Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Bad Health is Bad for You and Bad for Your Business



The success of your business relies on your performance at work and at home.  As you deal with the unpredictable challenges you’re faced with every day; your life becomes stressed, messy and out of control.   Just take a minute to think about what your day might look like. Your work days begin with jumping out of bed to an alarm clock; have a jolt of caffeine; then fight your way through the traffic to get to work on time.  During your rushed day there are complicated decisions to make, pressure to get a lot of things done in a short period of time without enough help. At the end of every work day you hurry off to your car facing the rat race back to home filled with evenings of quick dinners, late night “bad” news, tossing and turning; sleepless nights just to start right back over again the next day!  No wonder you’re sick and tired!

People are sick.  It seems nearly every other day there’s a new national epidemic.  The latest? Childhood obesity, diabetes, obesity, insufficient sleep...what next?  Nearly 1/3 of Americans now have Metabolic Syndrome. What’s that you ask? If you would’ve asked me 30 years ago about Metabolic Syndrome I couldn’t have answered, because there was no such condition. You may not know you have it. Those of you with a big belly (abdominal obesity), exploding body weight (body mass index), high blood pressure, your cholesterol is too high (low HDL cholesterol) and have high blood sugar (pre-diabetic) it’s you. What happened? A lot of poor food choices, no exercise, not enough sleep and too much stress that’s what! 1 This means 1/3 of us are already sick and the rest of us are looking forward to the possibility of developing diabetes, heart disease, and/or stroke. Just because you don’t have any of these symptoms you’re in the clear. Not a chance. For example heart disease doesn’t start with chest pain; it starts with that first French fry!    

Bad health is bad for business.  
The price of everything is going up and we as a population are getting sicker; a costly combination. With all these challenges it’s critical to include the wellness of your employees as a top priority for your business.  Encouraging your employees to make healthy choices and  take responsibility to improve their health is not enough anymore.

The time has come for companies to be the leader, show their employees way and give them the tools to become healthy it’s the only way to survive this tough economy. You lead by setting the pace, being the example and providing a supportive work environment to get healthy in.    

Bad health affects every size business and it’ll cost you big time. If you’re an entrepreneur you are your business.  Even one day of missed work can cost you big.  How many days of work can you miss due to illness before you close up shop?

Are you the employer of a large number of people?  Your company’s medical costs can add up to more money than your gross revenue.   We are all working people who are getting older and sicker.  Not only that, insurance companies are taking a serious look at the overall health of your employee population.   If your employees are too sick, not only will your rates go up but in some cases your insurance coverage will be canceled.

Bad health is bad for you. 

Poor health is frustrating, tiring and emotionally draining on you and on your family relationships.  Sickness will cost you with a lower paycheck, not able to get things done on time, and missing too much work.  You’ll be spending money on doctor visits, medications, diagnostic testing, procedures and emergency room visits. 

If your health is not a priority your sickness will be.  When you’re sick, trying to get better can become a full-time expensive and exhausting job. Think about whom you know who has heart disease, cancer or diabetes. It’s all consuming. Isn’t it?

Good health is good for you and good for your business.

Sometimes we forget every company is made up of individuals. By providing support, information, and education, the health and wellness of each individual is improved over the long run resulting in a permanent lifestyle change.  Each person is unique in their desire to become healthy, the way they embrace change and when the time is right for them.  Healthy and well is what we become, not what happens to us. 

Being healthy feels good, fuels you with energy, helps you focus, and makes you happy.  You wake up refreshed, ready to go and prepared for what the day has in store for you.  As a result of good health you get to grow your business, keep your job, possibly make more money, feel great about what you do and where you work!  

When you’re financially fit, enjoy a healthy, active body and have a healthy attitude what can’t you do?  
You’re on top of the world!

Your partner in health,


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