts and emotions are indicators of how we feel, what we believe, how we “vibrate” in the world and consequently impact how our bodies move within it.

Lack of physical, emotional and/or mental health impacts us negatively in our professional performance and in our life. We must seek balance because the personal always spills into the professional – it can’t not. That’s because all the aspects of our being intertwine and connect to form that one miraculous machine – the human body – along with its mind and emotions. It’s that intertwined body that goes to work every day, whether it is well or not.

Stress is a major precursor to illness; it’s a sure sign of lack of ease. Stress can start off with worry or anxiety and can lead to anger, fear, despair and resignation. It is demonstrated when we express impatience with our fellow workers or when we feel a loss of joy in doing a project. We exude stress when we use sarcasm or insults to communicate our disapproval of someone. Stress has many faces and many forms. Whatever it looks or feels like though, it means there is imbalance. When negative emotions are not properly managed, these electrical impulses (everything is energy) travel to our core as toxins causing our bodies to react in defense. Unfortunately, the defense mechanism itself can cause the levels of acidity in our system to climb. Repeated high levels of acidity create a perfect environment for disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 10% of our population is in fair or poor health. Of persons 18-20 or older, more than 20% smoke, about 30% are obese and 32% have hypertension. These conditions precede the leading causes of death – cancer, heart disease and stroke. Almost 1.5 million people die annually of these diseases and each of them is preventable.

It’s no wonder that corporations are seeing the importance of health and wellness as it relates to performance on the job. Study after study has demonstrated that companies that implement wellness programs witness marked results such as increased productivity, lower healthcare costs, decreased workers comp claims, less absenteeism (60% is attributable to stress), fewer errors on the job, lower incidence of workplace injuries, employee retention, etc.

Companies that are successfully (quantifiably) implementing wellness programs include, IBM, General Motors, the Coca Cola Company, Dupont, Coors Brewing Co., Prudential, H.J. Heinz, Johnson & Johnson (where a 4-year wellness program involving 18,000 employees saved the company $8.5 million a year in reduced health care costs), Citibank and so many more. These companies are integrating wellness practices and reaping grand rewards ranging from a few dollars to several hundred dollars per employee annually.

One of my favorite examples is Del Monte Foods where in addition to providing state of the art physical fitness centers complete with showers and locker rooms for employees, they also do fun things like healthy cooking demonstrations hosted by a Del Monte nutritionist and their annual Del Monte Fitness Cup, which is all about taking walking to the next level.

Preventable illness represents about 90% of all healthcare costs. That’s why BeWell Atlanta, a new local organization whose philosophy, “…We believe, without a doubt, wellness encompasses seven key dimensions – physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, environmental, and occupational.  With one dimension out of sync – your mind, body, and spirit suffer,” has it right. They provide corporations with access to a variety of wellness programs to offer their employees. Most provide incentives to employees taking positive steps toward preventative care, such as quitting smoking or getting regular check ups. One exciting program they offer is “Yoga Under the Sea,” yoga sessions conducted under the backdrop of Georgia Aquarium exhibits.

Knowledge is the key to unlocking the secrets of creating a health-oriented culture. Human resources professionals can help by keeping up to date with new technology and staying abreast of the latest and greatest ideas to motivate and reward employees that maintain preventative health practices. All you gotta do is “Google.” Professionals responsible for the human resources of a company can also help by genuinely caring about the very people that the organization relies on to prosper and by making sure that budgets include ongoing programs to educate and execute on wellness. In the new world economy, there is little room for mediocrity.

Bottom line, companies with fewer health-related incidences perform better both in terms of profits and sustainability. If you want to attract and retain top talent and provide employees with a place where they will thrive and reach their full potential, you must create an environment of well-being, a culture that walks the QOL talk. Organizational longevity relies on individual resilience and stability. Optimum performance and true potential can only be reached by individuals that achieve a state of being well in every aspect of their life.

References:

1. CHD Meridian Healthcare, White Paper, “Driving Employee Wellness and Productivity through Integrated Workplace Health, Wellness and Fitness Centers,” 2007
2. Diane Reynolds, “Put Wellness to Work,” Corporate Wellness Magazine, 2009
3. Joyce Gannon, “Companies offer wellness programs to cut insurance costs,” Pittsburg Post-Gazette, 2008
4. Natural Healthcare, Canada, “Benefits of a Workplace Wellness Program,” 2008
5. Ron Z. Goetzel, PH.D; Ronald J. Ozminkowski, PH.D; Jennifer Bruno; Kathleen Rutter; Fikray Isaac, M.D.; Shaohung Wang, PH.D; “The Long-Term Impact of Johnson & Johnson’s Health & Wellness Program for Employee Health Risks,” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2002
6. Wellness Proposals.com, Workplace Wellness Programs, 2009
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FASTATS – “How Healthy Are We?” 2006 – 2008