Delphine Caprez-Cunningham

20 January 2012

Typically they hit at 3pm or 4pm. But they could strike you mid-morning. They are unhealthy food cravings and, usually they involve crips, chocolate, pastries or other high fat, high salt, or high sugar foods.

Nutritionist Christina Turner, of SOL North Coast Nutrition, says most of the unhealthy foods we reach for are also high carbohydrate, because the energy in them is released quickly.

Here’s a bit of science for you: brain scans have found that cravings cause an area of the brain, called the orbitofrontal cortex, to light up in much the same way as a drug addicts. So don’t be too quick to blame lack of willpower for your inability to kick a craved food!

Often cravings are also caused by stress

If you often reach for sweet, sugary snacks when you’re stressed, you’re not alone. In fact snacking when under stress at work is such an issue that The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health (University of Aberdeen, Scotland) has won funding of one million euros to investigate how workplace stress can drive people to the chocolate vending machine. The research will be part of a five-year, six million euro European study on obesity.

Alexandra Johnstone, a nutrition scientist, said that the institute was planning to study those workers who reach for a snack when they feel stressed, and those who do not eat at all when under pressure. “Some of our volunteers will be shift workers, and we will be examining whether tiredness rather than hunger causes some of them to crave more food in the middle of the night,” said Dr Johnstone.

Poor eating habits at work are a significant contributor to weight gain, and do little to boost your concentration or ease stress levels. Research from the International Labour Office in Geneva, Switzerland, showed that simple things such as skipping meals, which triggers low blood sugar, can shorten attention span and slow the speed with which you process information. Coffee and sugary snacks are among the worst choices. Too much caffeine can make your pulse race, while sugary carbs can make your brain sluggish.

Because physical cravings are believed to be the result of a decrease or dip in blood sugar levels, the secret is to be prepared. Healthy but yummy snacks include a hummus dip with chunky strips of carrot or low-fat crackers; or low-fat yoghurt and fruit. For staying power, a handful of nuts such as almonds or pecans, or a dried fig (which is full of iron for energy) is the go.

Order your Food Fix and Stress Less booklets here.

Delphine Caprez-Cunningham

22 December 2011

Latest research consistently shows that employee well-being is a better predictor of staff’s productivity than job satisfaction. It has been shown to be a key determinant of organisational performance and the key driver of employee engagement.

HR and OH&S professionals hold that there is a clear link between the wellbeing of the workforce and organisational performance, a belief that is borne out by the Buck Consultants research confirming that the primary goals behind employee wellness programs are to improve worker productivity and to reduce presenteeism and sickness absence.

This is based on the undeniable tenet that a healthy workforce is a more successful and prolific one.

To read on, please visit the original article.

Delphine Caprez-Cunningham

27 November 2011

A culture of happiness can contribute to the prosperity of an organisation.

There is nothing new in this statement, it is common knowledge that when employees are happy at work and in their lives, they are more productive.

Not only are they more productive, but research show that happy employees, compared to their less happy colleagues, can bring a lot more to their organisations. They make decisions more effectively, experience less conflict working in teams, cope better with organisational changes, tackle a bigger range of tasks, have superior interpersonal skills, are more organised, benefit from better physical and mental health so are less prone to be off sick, are more resilient, feel more commitment to their organisations, and the list goes on and on. So it DOES matter whether your staff are happy at work or not.

Contrary to the belief that people become happy because they are successful, research psychologist and ‘happiness’ author professor Sonja Lyubomirksy shows in her book Does Happiness Promote Career Success? that it’s actually the opposite that is true. Most people gain success in their life due to their happy disposition as life circumstances only account for about ten per cent of our happiness picture. Our individual happiness set point or genes determines another 50 per cent, leaving a significant 40 per cent of our capacity for happiness within our own power to change.

So when you create a culture of happiness, you gain similar benefits enjoyed by organisations already blessed with a large number of happy staff members.

But how can you create a culture of happiness as part of your corporate health program, without having to drastically change your existent culture or spend a fortune?

1. Survey your employees. Ask them what they would change to make a happier work environment, and create a Happiness Index to be able to measure its fluctuation throughout the year, depending on the workplace health promotions.

2. Create opportunities for your staff to socialise. A corporate culture of happiness should embrace opportunities for employees to interact in positive, productive ways, even if only during breaks or while engaging in corporate wellness activities.

3. Seek management support and encourage your senior leaders to evaluate their staff’s happiness.

4. Invite corporate health providers to join think tank sessions and brainstrom ideas on corporate health activities that would enhance your employees wellness and health.

5. Implement corporate health programs and initiatives that are focused on physicall, social and team activities proven to have a positive impact on people’s level of happiness. Team Challenges such as Fitness Challenge, or Outback Walkabout are great options to increase your employees wellness, happiness, and productivity.

6. Remember that your staff need to feel in control to be able to influence the 40 per of their capacity for happiness.

For more information on Corporate Health Program, contact Healthworks on 1300 90 10 90 (International: IDD 61-2-9954-1888 ) and be sure to quote: “post1117″ for eligibility of Healthworks latest online offers and Corporate Health initiatives.

Delphine Caprez-Cunningham

27 October 2011

It’s an unwritten rule. If you’ve got a problem and you’re a man, don’t ask for help, just suck it up. Men are more likely to put off getting help for health issues, as many think they are supposed to be tough, self-reliant, and manage pain. Compared to women, they are also more reluctant to openly discuss health issues, coupled with an ‘it’ll be alright’ male attitude.

Do you, as an employer and HR manager, know the effect poor health has on your male workforce and the impact on their productivity?

A recent study conducted by Wesley Corporate on health in the Australian workplace has found that the average worker has almost three health ‘risks’ meaning they are more likely to suffer from cancer, obesity, high cholesterol, poor nutrition, inactivity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and depression. These risk factors are all linked to increased absenteeism, and decreased productivity, up to seven per cent costing the Australian economy more than $34 billion in lost productivity per year.

There are numerous reasons for the poor state of men’s health in Australia and around the world, but the main one is lack of awareness of the health issues they face.

You can help make a difference to the health of your male’s workforce by simply making your corporate wellness programs more ‘men-friendly’.

We’ve recently surveyed our database of clients asking them which Health & Safety events they are currently participating in or would be willing to participate in and, not surprisingly, Movember was at the top of the list. So it seems that Australian companies are ready to invest in the health and wellbeing of their male population. In addition, the National Male Health Policy was introduced by the Department of Health and Ageing in 2010. One of the six priority areas for action is a focus on preventive health for males. This priority encourages you as an employer to:

1. Organise health checks, health seminars, and corporate health programs with a focus on men’s health issues. Health checks in the workplace are an important means of raising awareness about health issues and reducing barriers to access by bringing health checks to males.

2. Offer Health promotion materials targeting men’s health, such as men’s health booklet, men’s health checks list magnet, or online health newsletter for men.

3. Encourage Movember fund-raising activities. There are many benefits participating in Movember can bring to your organisation, from team building and moral boosting to improving the understanding of the health risks men face and getting them to take action. Go to www.movember.com to get involved.

Even though new research shows that men are becoming concerned about their health and are doing more to improve it, the vital message to get out remains the same: men’s health and wellbeing matter as Men are more likely than women to smoke, be overweight, have high blood pressure and be less active after the age of 35. With the right information, men’s health seminars, men-friendly health and wellbeing programs, and a willingness to make a few changes, men can maintain a healthy life, and boost your company productivity.

For more information on Corporate Health Program, contact Healthworks on 1300 90 10 90 (International: IDD 61-2-9954-1888 ) and be sure to quote: “post1099″ for eligibility of Healthworks latest online offers and Corporate Health initiatives.

Delphine Caprez-Cunningham

10 October 2011

Several million people in Australia experience depression, an anxiety disorder or other mental health illness each year. As a manager, HR or OHS representative, regardless of the industry you work in, at some point in your career you will be affected – directly or indirectly – by a mental health problem.

Mental illness is a term used for a range of conditions which affect a person’s mood, behaviour and thoughts in a way that is distressing and impacts on day-to-day functioning. It is a health problem that significantly affects how a person feels, things, behaves, and interacts with others, thus affecting their relationship, their work, and their enjoyment of life.

Here are some facts about mental health in Australia, just in time for Mental Health Week (9-15 October 2011):

• On average, every full-time employee with untreated depression costs an organisation $9,665 per year, as reported in a study conducted by the University of Queensland.

• 95 per cent of a population surveyed by SANE Australia think employers and managers need education on mental illness and how to manage its effects in the workplace.

• Almost 50 per cent of Australians will experience a mental health problem at some time in their lives.

• According to beyondblue, the national depression initiative, depression is currently the leading cause of non-fatal disability in Australia, but only three per cent of the population identifies it as a major health problem.

Despite one in five Australians experiencing mental health problems each year, the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research reported that nearly half of all senior managers believe none of their workers will experience a mental health problem at work.

However it does not have to be that way. By running corporate wellness initiatives targeting mental health as part of corporate health program, you can educate, raise awareness and improve your staff overall wellbeing.

Start by going through this mental health checklist with your managers and team leaders to assess the need for further mental health educational seminars:

1. Does your organisation have a mental health policy and are you aware of your duties under the Australian-wide Disability Discrimination Act?
2. Could you or your manager list the early signs of stress, depression, and anxiety related drug and alcohol problems?
3. Do you have regular meetings or appraisal sessions with your staff so that you can spot any mental health problems in the early stages?
4. Do you specifically check on the well-being of your staff in these appraisal sessions? eg. excessive travelling, long hours, pressures at home such as moving house, getting married, having children, bereavements etc?
5. Do your staff know they can talk to you or your company EAP confidentially if they have an issue?
6. If you suspect one of your staff suffers from mental health issues, would you suggest they go to see your company EAP, their GP or health professional?
7. Once you’ve suggested they see someone, do you follow them up and make sure they get professional help?
8. Do you allow your staff to have as much flexibility as possible regarding how work gets done, to help them balance their personal and work lives?
9. Are you aware of staff or colleagues who have had a mental health problem?
10. Where you have employees with an ongoing mental health problem, are you aware of their coping strategies and their wishes about how you can help in the event of a relapse?

To create a mentally healthy workforce, companies should also work on building a supportive environment where employees are able to express any difficulties they may be having balancing their workloads. Skills and resources to help them manage their time and address challenges positively should be made available through corporate health initiatives such as educational booklet about mental health, life coaching sessions, and organisational work-life balance policies such as flexible working hours and job sharing.

For more information on Corporate Health Program, contact Healthworks on 1300 90 10 90 (International: IDD 61-2-9954-1888 ) and be sure to quote: “post1079″ for eligibility of Healthworks latest online offers and Corporate Health initiatives.

Delphine Caprez-Cunningham

12 August 2011
Thousands of people in the Australian work force have either been, or are currently affected by cancer. It is now very common for employers to have staff members who have cancer, or are caring for a loved one with cancer.

More than half a million people (2.4% of the Australian population) have been diagnosed with cancer in the past five year according to the Cancer Council. And each year, 108,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed across the country.

These alarming statistics are a clear evidence that cancer is a health topic companies can’t ignore anymore. Not to mention the financial cost cancer can have on your organisation. In the US for example, the estimated cost of cancer to American companies is nearly US$264 billion per year in both health care costs and lost productivity. And with an aging population, the costs are expected to rise 25% by 2030.

We’ve recently surveyed our huge database of clients asking them which Health & Safety events they are currently participating in or would be willing to participate in and, not surprisingly, Daffodil Day was at the top of the list, closely followed by Movember, National Safe Work Week and Earth Hour. So Australian companies seem to have already made the switch and joined the fight against cancer.

So what can you do as an organisation to support the cause and help improve your employee wellness:

1. Promote healthy habits through a corporate wellness program
Include educational seminars as part of the program. Cancer education is the best prevention strategy and your workplace offers a captive audience ready to be informed. Also include seminars or motivational challenges about healthy eating, the advantages of exercise, how to reduce stress at work, and smoking cessation campaigns, all havie a positive impact on cancer prevention.

2. Organise Skin Cancer Checks for your staff
Early detection is the greatest weapon against skin cancer, especially in Australia. Lasting 10 minutes and involving individual examination for signs of potential skin cancers, skin cancer checks are conducted by fully qualified professionals, with referral given for those participants requiring further attention. Skin cancer checks can be delivered as a one-off wellness initiative or as part of an annual corporate health program.

3. Look after your staff currently suffering from cancer or caring for a loved one with cancer
Most employers are willing to make changes to duties and working hours to enable their employees with cancer to continue working if they want to. Think about workplace health programs promoting flexible working arrangements, reduced hours, unpaid leave, return-to-work options after a long absence, and most importantly, stay in touch with your staff while they are away. Supporting employees so that they can remain in or return to work easily benefits your business, as well as your staff.

4. Get involved in Daffodil Day on 26th August and raise funds for cancer research
By simply holding a “yellow” event, such as a breakfast with a raffle, and offering a cancer awareness booklet to raise awareness on the disease, you can help raise much needed funds for cancer research. You can also allow a volunteer day for your staff to give back to the community. It will help increase your employee engagement and strengthen your role as an employer of choice.

Your company has a great opportunity to make a huge impact in your employee wellness. Remember that small things can make a big difference in the prevention of cancer and other illnesses.

For more information on Corporate Health Program, contact Healthworks on 1300 90 10 90 (International: IDD 61-2-9954-1888 ) and be sure to quote: “post1056″ for eligibility of Healthworks latest online offers and Corporate Health initiatives.

Delphine Caprez-Cunningham

13 July 2011

Presenteeism is far much more difficult to measure than absenteeism as it’s not always apparent, but its impact on your organisation’s productivity is far more prevalent.

Presenteeism is defined as the lost productivity that occurs due to health conditions when employees turn up to work but, as a consequence of illness or other medical issues, are not fully functioning. It is more prevalent in tough economic times as people are afraid of losing their jobs and will show up at work even when they are sick.

Presenteeism

Previous study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that the on-the-job productivity loss resulting from depression and pain was roughly three times greater than the absence-related productivity loss attributed to these conditions. That is, less time was actually lost from employees staying home than from them turning up to work but not performing at their best.

What is also interesting to notice is that there is a linear relationship in the progression of presenteeism through to long term absence. The results of presenteeism precede employees being absent, then short and long term disability follows over time. Thus the effects of presenteeism exist for months prior to staff members becoming absent.

Closer to home, Australian health insurer Medibank Private reported that presenteeism costed Australian businesses and the economy over $25 billion each year in 2005-2006, with a direct impact on productivity costing a total of $17.6 billion a year. This represents a loss of six working days per employee per year.

Looking at these alarming figures makes it clear that presenteeism represents an issue that employers can’t ignore.

Interestingly, most of the medical problems that result in presenteeism are, by their nature, relatively benign as more serious illnesses would force employees to stay home despite their high work ethic. Most studies on presenteeism consider the impact of medical conditions such as allergies, depression, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, back and neck problems, and migraines/headaches. Other employee lifestyle factors such as poor diet, lack of exercise, lack of sleep or substance abuse have also a great impact on productivity.

Hence the importance and urgency to take preventive measures. However, it’s critical for businesses to identify their own presenteeism costs before deciding on investing in preventive measures such as corporate health programs, or health expos. To do so, the best solution to gather information from your staff on conditions that may cause them suffering from future health problems is a Health Risk Assessment (HRA). This credible evidence-based tool can assist you to cost effectively diagnose your workplace wellness needs, and measure your employee wellness and health.

Once your employees’ wellness risks are identified, invest in an annual workplace health program to address your top five presenteeism-related health risks. Work with a professional corporate health provider, such as Healthworks, that will help customise your workplace health program by analysing the unique profile of your employees wellness, the prevalence of health risk, the overall health status of your workforce and its impact on productivity and your bottom line.

There are a few other approaches you can take to assist your staff to better manage their health and wellbeing and lower your presenteeism rate in the long term:

• Offer Employee Assistance Program – this corporate counselling service help your employees and their immediate family members manage their health and wellness issues.
• Offer a Good Health Day – an extra day of leave for your staff to improve their personal wellbeing.
• Offer flexible work arrangement – Developing a workplace culture that genuinely promotes flexible work arrangements is a key factor in attracting and retaining skilled staff, decreasing presenteeism and absenteeism and boosting productivity
• Provide free flu vaccinations – presenteeism and absenteeism due to influenza costs businesses more than two billion dollars each year. There is no doubt that the influenza virus thrives in the office environment, and each winter one in four of your employees will become infected.

For more information on Workplace Health Initiatives, contact Healthworks on 1300 90 10 90 (International: IDD 61-2-9954-1888 ) and be sure to quote: “post1047″ for eligibility of Healthworks latest online offers and Corporate Health initiatives.

Delphine Caprez-Cunningham

16 June 2011

There are many strategies that have been proven to increase employee participation in workplace wellness programs. However, the use of incentives has gained significant traction in recent years because it has demonstrated the potential to be more effective than other methods.

Current studies indicate that 17% of American companies with 500 or more employees offer incentives to encourage participation in their corporate health programs, and 23% of American companies with 20,000 or more employees use incentives.

Employee wellness programs in general have been found to generate a return on investment of $4 in health care costs and $5 in reduced absenteeism for every dollar invested within three to five years of the program launch. This alone is impressive. However, by incorporating the use of incentives into a workplace health program as a way to drive participation – particularly for program elements like HRAs – employers can see dramatic increases in their program ROI

Another study conducted in 2009 found that companies spent on average $163 per employee per year on wellness incentive rewards, up from $145 the previous year.

Incentives improve participation, but dollars alone don’t deliver sustained program engagement. The US Centre for Health Research has studied program incentives evidence and best practices, and found that incentives can be put into two categories, tangible and intangible, and both categories should be included in a well designed health program.

Tangible incentives include:
• Material merchandise goods, such as T-shirts, bags, drink bottles, health books, vouchers, etc.
• Time off such as a Well Day.
• Special privilege like a parking spot, or access to a company sponsored restaurant, or an extended lunch-hour.
• Travel opportunity such as free airline tickets or free weekend away.

Intangible incentives are not connected with concrete, material or easily measurable facts. They include incentive rewards such as:
• Belonging, including membership in a fitness program group, or registration fees to participate in a fun run.
• Recognition, such as publication of special wellness achievement in newsletter or on the intranet.
• Self-mastery, by offering a workshop to learn techniques to increase self-control of eating habits.
• Ability to contribute such as being a mentor to offer peer support opportunity.
• Group Competition like fun runs, or corporate triathlon.

However incentives are not the only way to increase participation in your corporate health programs. The characteristics of a best practice health promotion program should incorporate various components, as recommended by John Lang, President of the Health and Productivity Institute of Australia (HAPIA). He suggests that the components should include:
• Endorsement from the CEO to show his/her commitment and support to such a program
• Participation by senior leaders, and CEO if possible
• Proper communication and marketing plan, and branding program
• Creating of Health and wellbeing KPIs for all employees
• Publication of health results and data.

By using incentives, you will not only increase participation to your corporate health program but you will also influence your employees to improve their long-term health status.

For more information on Corporate Health Program, contact Healthworks on 1300 90 10 90 (International: IDD 61-2-9954-1888 ) and be sure to quote: “post1037″ for eligibility of Healthworks latest online offers and Corporate Health initiatives.

Delphine Caprez-Cunningham

27th April 2011

The health and wellbeing of the Australian workforce significantly varies depending on the sector, geographical location, and size of organisations. Hence budgeting for your workplace wellness program can become challenging at times.

However, there are a few factors to consider before focusing on your budget. The first one is whether you want your corporate health program to target high risk individuals or to be an all inclusive program.

One of the seven best practices (the seven ‘C’) recognised by The Wellness Council of America is for organisations to identify high risk employees and provide targeted interventions based on the identified health risks. This best practice has been identified as a short term key for successful workplace wellness programs.

On the other hand, by only addressing health issues from a selected group of high risk individuals, the holistic principle of wellness based on a proactive more than a reactive approach to health (prevention is better than cure) is not respected. Therefore, focusing on those who need health interventions without including those who currently don’t but may in the future is going against the wellness principle. Moreover, by focusing on a small group of individuals, a targeted wellness program will not generate interest from the broader population and will not encourage employees to get involved and look after their health. It will therefore have a negative impact on the workplace health, and consequently on the overall population’s health.

In the early 1990s, workplace health promotion has reoriented its focus to be more holistic and integrative by addressing both individual risk factors and the broader organisational and environmental issues. By making wellness programs an integrated part of a workplace culture, instead of conducting programs aimed at changing individuals, it does encourage a new concept of health-promoting workplace. Health-promoting workplace benefits the employees, their families, the workplace itself, and the environment.

In addition to the above, the actual costs of your workplace health programs also depend on a few other factors:

• Are you going to run the corporate health programs in-house or will you hire a health provider to do it for you?
• Are you planning to run a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) prior to designing your workplace program?
• Will you include health or life coaching?
• What type of health checks will you conduct?
• What kind of incentives will you be providing, if any?

The good news is that the full cost of your workplace health program doesn’t need to be carried entirely by your organisation. While you are expected to pay for the most important cost of the program, your staff can often share expenses on different wellness activities or classes. Various studies have shown that by asking staff to pay a certain amount or percentage toward a health activity, it helps them take ownership of their health, make them more accountable, and therefore greatly improve the success of the program.

So once again, how much should you spend for your Corporate Health Program? This question was asked to a few American workplace wellness experts from The Wellness Council of America, and from Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies, and their responses varied from US$100 to $400 per employee per year, depending on whether incentives and health coaching were included, and depending on how much savings and positive ROI you expect.

Hence, you can run an effective employee wellness program for anywhere within this range. With good planning, assistance from an external corporate health provider, an in-house workplace health program can be very effective, easy to offer, and affordable.

For more information on Corporate Health Program, contact Healthworks on 1300 90 10 90 (International: IDD 61-2-9954-1888 ) and be sure to quote: “post1028″ for eligibility of Healthworks latest online offers and Corporate Health initiatives.