Posts from — September 2008

Imagine a company with happy, healthy employees, who handle the daily stresses of their job with ease and equanimity. Many studies have shown a link between job satisfaction and health, and some of the signs that your organisation is suffering are: sickness, absence, employee turnover, little socialisation between employees, employees lunching at their desk (and you thought this meant they had high work ethics), no atmosphere, and low morale. (C. Cooper, 2006)

The key to better employee job satisfaction and a happier, healthier workplace is by leading people and leading your organisation in a way that promotes qualities of confidence, self esteem and health and proves to your employees that you have their interests as a part of your bottom line. Did you know that by utilising a Corporate Wellness program in your company you can expect not only better employee morale but you will have a higher performing organization and greater results.

It is a cause and effect solution in how human capital and other seemingly intangible assets are linked to create a process, that enhances customer and financial results. Can you afford not to bring in a Corporate Wellness Program and still expect your company to thrive?

Speak to any business manager and the answer is the same: retention is a key issue that effect business success. “Companies often invest heavily in recruitment and development, yet many aren’t taking the necessary steps to protect and retain that investment,” states a top business coach when broached on the subject. It is a well proven fact that businesses large and small benefit on multiple fronts when they introduce a Corporate health and fitness program into their workplace. Positive outcomes of employee and managerial health and fitness solution are:

• Reducing absenteeism and related costs
• Staff recruitment and retention
• Improving staff morale, motivation and productivity
• Lowering the risk of stress and musculoskeletal related litigation
• Can help as an integral part of your health and safety policy
• Helping employees cope with stress related problems
• Provide early intervention with diagnostic scanning

More and more managers are waking up to the benefits of workplace well being. It’s clear that if we take healthy people and place them in an unhealthy environment – no matter what degree of hardiness and resilience they may have to begin with – the unhealthy environment will create unhealthy individuals. Is that how you sometimes feel? You arrived there full of energy and now you are stressed up to the max… or perhaps just the thought of going into work makes you feel mentally or even physically ill?

The symptoms are often difficult to treat and easily misdiagnosed because they hide behind other primary disorders such as… chronic absenteeism, nagging colds and flu, mental and physical illness as well as a lingering sense of dissatisfaction around the workplace. More often now we here reports of employees suing their company for putting them under stress. In one extreme case a Telstra employee committed suicide due to work related pressures… Makes you cringe, doesn’t it?

Statistics reveal that the costs associated with loss of workplace well being can create a myriad of problems i.e. the occasional mental health day, or “sicky”, is more often than not used to address family responsibility, social outings, friends associations, etc. Ultimately faced with mounting pressure, some employees simply just leave, at more often than not inconvenient times, leaving a big mess for some other unfortunate employee to clean up.

A recent survey of 1,100 Australians found that 25% of workers consider themselves to be desk potatoes, while 21% are tied to their desks for six to eight hours without a chance to stretch their legs. The survey, conducted by recruitment firm Talent2, also found that 47% of workers believe employers have an obligation to encourage and even subsidise fitness at work. In 2003, 38 per cent of AMP’s employees participated in a health promotion activity. Of these, 98% found it beneficial and 68% were inspired to make a lifestyle change.

Popular programs can include: massage, yoga, pilates, nutrition, weight loss, smoking cessation, and exercise and can also include boot camps of various types to suit your organization. These program can build team cohesiveness, greater job satisfaction, and have wellness benefits that will eventuate in greater success for the entire company.

‘balancenoosa’ specialise in the preparation and administration of Corporate Massage, Pilates, Yoga and Corporate Fitness Programs. We are flexible with booking arrangements. We prefer to visit your premises and determine the optimal format for your session. We gauge factors such as the space available, lighting, number of participants and their skill level. Reward an entire team with pilates and massage, or energise a team with a fitness program and yoga. Perhaps a morning stretch class would do the trick?

One of our uniquely tailored ‘balancenoosa’ Corporate Wellness solutions will assist employees in dealing with the situation at hand i.e. the work load may remain the same, they will have more control of their emotions feelings and general well being. It’s the Supervisors or Manages job to make the work load manageable. It’s our job to ensure the people doing the job have a healthy mind set and the ability to complete the work and at the same time not becoming burnt out.

As a normal part of business, most companies take steps to make sure that their employees are healthy and safe. They know its not just the right thing to do, but by providing benefits like insurance, wellness programs, continuing education opportunities, and the like, they are providing for their own growth and future potential. For the smartest, it just makes good business sense.

More and more businesses are adding the additional benefit of in-house self-defense training. Whether in the form of seminars, on-going courses, or video programs, companies are seeing the value in providing important life-saving skills to their employees benefits package. So much so that they’re becoming regular occurances in many organizations.

It’s easy to see why those involved in the law enforcement and security industries would have such training, but who else has to worry about self-defense issues? In fact, companies, like hospitals, real-estate companies, and those who have employees required to travel as a part of their job, are taking a proactive role in making sure that valuable members of their team are safe. The number of companies who have or regularly experience violence in the workplace, criminal attacks, and now, the added threat of international terrorism, is increasing at an alarming rate.

Other than the primary benefit of teaching your employees how to defend themselves against a physical attack – there are very significant reasons why your company might want to offer such a program. Just as with any insurance, the benefit is in the peace of mind and knowledge that you’re protected. But, unlike most insurance policies that are virtually invisible until damage occurs, the secondary benefits of providing self-defense training in your workplace are readily apparent almost from the beginning.

Here are 8 great reasons to include personal protection training as a part of your organization’s staff training agenda.

1. Employees who are capable of protecting themselves are more confident.

This directly affects their level of performance and therefor their leadership potential. Untrained individuals tend to avoid situations where they are required to be open to new situations and people. Especially in the world of sales, emergency medical services, and management, where an employee may be required to remain calm under pressure, martial arts-based self defense training helps to build confidence, increased self-esteem, and a greater sense of leadership presence. The simple truth is that: Confident people are more able to overcome obstacles and “get the job done.”

2. People who feel safer are less prone to the debilitating effects of stress.

Stress is the number one factor in many illnesses and a leading cause of on-the-job accidents. The increased confidence, coupled with an increased sense of calm, can mean a long-term cost savings for an employer. Less stress means less stress-related illnesses, less lost time due to illness, fewer accidents, and higher productivity. Without the burden of stress-related paralysis, employees are more energetic, quick-thinking, and relaxed – making them more productive members of your organization.

3. Martial Arts-based training has been shown to improve employee discipline and moral.

Studies by the US Marine Corps, traditional known for a high degree of discipline, moral, and e’sprit de corps, have reported that their new martial arts-based self-defense program has helped to create even greater levels of self-discipline, a stronger work ethic, and more psychologically well-adjusted Marines. The truth is that, feelings of weakness, social anxiety, and concern for one’s safety, by any one individual, causes stress on the entire team. Many employees live in fear of making the wrong decisions, some care little for their job – expecting to be paid for time rather than productivity – and others suffer from poor interpersonal skills. The difference between a company with a workforce made up of positive, powerful, and productive people and one that is not, is often the difference between a great ocean-liner and a sinking ship.

4. Self Defense training can dissuade workplace violence before it even starts.

Question: Why are their more gun-related incidents involving employee violence in postal and other government workplaces than anywhere else?

The Answer: The perpetrator knows that he or she will not encounter any resistance from their victims. In the case of government buildings where firearms are federally prohibited, disgruntled employees know that they will not be stopped by anyone before they have finished what they came to do.

Workplace violence is growing at an alarming rate around the world. While many of us have been taught that we must put up with the violent tempers and childish tantrums of those around us who cannot control their own disappointment and frustration, this is no reason that employees working with or near them should have to submit to physical outbursts or abuse. In fact, it has been proven that, when in a situation where the aggressor might be damaged himself by initiating an assault…

…they avoid such actions altogether!

The costs many companies are shouldering that are associated with dealing with the aftermath of an incident involving workplace violence are staggering. Just as insurance companies hire private investigators to protect themselves against fraudulent worker’s compensation claims, a small investment in quality training today can prevent catastrophic losses in the future – losses that can literally cripple a company.

5. Self-defense training improves creative problem solving skills.

Due to its very nature of having to deal with the chaos associated with an attack situation, self defense training helps employees learn to creatively overcome obstacles to success. Very often, this type of training translates into greater problem-solving abilities, on the job creativity, and “outside the box” thinking. Employees learn to think “strategically” rather than temporarily. That means that their ideas and system-development work provides the company with more than a temporary fix to problems and concerns, but instead, companies benefit from employees who can see the “cause-and-effect” nature of their actions and decisions and stop waisting time, money, and other resources in having to repeatedly “replace bandaides.”

6. Martial Arts-based self defense training enhances teamwork.

Often, emotional and psychological barriers to personal achievement prevent a team from productively working together. A properly structured program allows team members to come together in a supportive environment to learn important skills like creative problem-solving and focusing under pressure. With the help of co-workers, individuals with weaker skill sets learn to overcome those obstacles and fears that are holding them back, and safely become leaders in their own right within their groups.

7. Employees learn to focus under pressure.

Many jobs are considered high-pressure by nature. Deadlines, last-minute problem-solving issues, and emergency situations can cause some employees and team members to literally freeze-up under pressure. A good program will expose your people to drills and exercises that will allow them to achieve a level of comfort, and an increased ability to focus on the objective at hand.

8. Employees experience a greater sense of happiness and peace of mind.

Happier employees translates into many benefits for your company. For starters, individuals who have a pleasant demeanor and a positive outlook on life are less likely to take offense with regards to misunderstandings. They don’t feel threatened by changes which inevitably occur within every business environment, or lash out at others verbally, physically, or emotionally when things don’t go smoothly. Martial arts and self defense training has long been known to be a source of personal empowerment, confidence, and the ability for a person to be in control of him or herself. People like this naturally attract and affect others in a positive way and can only be a valuable asset to a company that is focused on growth and future prosperity.

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