Our Thinking

By the month of February, 15% of people already dropped their goal to become healthier this year. In 2017, the number one new year’s resolution was to lose weight and eat healthier. On average, people trying to maintain their resolution from week one to the six-month mark drop 30%. Living an unhealthy lifestyle not only leaves you at risk for high-blood pressure, diabetes, and so on- but it can impact your performance at work for the worse.

According to the CDC, employers lose about $225.8 billion a year due to absenteeism- causing productivity loss. With stress being the leading health issue in today’s US workforce, many employees are discovering the long-term effects- anxiety, depression, heart disease, etc.- take a heavy toll on their work performance and overall personal health. From discounts at local gyms to yoga at lunch time, more companies are initiating wellness programs for their employees to increase the overall health and productivity in the office. A study performed by two professors at the University of California took a small sample of the workers throughout the Midwest, at commercial laundry plants, who were implementing health programs. The professors found productivity overall increased 4% during the remaining year and employees, who were initially sick, drastically increased their productivity with a 10.8% change in output.

Not only does creating a healthy office increase productivity, but employees who are self-motivated to stay fit outside of the office outperform those who do not. Another study by Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) found that employees were 25% more likely to have a higher performance when they ate healthy all day long; and 20% increase when they ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a week. Employees who exercised at least 3 times a week also had a 15% higher performance than employees who lived a more stagnate lifestyle. Many employees who have a history of athletics have the upper hand when it comes to staying motivated with their diet, work productivity, and gym performance.

Ernst & Young performed a survey on high-level female executives in the workplace and found 96% of the women currently holding a C-suite position played sports during their education. You may have heard throughout your lifetime that athletics builds character; children should be playing sports to learn teamwork and dedication. As much as that may be true, not everyone fits the mold of a perfect athlete or has the drive to compete. People who are already competitive in nature and have the potential to be a strong leader are automatically drawn to sports as a kid. Employees having athletic backgrounds gain skills beyond teamwork and dedication. They learned how to transform competition into motivation and they grew thicker skin from their losses. These employees have the eagerness to take on more responsibility and drive the company forward.

Leadership can take the opportunity to motivate their team and encourage a healthier lifestyle by setting an example of themselves. Leo Linder, CEO of Emerge, and Jim Gabalski, VP of Growth and Development, continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle outside of work and drive business forward with their motivation to give the best service to their clients.

How will you promote wellness in the workplace this season?