WELCOA On the Move Company Challenge

WELCOA is happy to announce the 2017 national On the Move Challenge and C2 Your Health LLC is excited to offer a discount for the 2017 challenge!

WELCOA has created a solution to get all employees moving because they want to, not because they have to. Employees will assess their physical activity barriers and receive targeted coaching and next steps from fitness expert Sean Foy. They will learn to connect physical activity with what is truly important to them, like their families, careers and managing their stress. They will set goals for their health and well-being and share them with their coworkers, and they will get support from each other to begin to create a culture of health in your organization. Includes device-agnostic fitness tracking device integration.

Choose Between 

·         On the Move Company Challenge ·         On the Move Monthly

·         Or engage with them together!

On the Move – Monthly – Benefits

·         On the Move Monthly platform access at a monthly per participant rate. ·         Monthly curriculum of turn-key programming that teaches participants to focus on their purpose, their intention, their reason for moving more and sitting less. ·         Incorporates financial well-being, stress management, nutrition, social well-being and more into purpose-driven curriculum. ·         High-touch personalized assessments and coaching that will change your employees’ physical activity behaviors and attitudes.

·         Educational videos, tools and resources for helping employees move more and sit less. ·         Optional device integration at no additional cost. ·         Hands-on training for onsite coordinators on best practices that will enhance your program for years to come. ·         Optional training and certification for onsite coordinator. ·         Ongoing customer service and support for your onsite coordinator.

On the Move Company – 12 week challenge – Benefits

National Challenge Deadline April 3, 2017

·         On the Move Company Challenge platform access for all employees with educational, behavior change, physical activity tracking and social support functionality. ·         National designation as one of the Top Most Active Companies. ·         12 Weeks of turn-key programming that leverages the new science of behavior change to help your employees move more and sit less. ·         A customized outcomes reporting package. ·         Optional device integration at no additional cost.

·         Built-in pre/post culture audit and employee engagement measures. ·         Hands-on training for onsite coordinators on best practices that will enhance your program for years to come. ·         High-touch personalized assessments and coaching that will change your employees’ physical activity behaviors and attitudes. ·         Educational videos, tools and resources for helping employees move more and sit less.          ·         Ongoing customer service and support for your onsite coordinator.

“I love that the challenge has made people stop and consider the decisions they make, often choosing a healthier path.”

– NICOLE, WEST ALLIS-WEST MILWAUKEE SCHOOL DISTRICT 

You Are What You Eat...Even at Work

Companies trying to increase productivity should offer their employees more wellness programs, a new study finds.

Workers who ate healthful meals and exercised on a regular basis had better job performance and lower absenteeism, research from the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), Brigham Young University and the Center for Health Research at Healthways shows.

Employees who eat healthy all day long were 25 percent more likely to have higher job performance, the study found, while those who eat five or more servings of fruit and vegetables at least four times a week were 20 percent more likely to be more productive.

In addition, employees who exercise for at least 30minutes, three times a week, were 15 percent more likely to have higher job performance.

Overall, absenteeism was 27 percent lower for those workers who ate healthy and regularly exercised and that their job performance was 11 percent higher than their peers who were obese, the study found.

Overweight workers experienced lower job performance and higher absenteeism, compared to those employees who suffer from depression and other chronic diseases or conditions.

Source: You Are What You Eat...Even at Work 

Your partner in health, 

Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA
Certified Health Coach
Wellness Consultant
C2 Your Health LLC
WELCOA Faculty
Top 100 Health Promotion Professional nominee

121 Proven Employee Wellness Program Ideas For Your Office

Employee wellness programs have become a staple in many corporations as a way to attract top talent, keep them happy and productive, and decrease employee turnover. In fact, 80% of employees at companies with robust health and wellness programs feel engaged and cared for by their employers.

The key to having a successful corporate wellness program is encouraging overall wellbeing while still keeping it fun (see #57 for a perfect example). If you can’t get your team engaged then your wellness program ideas will quickly lose steam. So make your initiatives fun, try new ideas and see what your team values the most.

A lot of the wellness ideas listed here are ones we’ve used ourselves and have seen the benefits firsthand. Many others were contributed to us from awesome companies that know how to take care of their teams.

Below is a list of 121 employee wellness program ideas that you can easily implement at your office.

Source:  121 Proven Employee Wellness Program Ideas For Your Office

Your partner in health, 

Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA 
Certified Health Coach
Wellness Consultant
WELCOA Faculty
Nominated for Top 100 Health Promotion Specialists
C2 Your Health LLC

10 Best Practices to Staying Healthy at Work

Health care is a hot topic these days, and the personal health and wellness industry is booming. With health care reform, some companies are in a bind and are seriously looking at ways to promote wellness and preventive health measures for their employees.

If you are an employee, you know that staying healthy benefits you in many ways: fewer missed work days, greater productivity and less stress. Staying healthy is good for your pockets too, in the form of lower health care costs and health insurance premiums.

So when you’re going to the office and working in close quarters (ah, the cubicle life) every day, how can you stay healthy?

1. Wash your hands often - Hand-washing is the number one way you can prevent yourself from getting sick.

2. Keep your workspace clean - The average desk harbors hundreds of times more bacteria than a toilet seat — pretty gross, right? 

3. Drink more water - Staying well-hydrated is crucial to your productivity, energy levels and overall health. #stayhydrated

4. Keep hand sanitizer at your desk - Keep some handy at your desk, so it can be applied immediately and used in between hand washings when needed.

5. Avoid others who are not feeling well or exhibit symptoms of illness - Wash your hands after spending time at or near the work space of someone who is sick, sneezing or coughing.

6. Eat well including light, healthy lunches -Make sure to include some lean protein, salad or fresh veggies, and fresh fruit for lasting energy with no afternoon slump. #onesimplechange 

Read to rest: 10 best practices to staying healthy at work.

 Your partner in health, 

Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA 
Certified Health Coach
Wellness Consultant 
WELCOA Faculty 
Top 100 Health Promotion Professional Nominee 
C2 Your Health LLC

Be Strong - Commit to Health

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face … we must do what we think we cannot. – Eleanor Roosevelt

When it comes to your health what’s getting in your way? Work? A habit? Or both? I say both. Do you stay at work too late, work past lunch, meet in restaurants? These are all habits that contribute to unhealthy work habits that contribute to your poor health. Just because you may not be experiencing sickness or disease right this moment it doesn’t mean your body isn’t collecting the ingredients to create cancer or some other chronic disease.  

Our work environments may differ however we all have unhealthy food close at hand. Many work-sites have vending machines, refrigerators, microwaves, food trucks, convenience stores and fast food joints nearby so you don’t waste any time getting your lunch. Or maybe you are one out of five Americans who work from home? Even though healthy foods could be as close as your refrigerator I’m thinking what I will find are frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets or cheese sticks in your freezer. Let’s not mention the food cupboard filled with those fast, processed the foods your family likes.  You know the ones, chips, cookies, snack cakes and candy. 

Or maybe it’s this? Where ever you work it’s been another hectic day at work. On impulse, you grab an extra-large candy bar during your afternoon break. You know it’s not good for you so you plan to take just a few bites. But before you know it, you’ve polished off the whole thing. Remind you of anyone? You maybe? 

All these choices make you feel better at least temporarily. Then remorse sets in along with a good dose of stomach upset, foggy thinking, low energy and a few more pounds. All of this is followed by thinking “I can’t believe I ate that, I’m bad”. 

Is this the story of your life? How do you make those healthy food choices in the face of all the obstacles? 

Here’s how start with recommitting and find the courage to preserver.

Does it take courage to make healthy food choices? You bet it does! When it comes to your health it takes courage is to hold yourself accountable for your actions. By accepting responsibility for your decisions, honoring your commitments you become courageous and will find new resolve to move forward. And what a wonderful since of mastery and accomplishment you feel! 

It’s never too late to get your courage up. Are you ready?

The first step is resolve. Recommit. Be courageous.

It takes courage to let go of the literally thousands of thoughts in your head that sabotage your actions and goals. It takes courage to not follow the crowd and speak up for your health. It takes courage to change your daily habits. It takes courage to stand up for you face the fear of joking and teasing from your peers for choosing health. And it takes even more courage to persist and recommit every day. Here’s the thing the more courage you use the more you have, the better you feel and the closer you are to healthier life you desire and deserve.

Are you ready? Click here to read to whole article in Small Biz Forward.

Your partner in health, 

Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA

C2 Your Health LLC

Certified Health Coach 

Wellness Consultant 

Job Stress and Heart Disease

February is American Heart Month bringing into focus all things about heart disease. One question I have not heard answered is "Can my job stress cause me to have a heart attack?" The short answer is "Yes". Surprised? Let's take a quick  look at why that is. This question of is stress at work was explored in February's edition of  Wellness Wednesday Getting Healthier Every Week where experts weighed in about job stress and health.

WebMD published Is Your Job Wrecking Your Heart? How job stress may affect your heart's health, and what you can do about it where they reported since the U.S. unemployment rate high, most people today are happy just to have a job and a regular paycheck. Add to this the 2013 State of the American Workplace Report who estimates 70% of Americans are disinterested and unhappy at work.

The Right Management, a subsidiary ManpowerGroup,  released a snapshot survey that underlines the dissatisfaction among American workers including feeling stuck in their jobs and unable to consider a career move even if they’re unhappy.

In fact, the American Psychological Association’s 2010 Stress in America Survey found that work is cited as 1 of the top 3 contributors to stress, second only to worries about money and followed closely by fear about the state of the economy.  

You might be asking yourself "What does all this stress have to do with heart disease?" 

 

Job stress puts pressure on the heart by raising blood pressure, heart rate, and even cholesterol levels. When you are under job stress you may have the tendency to reduce your attentiveness to healthful lifestyle choices, increasing likelihood of risky behaviors like over eating, smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages and sleeplessness, which all exacerbate known risk factors for cardiac disease. These unhealthy behaviors leads to obesity and type 2 diabetes.When you have diabetes, you are at least twice as likely as someone who does not have diabetes to have heart disease or a stroke.

 

What can you do?

 

When it comes to stress the answer is very individual. It's a trial and error until you find the strategy that works for you. Here is what WebMD has to say:

• Add cardiovascular exercise, such as running, biking or brisk walking.
• Try yoga, tai chi, massage and / or meditation.
• Change your point of view, take a fresh look.
• Focus on healthy behaviors such as eating heart healthy and stop smoking.

To read the full article click here

Your heart will thank you.

Your partner in health,

 

 

Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA

Certified Health Coach

Wellness Consultant

C2 Your Health LLC

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