yes, another weight loss question. long story short (i hope) i have lost 6 lbs in the last month and that has NEVER happened. i am on a program my work has started for us. we have a health coach come in every week and they have us set up on a website to track our calories, excercise, and all our biometrics. her contract is a year with the idea that it will continue after that, since it's a pilot program our company has started (in hopes of selling it to other companies)
i myself am doing all i can to make it a success because i don't want the program to go away! turns out all i needed to lose weight is someone to hold me accountable - and show me how to be successful. it has made ALL the difference. and i think this is a new trend with companies. they are figuring out (DUH) that if they help their employees become HEALTHIER, it is better for them in the long run. fewer sick days, lower health insurance premiums, etc. SO with that in mind, are any of your companies doing this? are you having success with it? if they're not, you should start a revolution! i think this is the best thing in the world.
I worked at a place that hung up posters about excercise and healthy eating in the break room, but almost everyone who worked there was not only overweight but morbidly obese, They even made fun of me for going to the gym every morning and occasionally running a couple miles during my lunch ( i was the customer service supervisor and running is how I relieve stress)
My husband's company implemented a wellness program a couple of years ago for all employees and their spouses. Each year we have to undergo a health assessment in which five areas are tested: BMI, cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and one other that I can't think of. Anyway, you have to pass 4 of the 5 areas or you are automatically assigned a life coach. You also have to earn 50 health credits by the end of the year doing various activities offered through the program. If we don't earn the 50 credits then our insurance premiums increase. It is a great program and the activities are relatively easy. I think most big companies have already shifted to this mindset. It makes it justifiable for them to increase insurance premiums if their own employees and families do not take responsibility for their own health as well.
A.
The company I work for does a little bit; they have annual health fairs and from what I can remember, those are very small (I telecommute and have not actually been in the office for a few years, but I can remember getting a flu shot and an apple and a pack of bandaids for going). They send out "weekly wellness" emails to the employees which focus on ways to be healthy. In the past, they paid a portion of a rec center or gym membership, but budget cuts took that one away. They did give away pedometers at one point and had points you could earn by doing healthy things.
My hubby's work does a lot, however. They have an on-site gym, the company sponsors two teams for the Ragnar Relay race each year (pays all entrance fees, which are like $100 or more each, pays for all food and beverage, gas and van rental, hotel stay). The department my husband is in does a lot of contests, such as one month they all trained for a pushup contest, or they do weight loss contests. Many of them go to the gym together or run in races together. They pay for a crate of fruit to be delivered to the break room each week and the employees all have a "fruit time" break in the morning.
It is awesome to hear of all the other things companies are doing to help employees be healthier. I hope more companies will move in that direction
Nope. But it sounds great! Congratulations on the weight loss! 11 more months of this program sounds like it will be very successful for you!
My husband's office - They stopped providing sodas for their employees. And became more 'green' not buying paper plates and plastic forks anymore too. But they almost all go out for lunch and most employees are overweight. So go figure.
When I was teaching, some teachers would walk the perimeter of the field with eachother during recess. I thought that was nice - to get your talk time and excercise a little. My teacher friends didn't do that, so I stood with them and talked. So I know what you're saying about the accountability thing. The superintendent decided to take soda machines OUT of the TEACHER's lounge. WHAT? We were all pissed that the superintendent took away that one joy that us teachers had. We can't leave campus, we're there all day. They gave us tiny fridges for each hallway that barely fit our lunches in it, and then they took away our sodas? Replaced it with water and expensive juices. Pissed. At least let me have the CHOICE to drink it or not. We felt like the superintendent was treating us like our students/ like children. Very annoying.
They don't do this at my location, we're "just" a field office =( But they do have a program like this at our headquarter location. However, we do have a gym in our bldg and our boss supports us working out on our lunch break so we go as a group and it def. helps to have others to work out with. Sometimes I don't feel like going but they make me feel guilty for backing out so I feel obligated to go and that's a good thing..... So we go sometimes go workout just because we don't want to disappoint each other. So far I've lost one dress size, sleep better at night, bonded more with my coworkers, networked with others in the bldg, have more energy, etc. so it def. makes me more productive to my employeer :0)
Absolutely! With my current company at a national testing lab we are offered access to a program to evaluate our total wellness annually and it translates to rebates to us on our health insurance. There are options for reimbursed gym membership as well as access to medical professional free of charge. They figure if they can run annual blood work and other health testing, they will minimize health care costs (we already have wonderful insurance). I'm in sales so I have never worked on-site with any of my previous or former companies, but in the past 15 years all of them have had on-site health clubs.
