Last of the office smokers
Australia's News.com reports on workplaces where smokers are considered a serious problem – where some bosses also feel they are a drain on productivity.
Promoting healthy workers
The Press of Atlantic City reports on businesses that are rewarding employees who join fitness programs.
Corporations promote fitness through sometimes controversial wellness plans
In an era of soaring costs for health insurance, employers are increasingly rewarding the office gym rats and organic-food enthusiasts for good health.
Health coaches help workers, save companies cash
Company-sponsored health coaches are on the upswing nationwide as businesses search for new ways to slow the fast-rising cost of their employees' health insurance.
Wellness programs are win-win efforts
A Dallas Morning News article profiles a Texas Instruments employee who says he feels 10 years younger after enrolling in a company-sponsored wellness program.
Employer to Fine Unhealthy Workers
Workforce Management reports that other employers are expected to follow suit of the punitive approach taken by Indianapolis-based Clarian Health.
Companies Throw Their Weight Behind Employee Health
A burgeoning industry is booming as corporate America tries to increase productivity and control insurance costs by helping its employees get healthy and shed pounds.
Finding Health and Wellness Programs for Smaller Companies
Despite the contribution of many good workplace wellness programs to the public's health care, there are still some companies that fall between the cracks.
Obesity increases risk of injury on the job
CCH reports on a study which finds that having a body mass index (BMI) in the overweight or obese range increases the risk of traumatic workplace injury.
Companies can help employees improve their health
The Des Moines Register says that employers benefit through lower health care costs and reduced absenteeism when employees maintain healthier lifestyles.
Eating To Live
Companies are changing their cafeteria menus to offer more healthy items. But getting employees to actually eat them requires some planning and insight.
Snooze you lose? Actually, the opposite may be true
Reprinted on PoliceOne.com, this Force Science News article details the advantages of allocating time to nap for government agency employees.
What Some Firms Are Doing To Keep Employees Healthy
CareerJournal.com lists the measures that firms are using this year and which they have planned in 2008 to keep workers healthy, based on Wyatt Worldwide data.
Physical activity associated with lower risk of work-related repetitive strain injury
A study published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research finds that being physically active during leisure time is associated with a decreased risk of this type of injury.
Healthy employees, healthier business
Business owners and managers who champion their employees' health and well-being realize increased productivity and employee morale, and reduced health-care costs.
Work out and get paid for it
There's a plan afoot to help employees burn calories at their computer. It's called a NEAT office, and it has more to do with getting your body in shape than your cubicle.
Firms willing to reward wellness
Colorado's Rocky Mountain News reports that employers are looking to boost the bottom line by watching their workers' waistlines.
To wit, workplace humor is healthy
Movies and television shows can be a humorous outlet for bored employees who feel stuck in a workplace with too many similarities to the Hollywood versions.
Fatigue may be behind increase in workplace injuries on Jan. 1
On New Year's Day, many workers pay the price for all those long days of holiday cheer, and that price is not just a hangover – it's a workplace injury.
Companies see wellness plans as cure to rising costs
Companies are identifying "risky behavior" and trying to help workers understand how to live healthier lives – in part to contain health care costs.
The Physical Effects of Multitasking Explained
The Wall Street Journal's Sue Shellenbarger answers a reader's question about the physiological effects of excessive multitasking.
Sick workers no longer the heroes
GlobeandMail.com recommends that it's best to stay home and defeat that cold or flu bug, rather than coming in to work and spreading it.
Don't sit up straight!
Research shows that a good slouch is better for your back than the upright posture we've been taught all along.
Massaging away workplace stress
Trying to rub away office stress in your neck and back? A Kentucky newspaper reports that you're not alone.
Workers often feeling the pain of on-job stress
Two-thirds of workers reported that they have some kind of physical problems because of job-related stress and exertion.
Stretching exercises leads to a safer workplace
Australia's Ferret.com makes the case that stretching exercises help relax muscles which have been working, and move those which have been in a fixed position.
The Top 14 Reasons We're Stressed Out
What's worrying you right now? Read what a majority of Americans chose from 14 possible recently experienced problems in a survey conducted by Harris Interactive.
You Are What You Eat at Work
New survey reveals American workplaces are littered with unhealthy food choices.
Office burnouts
The Chicago Tribune reports that more American workers are passing up vacation to get ahead in the workplace.
Long working hours linked to high blood pressure
Workers who clocked more than 51 hours at the office each week were more likely to have high blood pressure than those who worked 39 hours or less, says a new study.
U.S. Employers Look Offshore for Healthcare
As costs rise, workers are being sent abroad to get operations that cost tens of thousands more in the U.S.
Working long hours worse for women than men
Working long hours has a greater negative impact on women than men because it makes them more likely to smoke, drink coffee and eat unhealthy food.
Learn How to Delegate To Lower Stress Levels
An article in The Wall Street Journal's Startup Journal explains how to lessen workplace stress by effectively delegating projects and duties.
A drug-free workplace is good for everyone
Encouraging employees to find help when they need it saves money. It could even save someone's life, family, or job.
75 percent of workers report career burnout
According to a nationwide survey by CareerBuilder.com, 77 percent of workers said they feel burnout on the job.
Chronic Pain Hurts Both Workers and Employers
Research by Florida State University's College of Business examines the role of chronic pain on work factors such as job stress, employee performance and organizational profitability.
Physiotherapy in the workplace - a hands-on approach
How massages improve employee wellness.
Off-The-Job Injuries Outpacing Gains in Workplace Safety; More Spent on Trauma Than Any Other Health Condition, Says National Safety Council
Employees are safest at work, but off-the-job accidents cost the most of any health conditions.
Health and safety staff's first priority
An insurance company focuses on wellness with great results.
Can boss insist on healthy habits?
Rising health care costs make some bosses demand healthier habits from employees. How ethical is this?
Employers Look for Ways to 'Lighten' Their Work Forces
Obesity accounted for 239 million sick days in the 1990s. Learn what companies do to support employees in their weight loss efforts.
A company's threat: Quit smoking or leave
Scotts Miracle-Gro, Inc. takes smoking bans to the next level to cut health care costs.
Wellness an investment
Companies across the country find wellness programs save money.
More stay on the job while they fight cancer
A diagnosis won't get in the way of productivity for some cancer patients.
Improving Worker Productivity: Depression management key in chronic disease treatment
How screening for depression, especially in those with chronic illnesses, makes happier, healthier employees.
Workplace
Wellness: Success Requires Savvy Marketing
According to this Occupational Hazards magazine article, effective
marketing can increase your wellness programs likelihood of success and
perhaps save you money.
Report:
Repetitive Motion Injuries Are Still No. 1 Workplace Injury
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Musculoskeletal disorders accounted
for a third of the workplace injuries and illnesses resulting in days away
from work in 2003.
Beating
Stress on the Job: Some Companies Helping Workers Take the Edge Off
Once seen as an individual problem that could be handled by the employee,
stress now is a common concern among employers and health care providers
due to increases in absenteeism and insurance premiums.
Swallowing
the Cost of Obesity Treatment
When Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina scrutinized medical costs
and claims data for its obese members, it discovered that their care cost
at least 30 percent more than normal-weight members. That’s when the
Chapel Hill-based plan decided to wade into the high-cost, high-stakes world
of obesity treatment.
Distressing
or De-stressing?
What can your workplace do to keep employees sane?
Alcohol
and Other Substance Abuse: Prevalence, Cost and Impact on Productivity
According to the “2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health”
from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
nearly 75 percent of adult illicit drug users in the United States are employed
either full-time or part-time, while close to 80 percent of adult heavy
drinkers and binge drinkers are employed.