Ginger Cabibi isn’t grouchy in the afternoons as long as she gets in her midday workout.
“I can get rid of the morning stress and prepare mentally for the afternoon,” says the 60-year-old executive assistant at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.
She tries to hit the gym every workday and stays on target because she only has go downstairs at her company’s Denver headquarters to hop on the cardio equipment, lift weights, take an exercise class or meet with a personal trainer. Within an hour, she can be back at her desk and have a quick salad for lunch.
The past year, Cabibi has lost 47 pounds and 17 inches, and watched her cholesterol drop 91 points. Because she has been such an avid gym-goer, she’s earned prizes that include an Anthem gym bag, a tent and a smoothie maker. “I’m in the best shape of my life,” says Cabibi, who notes that while her job can be “like a roller coaster,” having a gym and fitness services is “one of the better perks you can get.”
Cabibi is proof of the benefits that come to employees and the companies they work for when the emphasis is on wellness.
“If you pay health insurance for your employees, keeping your employees healthy is your business,” says workplace wellness expert and author Tom Gilliam. Lower health costs, a more productive workforce and an energized working atmosphere are proven benefits of having onsite wellness programs, Gilliam says.
Increasingly, companies large and small are encouraging their staffs to exercise, participate in group activities like charity walks and join weight-
loss or smoking-cessation programs.
“It is important to us, as insurers, to lead the way in providing and encouraging health and wellness for our employees,” says Sally Vogler, spokeswoman for Anthem, which provides health insurance for 700,000 Coloradans.
Not only is Anthem’s downtown facility open 24/7 at no cost to employees, the towel service and personal training are free too. Yoga and Pilates classes are available for $6 a session. An internal online newsletter keeps employees informed about what classes are being conducted in the facility that week. The corporation recently went totally nonsmoking on company premises and offers free quitsmoking classes to employees. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield also sponsors lots of walking activities, such as the AIDS Walk, Race for the Cure, Alzheimer’s and, most recently, a stair-climbing team for the American Lung Association’s “Run the Register,” a 47-floor sprint.
“Our motto is to improve the health of the members we serve in the community and I’m part of the community too,” Cabibi says.
Coors Brewing Co. is among the other Colorado companies known for its commitment to the health of its employees. In 1981, the company converted an empty 23,000-square-foot supermarket building into a state-of-the-art center for fitness and wellness, all at company expense. The commitment continues, as the Coors Wellness Center recently got national awards for corporate health and productivity management. Not only can employees work out, get physical therapy and screenings, but spouses and retires are able to use the facility, as well.
“Our investment has paid off with improved employee health, injury prevention, and decreased worker’s compensation,” says spokesperson Kim DeVigil.
Included in the Denver Newspaper Agency’s new downtown headquarters is a gym and locker rooms. For the first several months, free personal training sessions were offered to orient employees to the equipment. To date, 554 employees of the DNA, The Denver Post, the Rocky Mountain News and Media News Group have registered to use the facilities according to spokesman Jim Nolan.
“It’s a benefit to employees, but it also benefits the agency because the more fit and healthy people are, the more productive they’ll be, and the better they’ll feel about their environment,” Nolan says.
Large corporations can be expected to have the financial largess to provide for their employees, but what about the little guys?
JohnstonWells Public Relations in Denver recently issued a wellness challenge to its 22 employees. Owner and CEO Gwin Johnston, and her daughter GG, president, offer corporate gym memberships at a downtown gym to all employees. Eleven people took up this offer and often go to the gym together at lunch or after work. Once a month they have “Salad Bar Day” where everyone brings an item for a salad tossed together for all to enjoy together in the conference room.
They also organized a weekly checklist, turned in on Fridays, of health and wellness choices (such as got a flu shot, walked to work, cut calories, signed up for a kickboxing class). On Monday, three names are drawn out of a hat with the winners receiving prizes such as health magazine subscriptions or coupons for healthy snacks. Once a month one lucky employee wins a gift certificate to a sporting goods store or other health-conscious retailer.
When asked about changes that have come from the program, senior associate Katie Wilson says that employees seem to be managing job pressure better as a result of the program.
“If someone is stressed out, we are encouraged to take a walk, go take a yoga class, or go to the gym and exercise,” Wilson says. “Everyone is more encouraging toward each other.”
Linda J. Buch is a certified personal trainer in Denver and co-author of “The Commercial Break Workout.” Write her at LJBalance@aol.com.
How one company rewards healthful behavior
JohnstonWells Public Relations in Denver rewards its employees for healthy habits.
Here’s what gives them a chance to win prizes:
Drink eight glasses of water per day.
Get a massage.
Take a multivitamin daily.
Set a personal wellness or fitness goal.
Do one outdoor activity this week.
Give up a vice, such as smoking or alcohol.
Count your calories daily.
Break a sweat today.
Get your daily fiber.
Have a meal that has at least three different color foods.
Get a flu shot.
Purchase a pedometer and record your average daily steps.
Log 2,000 additional steps.
Do one strength or flexibility training activity.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Do 30 min of cardio twice this week.
Avoid fast food for a week.
Eat only organic food for one day.
Walk or bike to work for one week.
Give up chocolate for a week.
Walk down 16th Street Mall at lunch.
Eat five fruits and veggies per day for a week.
Enjoy one meditative activity-such as yoga or hiking.
Get eight hours of sleep each night for one week.
Stay home from work if you’re sick.
Schedule your annual physical.
Schedule a dentist appointment.
Give up soda for a week.
Get a friend or family member to join the fitness challenge.
Set and meet your weekly weight loss goal.
Exercise every day.
Meet with a personal trainer (counts only once).
Lose at least a pound this week.
We can work it out
Encouraging fitness in the workplace is a good idea, says Bob Doyle, a certified personal trainer, because fit employees:
1. Are less likely to get sick. This reduces absenteeism and health-care expenditures.
2. Have more energy. Employees tend to stay focused on task at hand.
3. Have more self-confidence. Once someone can prove to himself that he can accomplish a better level of fitness, he feels empowered to strive for higher levels of achievement in the workplace.
4. Inspire confidence. People who maintain higher fitness levels tend to be people in whom others have confidence.
5. Tend to take on more leadership roles.
6. Set and achieve goals. Getting fit requires focus, planning and the skill to bring a project to completion, all good assets for any organization.
7. Tend to have better attitudes. People with good exercise and eating habits tend to support a more positive attitude in the workplace.
8. Are less stressed. Physical and emotional tensions are released by exercise.
9. Present excellent team-building opportunities as an employee base. Team activities like softball and tennis are great ways for employees to discover new ways of working together. Fit employees are more likely to participate in these activities.And finally:
10. Encouraging fitness demonstrates a concern by employers for the employee’s well-being. Employee turnover is significantly lower among employees who take advantage of employer wellness programs.
SOURCE: SELFGROWTH.COM
