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  • My two older boys, ages 9 and 10, are playing ‘kid pitch’ baseball this year. Believe it or not, when I asked them what position they wanted to play, they both said “Dad, I want to be the pitcher”.

    Then we asked each player on the team what position they wanted to play and each and every player said “Pitcher”. On paper this is not strange, as this is the most glorified position in baseball. After all, they make the most money, get the most publicity (when they are good), and seem to have the biggest fan base.

    The other coaches and I talked to our 13-man roster about how important every position is on the team and how every position contributes to the overall goal. We teach them that they all have to play together to win.

    This conversation made me think of a business and all the “players” within a company. I bet if you asked most employees, “If I could give you a new position, what would it be?”, a popular responses would be, “I want to be the manager, the president, or the owner.”

    I am not downplaying the pitcher, the manager, the president, or the owner positions, as they are still important. But isn’t the baseball team just like a company, where that every position is important?

    • Without Risk Managers – workers gets hurt and worker’s comp rates go through the roof.
    • Without Payroll Employees – we have anarchy because no one gets paid.
    • Without Tax Administrators – the IRS is knocking at the door (actually they don’t even knock, they just enter.)
    • Without Sales People – there are no new customers.
    • Without Benefits Administrators – no one has healthcare, 401K’s, or vision and dental insurance.
    • Without Wellness Coordinators – people miss out on learning to improve their health choices.
    • Without Human Resource Employees – you have a disheveled mess.

    You get my point? Every business needs:

    • Right, center, and left fielders
    • Catchers and pitchers
    • First, second, and third basemen
    • Shortstops
    • Teammates on the bench ready to play
    • Fans
    • Beloved mascots
    • Coaches
    • Umpires

    No team is successful without all of these positions working together towards a unified goal. Isn’t the same true in business? Whenever everyone works together—bringing their special talents and experiences with them—games are won, and businesses grow.

    “Trend Following Little League Team,” © 2012 Michael Covel, used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

  • Chronic diseases are a serious concern for employees. Issues like hypertension, depression, and other maladies can lead to employees needing sick days to recover or being less productive while at work.

    We’ve already discussed how proper health education can help your employees. Here are some ways that a workplace wellness program can get your employees started on healthy habits.

    Image of an employee with a healthy lunch. Workplace wellness programs can help start healthy workplace habits.

    Working Out at the Office

    According to the Centers for Disease Control, roughly a quarter of workers are considered obese. Instituting healthy practices at work can help your employees developing good habits such as a regular workout routine and a healthy diet.

    While some people push off plans to go to the gym after work, on-site fitness programs can provide employees with the means to get into an exercise routine. By having a convenient location and available time for exercise, workers are incentivized to finally commit to working out.

    Stopping Unhealthy Habits

    A workplace wellness program is about more than just exercise and healthy eating. One component of a good program involves providing help for people looking to break habits like smoking. Quitting something addictive can take some support, and a workplace wellness program can provide some assistance for employees looking to kick certain habits to the curb.

    Another bad habit is eating junk food at work. If your company has a vending machine, swapping out healthier options can allow workers to snack without as many consequences. Healthy food at lunch-and-learns can also provide some education along with a side of nutrition.

    Wellness Programs for Healthy Workers

    GMS has experts that can help you institute a workplace wellness program to help your employees improve their health. Contact us today to start the process today.

  • Sick days happen, but a regularly unhealthy group of workers can be bad for business. Healthy, happy employees can lead to a more productive workplace. A workplace wellness program provides workers with information on healthy activities and initiatives to help foster healthier lifestyles. Here’s what your employees can learn.

    Workplace wellness program education can help your employees live a healthier lifestyle.

    Workplace Wellness Educational Opportunities

    Sometimes a little knowledge can make a big difference. A workplace wellness program helps your employees set aside time to learn more about what they can do to improve their health. Educational opportunities include:

    • One-on-one communication with a wellness coordinator
    • Voluntary lunch-and-learns, classes, and informational meetings
    • A monthly newsletter

    Supporting and teaching healthy behaviors shows employees that their company cares. By having employees become invested in health education, they can better their personal lives and help create a happier, more productive workplace.

    Assessing Your Health

    With a workplace wellness program, you learn about more than just health tips; you learn about the state of your own health.

    A wellness program involves a number of health screenings and scans that can assess your current level of health. In addition to measuring height and weight, these tests can assess other important information, including:

    • Blood pressure
    • Glucose level
    • Total Cholesterol
    • HDL, LDL, and Triglyceride upon request
    • Body fat percentage

    Even if you already knew the results before the tests, it’s never a bad idea to get a reaffirmation of where your health is at. There’s always the chance that one of your levels has changed since you were last tested and that’s important information to know. Everyone only gets one body, so it’s good to know what condition it’s in so that you can keep it in shape.

    Working with a Wellness Program

    Workplace Wellness programs are designed with the wellbeing of employees in mind. If you want to help your employees live a healthier lifestyle, contact GMS today about how we can help you institute a workplace wellness program for your business.

  • Now that we’ve said goodbye to 2015 and hello to 2016, we’ve moved on to a whole new year of big goals. Unfortunately, it can be hard to focus on the work ahead after having spent a large part of December in holiday mode. Here are some tips on how a business can help keep employees from getting into a rut after the holiday season ends.

    Motivating employees after the holidays.

    Easing into a Non-holiday Work Week

    The first few work weeks following the holidays can be a pretty jarring experience for employees. After having a few shortened work weeks through December – plus whatever paid-time-off or sick days were used – going right back into full five-day, 9-to-5 schedules can be a difficult transition.

    If you see that employees are struggling, consider allowing them to occasionally work from home during the winter. This would save them from making a winter commute and get them away from their desk while they can still complete their work.

    Get Outside (If the Weather Allows)

    If the weather cooperates – which can be a fairly big “if” depending on your location – don’t be afraid to enjoy the outdoors. Even if it’s a quick walk around the block or a staff meeting in the sun, going outside can get an employee energized. 

    If it’s just too cold, windy, snowy, or all of the above, try mixing things up by holding meetings or other office rituals in different locations. Even moving to a room with a window…. more windows and sunlight can help break up the monotony and give your employees a boost.

    Celebrate When You Can

    It’s hard to match the joy of the holidays, but the early months of 2016 can have a few celebrations as well. Energize employees with special occasions, whether it’s a lunch break, a birthday party, or a little happy hour get-together once a month. Even an occasional celebration can help break up a post-holiday rut.

    Taking Care of Employees with GMS

    Happy employees can make a big difference. These tips can help you combat the first few weeks of the year when workers can suffer from a lack of motivation.

    Another way to provide a morale boost for employees is by teaming up with a Professional Employer Organization. Group Management Services can provide you and your team big-business HR management, partnering with you to take care of your company. Contact GMS today to learn more.

  • When your employees are ailing, your business is also likely to suffer. The health and wellbeing of your employees can play a big part in your company’s success, as a happy, healthy workforce has several benefits, including:

    • Increased productivity
    • Reduced absenteeism
    • Decreased medical costs

    Many small business owners have turned to workplace wellness programs to help improve the wellbeing of their employees. Over time, these programs have evolved to address specific issues to better serve employers and their employees. Here are some recent wellness trends than may be a good fit for your business.

    An office worker stretching as part of the company’s workplace wellness program.

    Programs That Cover More Than Physical Wellbeing

    Physical health isn’t the only concern for your employees. While health concerns like chronic disease is a major issue for businesses, the stress caused by other factors can be a major source for lost productivity and morale. That’s why some businesses are expanding the definition of wellness to include areas like emotional, financial, and other types of wellbeing. 

    According to BMC Public Health, a peer-reviewed health journal, stress can increase health insurance costs for a business by 50 percent. This trend has led to the addition of skills training, financial counseling, and other outlets to some wellness programs. In addition to providing avenues for weight loss or smoking cessation, these programs focus on other avenues that can help improve both the physical and emotional health of employees by giving employees the knowledge and skills they need to reduce the stress placed on them by outside forces.

    Architectural Wellness

    You may not think about it, but your workspace can play a part in the wellness of you and your employees. Architecture and design magazine Metropolis notes that “new research about the effects of noise, light, and air quality—among many other factors—reveals direct links to long-term human health, not to mention daily productivity.” This means that certain changes to a workspace could help improve the overall wellbeing of employees, allowing them to be more productive while potentially limiting the number of sick days taken.

    Of course, most small businesses can’t do a complete redesign of an office. However, there are small changes you can make to create a healthier workspace. These include:

    • Air quality – Replace air filters and allow for fresh air flow to limit levels of carbon dioxide and other contaminants
    • Ergonomic furniture – Invest in seating and desks that relieve physical stress on employees over long periods of time
    • Private spaces – If possible, clear out some rooms or open spaces where employees can work privately when they need some space to focus
    • Noise control – Establish quiet zones for employees who need to get away from distracting conversations and use sound-deadening materials or furniture to help absorb noise

    Personalized Programs

    This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but every employee is different. This means that each worker can have certain preferences about what should be included in a workplace wellness program. Instead of trying to push aspects of a wellness program on disinterested employees, some businesses are personalizing programs so that users can take advantage of what they want.

    A wellness coordinator can meet with each employee to go over their health and to identify exactly what he or she wants to achieve through the program. Some employees may want to aggressively work to lose weight or quit smoking, while others may just want to maintain their level of health and learn other ways to improve their wellbeing. Coordinators can create personal health guides to provide workers with individualized information based on each specific user. 

    You can also offer “health hours” to employees to allow them to personalize their wellness on their own. This concept gives employees a set number of hours per week or month to go to the gym, take walks, or do some other healthy activity during company time. This can help workers who can’t find the time to work out on their own while still giving them the freedom to choose their own route to wellbeing.

    Small Business Guide to Health & Welness

    A Focus on Musculoskeletal Pain

    The U.S. Department of Health & Humans Services released a study back in 2015 that found nontraumatic joint disorders to be one of the five most costly conditions for American adults. Thanks to issues like back pain, arthritis, and carpal tunnel causing higher absentee rates and workers’ compensation claims, small business owners are now starting to realize that they may need to be proactive about musculoskeletal pain.

    A wellness program with a focus on musculoskeletal pain will help educate employees on how to prevent these issues. This may include:

    • Educating workers about what is considered a musculoskeletal disorder and how these injuries happen, which can include heavy lifting, bad work posture, and other practices that can lead to pain over time
    • Teaching prevention tactics such as important warmup stretches and proactive processes
    • Highlighting ways to improve workplace ergonomics

    Find the Right Workplace Wellness Program for Your Company

    While wellness programs can benefit small businesses, they’re only beneficial if they’re run effectively. At GMS, we can set up a customized workplace wellness program that’s designed around the needs and questions of your employees and features a quarterly review of claims and the impacts of your program. Contact GMS today to talk to one of our experts about how we can improve the wellbeing of your employees and your business.