Wellbeing

It’s a no brainer. A worker healthy in mind and body is a productive worker. No sensible manager is going to argue that. And yet, there are still countless companies and business outfits with no health program or anything resembling that. There’s a wide range of reasons why such a deplorable situation continues to exist today in the business world. These could run from the insensitive management to issues of costs in implementing one, or to perceived indifference of the work force. For the most part though, more than anything else, it has to do with not knowing how to go about setting up one. If you search the internet, you’ll discover various website resources that could be a big help in putting up your company’s workplace health program. A good starting point might just be – These are the guys who have been in the business for years providing different types of motivational services that include health programs at the workplace involving reputable companies around the globe. But until you check them out and start making some decisive moves, it’ll make sense for the meantime for you to get a fuller understanding of what a health program is all about. What Is A Healthy Workplace? In layperson’s terms, a healthy workplace is one where management and the rank and file employees work hand in hand to support and promote good health. Acknowledged widely to be the five cornerstones of promoting good health at work are: encouraging company employees to eat well, move a lot, keep a healthy weight, be liberated from cigarette smoke and have a healthy mind. Your company must support and build these healthy behaviors and help ensure that the choices they have to make in regard to these are made a lot easier. Why Is There A Need For A Healthy Workplace? The facts and figures gathered through the years, which point to a workplace health program being definitely a positive, say: The healthiest Australian employees are three times more productive than their peers. The increase in diseases which could have been prevented and workplace injuries due to unhealthy lifestyle is a major cause of absences or disruption in the workplace. The risk factors such as excessive intake of alcohol, poor diet, smoking, inactivity, and obesity could be contributory to time away from work. The loss in productivity due to absenteeism because of excessive weight, going to work while sick and premature deaths are estimated to cost six point four billion dollars ($6.4 billion) per year. As an employer or one of the key managers of a company, this data should urge you to advocate and work for a health program. The Lunar New Year has just started. Why not make a New Year’s resolution to go big time for this workplace health program? Not only will it improve your company’s productivity. It’ll also give your people a greater resource for enjoying life in and outside of the workplace.

You’ll be amazed at how many people are averse to getting a feedback after their presentation or a lecture delivered in front of a group of attendees. The smart ones, of course will take whatever feedback or review they can get. They know it will help improve the effectiveness of whatever it is they’d want to impart in their future presentations. The thing with good, old fashioned feedback is that it’s typically associated with something negative. Most persons would perceive it as a criticism, something painful. It’s seen as something that says “You didn’t perform well enough.” Or worse, “You weren’t good enough.” And yet, the whole purpose of a feedback is precisely to provide some personal reflection on how you fared with your presentation and to create an opportunity for some self-improvement. Heck, some feedback can pretty well say “That was a terrific presentation,” period. So, wouldn’t that help you see the good side of an honest feedback? In any case, with many of us still associating stigma with feedback, it should help to use our social intelligence to bring about a more positive and useful perspective from any kind of feedback. Here are some realities about feedback that’ll help us to understand its dynamics and expunge its negative implications: People put more importance on feedback when it comes from individuals they know, a colleague at work, a peer or a boss. The operative phrase here is “mutual respect.” When a feedback comes from someone “like us” or a friend who respects us rather than a foe, it becomes easier to accept the feedback whether it’s good or bad. When the feedback is about the process or content and not the person, the pill is usually easier to swallow. Doing this will have the recipient see the feedback not as a personal attack and therefore not react in an emotional way, in anger or defensive behavior. The last thing you’d like to happen is to create resentment or a grudge in the other person. The person giving a feedback should be empathetic. Be aware of the other guy’s mood and demeanor. The poor man may be going through bad times (financial troubles, death in the family, etc) and telling him his performance isn’t as good as it could be, could cause his confidence to go further downward. Put some focus on the future. Generally when giving feedback we’re so much into what happened in the past. Envisioning how things could be positively different in the future could provide the push for a favorable change. These are some guides that should help in giving more encouraging feed back to your team members. Remember though to give them a big pat on the back as well when they’re doing a great job. It’s easy picking someone for poor performance but give credit where and when it’s due. It makes everybody feel good when given the chance to rise above others and shine.