Flip the Unhealthy Work Culture

Woman are ideally positioned emotionally to stop the "obesogenic*" characteristics of the American citizen. We have the innate power to flip an unhealthy corporate culture to a more nurturing environment.

The Stress Reaction
Today's corporate culture promotes increased food intake of non healthy foods and physical inactivity. As a consequence stress has gone beyond motivation to depleting individual abilities. A usual stress response increases blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormones, such as endorphins. In a mild response we also release natural killer cells that help us fight stressors such as viruses and bacteria. When the cortisol stress hormone level is intense, and enduring, disease fighting cells are suppressed*. As we become conscious of our malaise we begin soothing it with what is immediately available in our environment. If we are feeling sluggish, as a consequence of an overused alarm system, we may go to the vending machine for a non nutritive sugary energy boost. This may start a cycle of unhealthy habits, that may promote illness.

The Power Within
Women, young and older, are one of the world's greatest untapped resources. "Investing in the potential of woman to lift and lead their society is one of the best investments we can make." Hillary Rodham Clinton. Our emotional sensitivity drives the bigger picture value. A caring heart can inspire, and a women's relentlessness can move mountains. We bring intangible benefits that stem from valuing connectivity. In following our nature gifts we create a buzz around higher purpose thoughts. The UCLA women's study on the hormonal effect of friendship may suggest that we tap into more than a fight or flight response to stress, but rather a calmer more humanistic nurturing responses. When we are stressed we tend to share it with other women. Connection energizes and revitalizes us. It is this innate vitality that makes us the ideal candidate to promote well being in others, in our homes, and in our places of work.

Harnessing our Power for the Workplace

How do we as individual women, executives, managers, or staff make the push for greater workplace well-being? How do we create or move businesses to have soul?

Heartfelt Thinking

First we want to speak from our hearts and our heads to get attention and sustain resiliency. In an ever changing socio-economic non conforming world, sequential head thinking, is becoming less reliable, or completely effective. Linear thinking is become extinct. To expect that from one point we move on to another point within a pattern, gaining headway, is linear head think and it is flawed. While we want to have a worksite game plan, we also want to be flexible and adaptive to the unknown. We want to promote a well thought out valid plan but we need heart to make it live.

Second we have the ability to multitask while always keeping our vision in sight as a guiding light. We can utilize this strength to anchor a task, such as promoting lunch time walks, to the bigger picture of nurturing well being. In an ever distracting, ever challenging world, we have an innate ability to see the forest for the trees. This is one of our special gifts. The well-being of our children and of the world is in our realm, because we have soul. This soul allows us to walk many paths, accomplish many tasks and have the courage to persevere for the greater good of all. We build families and communities one task at a time, one stitch at a time, one heart at a time. "We don't see things as they are we see things as we are"- Anaïs Nin. Because we can visualize an improved path for ourselves we believe in others. We can lighten a dark heart.

Thirdly we use Best Practice Workplace Solutions to stimulate action. Consider the evidence based Health People 2010 framework as a launching point. Your ideal workplace program integrates health solutions into the organizational structure, is linked to employee assistance programs and healthcare, includes worksite screenings, evaluates the health of the environment, the culture, the policies, and individual needs, attains high visibility and participation, has good communication flow.

The workplace of your doing will be a "Total Health" integration, where safety, occupational and environmental services, health insurance, worker's compensation, disability, and Employee Assistance Programs all flow from one capstone, a focus on prevention. There is a lot of supporting research to drive the good sense of this integration, centered from the perspective of the employee out**. When we have the eye of the individual employee we have insight on what is effecting his/her behavior, be it environmental, emotional, physical or social. Start creating company specific interventions from this baseline.

The transition to this ideal state of employee health can start one task at a time. Gather a voluntary wellness committee of employees and a few managers. Ask yourselves about individual health needs, desires, cultural diversity, worksite culture, worksite environment, and readiness for change. Start a dialog on wellness.

Perhaps your next step is a health risk assessment to determine a launching point for a well planned workplace intervention program. HRA's do not have to be intensive and lengthy but they do need to follow a particular protocol to be effective. They can be as short as a 15 minute face to face questionnaire, based on the leading Eddington Research. Collect and assemble the data and target programs that impact the greatest needs of your population. Check the free government programs available online at Champion for Change or The President's Challenge.

Include workplace screening such as simply weigh-ins and blood pressures. These are both non invasive and create awareness and some accountability. Team up with an RN to check blood pressures. Offer all employees a hip to waist ratio screen and a body fat caliper screen. These tend to be less popular but have great value. A non invasive body mass index included in the initial health screen assessment provides participants with some results to discuss. Assessments can ignite some contemplation and they need not be a costly endeavor.

Keep in mind that there are three factors that influence the health of an individual at the workplace, her physical environment, and her intrapersonal and interpersonal environment. Habits, are dependent on situational and environmental triggers. If an employee wants to stop eating junk food and goes into the lunchroom to view a vending machine teeming with tasty unhealthy goodies, they will be tempted to indulge, especially if an office mate is there chowing down on a Snickers bar. A healthy corporate culture looks at ways to create scenarios for people to grow their wellness. Vending machines that promote 60% nutritious snacks, lunch breaks that are long enough for a walk, a shift from providing information to changing the environment to reflect health, parking for bicycles, showers, and a defined walking route say we care about your well-being. Talk with the human resource director. Find out if there are discounts offered to local gyms. Find a coworker who will walk at lunch time, use a pedometer, and make others curious.

The best programs are the ones with the greatest participation. The programs with the greatest participation have owners, executives, managers, and staff engagement. Keep the programs simple, keep them fun and keep them coming back for more. Use inexpensive pedometers and start a monthly step contest. Vegetable eating contests work well in teams. While it is important to have a contest that excites and inspires, long term success is achieved through support and participation by the company leaders. They drive and define the culture of the company. Your energy is a precious commodity use it where you can have the greatest return on investment, get shareholders vested.

Getting the word out about health is a cake walk when all leaders help create the buzz. It is a hike up the Himalayas when you are the only one singing the song. Find people at work that share your values and start a committee. Define what you want to do, how you want to do it, and let management or the shareholders know about your interests. Ask for their support. Show them how they can support a healthier workplace and how your vision makes good business sense and good people sense.

Bibliography

*Jacobs, J.R., & Bovasso, G.B. 2000. Early and chronic stress and their relation to breast cancer. Psychology Medicine, 30, 669-78.
**Institute of Health, Integrating employee health, a model program for NASA, Washington D.C., National Academies Press; 2005.

Danielle Vindez holds the vision of optimal health, conscious eating, proper exercise, and mental balance, for all those seeking to transform their lives. For more see http://www.defineyourself-coaching.com/secondarypages/newsletter.html