Transcription:
Is Your Workplace a Healthy Environment?

Melanie Cole (Host): Your health is important wherever you go. Now that many people are spending a large part of their day sitting at a desk or inside an office, implementing health programs inside the workplace has become a vital piece of a healthy lifestyle. My guest today is Jenny Bates. She’s the Director of Wellness and Population Health in the Wellness Department at Hendricks Regional Health. Welcome to the show, Jenny. So, tell us: what is corporate wellness or wellness in the workplace?

Jenny Bates (Guest): Wellness in the workplace--that’s a really good question. Wellness in the workplace, it really depends on the employer and it depends on the employee population that you’re dealing with. What we’re really trying to encourage is, just really, what we call “the big three”, and that is simply boils down to moving more, stressing a little bit less, and making better choices when it comes to food. And you can do that at home, and since of us spend the majority of our waking hours at work, that’s what we tend to concentrate on.

Melanie: So then, let’s take those apart a little bit. Let’s start with getting a little bit healthier at work, getting a little more movement because sometimes you’re sitting at a desk, you get up, move around and your boss gives you the hairy eyeball. They’re looking at you like, “Why are you getting up when you got all this work to do?” but research has shown us that it’s just the opposite. The more you do move around, the better and more productive you will be.

Jenny: Absolutely, absolutely. So, think about it as when your kids, and you’ve got--maybe you’re a teacher or you remember third grade--and people get wiggly in their seat, right, and they get distracted and they talk to their neighbor. Bodies are made to move, and just because we’re older and because we’re in employment, doesn’t mean that that stops. We’ve been practicing sitting still for a long time throughout American education, and that doesn’t change, unfortunately, when we get to the workplace. We get really good at sitting still. And now, we’re trying to encourage people just the opposite. The less you move, actually, the more various health risks go up. In fact, sitting still is known as the new smoking. There’s lots and lots of research out there that indicates that if you’re really sedentary, and many of us are at work, that that can wreak havoc on your health later on. What we’d like to do is just make some small tweaks. So, when you mentioned that hairy eyeball from the boss, we want to make sure that you can have activity but yet do it in a safe manner and in one that’s going to be encouraged in your workplace. So, one of the things that we would ask people is instead of meeting somebody for lunch, why don’t you meet them at lunch for a walking meeting. Or, if you’re going to have a meeting--my boss and I did this regularly--instead of just sitting at our desk, we both grabbed a notepad, and we walked around the facility, or if the weather permitted, the outside of the facility. So, we could still be productive but we were both moving and adding in more steps. Something else that we really encourage is if you’re at a workstation or a desk where you possibly can stand, that we’re going to encourage you to do that. And even, if it’s just setting your watch or setting your phone that you know once now, you’re going to get up and stretch those legs, you’re going to do some stretches at your desk, anything to get that blood flowing. And, more blood flow, more brain power, better productivity. And, what boss doesn’t like that?

Melanie: It is great advice. And then you mentioned reducing stressors at work and at home. Sometimes people are--when they’re at work, they’re striving for perfection, they’re trying to do a good job, impress the bosses. How can you reduce those stressors as well when you’re really trying to do your job?

Jenny: Right. Right. So, we know that it goes both ways. So, a lot of folks come in to the work environment bringing stress from home, and a lot of folks go home and they bring that stress from workplace situations there. We’re carrying all this baggage, right? And so, what we really try and help folks achieve--and we do this through a variety of different processes-- is we know one activity helps lower your stress level, so we want people to get that activity. Whether they get it during their lunch break, whether they get do it after work, whether they do it before work. Maybe they’re a lark, and they do much better getting things checked off their list. We know those endorphins produced by activity make people better employees, and they make people better spouses, and they make them better parents and, basically, any role that you play. We’re going to encourage that 30 minutes activity. If you can get it in every single day, that is ideal. More is even better. But, if you can get that minimum of 30 minutes because that helps with that stress quite a bit. The other thing we want you to do is to build those healthy relationships inside work and outside work. So, when you’ve got that struggle or conflict that’s starting to grow, having that discussion with that person that you’re struggling with right away, we really encourage connectivity. That doesn’t mean just social networks and lots of time on Facebook, it means face to face interacting and building camaraderie with the folks that you work alongside with everyday. It also means prioritizing. So, sometimes, we feel so buried alive in our work, and it’s just because we feel that we’re getting so many different directives. So, setting aside time to either work with those that report to you or to whom you report, that helps immensely too so you’re all on the same page. So, really, it’s about taking control and making sure that you’re building in time for you to exercise, literally, out all of that stress and tension that builds up during a work day.

Melanie: And then, you mentioned food. Some people at the office keep those bowls of candy or they bring in cookies and cakes and things, and there’s always something in the break room, sweets that people can have. But, eating healthy is such a big part of that productivity and being able to concentrate without so much sugar going around. So, what do you tell people about the motivation or the willpower, Jenny, that it takes to stay away from those things?

Jenny: I’ll admit it. I like sweets just as much as the next person, and most people do. So, what we find and what research is going to backup what works, is accountability. So, it’s really finding somebody at work and somebody at home, ideally, that has similar goals. If you can partner up with somebody that’s trying to make those same healthy choices, that makes it a lot easier to avoid some of those situations or just stick to your guns and encourage each other rather than just give up the ghost and say, “You know what? This is not working.” So, by having that accountability partner, the two of you can bring in healthier options or you can choose to avoid that break room or to go in prepared knowing, “You know what? I deserve a treat and this is the treat that I’m going to choose,” and just being mindful about what it is you want to select. By all means, have that treat but make sure that you’re accounting for it, that you’re remembering that you did eat that. Have a Snickers bar at lunch, and sometimes we’re so busy and we’re so multitasking, and what we’re going in for that break room is that conversation. We’re going in for that relationship building, not necessarily the food. So, sometimes, just keeping your hands busy, your mouth busy with something else, can make a difference. So, just like you would with any other habit that you’re trying to change, we’re going to encourage you to just take little bits at a time and to tackle that so it seems achievable. But, boy, getting a partner in crime, really helps if you’re trying to make healthy, good choices.

Melanie: What great advice. And, now tell us about Hendricks Regional Health and the corporate wellness programs that you are addressing there.

Jenny: Okay. So, we take our big three, both internally and on the road. So, what we really focus on our group coaching efforts, and that’s where you have a small group, usually around a dozen people or so, that have some similar goals, and, typically, those goals are better health in the form of weightless or more activity. They just haven’t been able to get there on their own, so their physician or, if they can decide themselves that, “You know what? This is the support group that I need, and we go through a 12-week walk and journey with them, bringing all sorts of different experts from different health topics whether it’s sleep, whether it’s stress, whether it’s physical therapy or chronic pain, just different aspects that we all have in common, just as humans, and we build this accountability group and we work on developing healthier behaviors and replacing healthy behaviors or growing healthy behaviors and replacing behaviors that maybe weren’t so beneficial to us--that overeating at night, that neglective activity--and that tends to be very beneficial. We see people lose weight gradually, which is exactly what we want. We see them make beneficial changes. The best part is it often trickles down to their family, so you see that whole family dynamic change. We also work with a lot of employers that don’t even know where to start. Where we really encourage them to begin, is to get to know their numbers. It helps to be able to measure and to see improvement--and physicians really like that, too, and so do patients. They want to know, “Okay, what does cholesterol mean and how am I supposed to improve it?” And, “My doctor keeps telling me to lose weight but I don’t understand why that’s important. Is 10 pounds really going to make a difference?” And so, by offering what we call “health risk assessment screenings”, that gives everybody a good starting point to know where they’re at and then to really focus and hone in on what type of behavior changes they can make that are going to lead to better health outcomes for them which typically leads to a lower and a better bottom dollar line for our employers. So, it’s kind of a win-win for everybody.

Melanie: So, give your best advice in just the last few minutes here, Jenny, about what people can do at their workplace to make it just a little bit healthier during their day.

Jenny: I think, honestly starting the conversation is huge. The majority of Americans are struggling with excess weight which leads to excess health problems and additional expense for everybody --the employee and the employer. So, starting that conversation with folks that can give it momentum, and support through the C-suite is huge. And, I think, just really simply finding somebody that also wants to make some health improvements, some changes on their own, grabbing that accountability partner and saying, “You know what? Will you walk this with me? It helps keep me accountable. If I need to be reminded that I said I would exercise, can you help encourage me to do that? And, if you say you’re going to try and eat more fruits and vegetables or you’re switching from full sugared pop and you’re trying to drink more water, I can help remind you and encourage you, and point out when you’ve done a good job.” So, building those people around you that want to have good health behaviors is huge. And, just focusing on small wins whether you’re making a trade off with a better food choice or maybe a little bit less of a treat than you typically would have. Instead of your three cups ice cream, you go down to one. Anytime you can measure progress and see progress, it makes such a big difference psychologically. And, the last point is, just move. Boy, our bodies were meant to move, and the more you move, the bigger the payoff in all sorts of areas of your life including productivity. So, if I had to speak directly to an employer, I would say, “Whatever you can do to get your employees engaged and moving, it’s a win for them and it’s a win for you.”

Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today, Jenny. It’s great information. You’re listening to Health Talks with HRH. That’s Hendricks Regional Health. For more information, you can go to www.hendricks.org. That’s www.hendricks.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.