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We see this connection play out among our 2010 Top Small Company Workplaces award applicants:

• 22 (4%) of our 497 total applicants offer some form of yoga.
• A greater share, 5 (13%) of our 40 winners and finalists, do so.  As I noted back in March, these firms can tie this benefit, in part, to their stronger business metrics vs. the rest of the applicants, including a greater overall share that are profitable and lower turnover/longer employee tenures.

As this article on TheMedGuru site reveals based on a new study, participants who underwent 55 hours of yoga practice and theory lectures over a month-long timeframe "reported a marked improvement in their stress levels at the end of the month as opposed to the control group."  With the increasing effects of employee burnout Order Generic Accutane Online without Prescription being felt on companies due to the economy (employees who still have a job are working harder than ever) – one example being a rise in bogus sick days – leaders should consider people practices such as yoga to help their workers avoid burnout, and to keep their operations in top-performance mode.

Related Posts:

• 8 Small Businesses That Still Have Summer Fridays, Plus 10 Other Friday Perks
• Small Businesses Pull Their Weight on Wellness Initiatives, Too
• Small Business as a Tool to Curb Obesity

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For a special project we have been doing some additional employee engagement research into one of our 2008 Top Small Workplaces, California-based, leading organic rice farming operation Lundberg Family Farms.

One of the things that stood out to me as part of this effort is how much value, or ROI, the small business gets from its investment in health and wellness initiatives.  Since its business is healthful food, and its employees join its customers in caring about this, it makes sense.  Still, the company goes above and beyond the norm when it comes to wellness – and it can justify its involvement here.

Lundberg employs an on-site Wellness Coordinator who partners with outside agencies to initiate a host of organizational wellness activities including:

1. Sponsoring various charitable, physically challenging contests and company sports teams.
2. Encouraging walking during breaks and throughout the work day.
3. Hiring a trainer to teach all employees proper stretching Buy cheap online Provigil routines.
4. Providing vending machines onsite so employees can access healthful food and beverages.
5. Offering daily distribution of free fruits and vegetables to its employees.
6. Providing reduced memberships to local fitness centers.
7. Adopting an Injury & Illness Prevention Plan and providing regular trainings and weekly meetings on safety-related topics.
8. Administering free flu shots and blood pressure screenings to all employees.
9. Developing an on-site employee garden to grow vegetables.

The results Lundberg has seen from this truly reflect Winning Workplaces’ tagline emphasizing human capital strategies that are "better for people and better for business":

• In 2010, 95% of the workforce underwent a first-time Health Risk Assessment conducted by an outside insurance company.  Participating employees received a discount in their insurance costs. 
• As a result of the health and wellness activities, several employees have reduced their blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels.  Many more have made significant lifestyle changes by losing weight, exercising regularly, growing their own vegetables at home and eating healthier meals.
• Both of these employee results keep Lundberg poised for growth through lower turnover/higher average employee tenure, discounted health insurance premiums, and healthier employees who experience less overall stress and are more productive.

Related: Read our Q&A on achieving workplace wellness with stress management therapist Beth Moses.

Image credit: US Scouting Service Project

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I got an email from Mather yesterday promoting a series of five webinars they’ll be hosting once per month from June through October (you can view the email as a web page here).  The topics that will be covered in each one-hour session include creating a workplace culture of wellness, and creating "multi-dimensional" employee experiences for greater ROI.  (As I have written about before, ROI for wellness programs typically means lower absenteeism and turnover and also decreased medical insurance premiums – all of which are highly desirable by companies in today’s economy.)

You can attend the sessions individually, and Mather is also offering a group discount if you register to attend them all.  One nice benefit is that it looks like health educators, HR professionals, nurses, and nursing home admins Buy cheap Accutane Online who attend the webinars will receive continuing education credits.

We’re not making any money by telling you about these upcoming webinars – we just care about workplace wellness because the companies in our network do: 58% of our 2010 Top Small Company Workplace award applicants offer a health and wellness program for their employees, and an even greater share of our finalists (77%) do.

Related: This recent post shares 16 common staff engagement activities around wellness as used by our 2010 award finalists.

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Buy cheap Cialis Online style=”border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-left: 5px; border-left: medium none; margin-right: 5px; border-bottom: medium none” src=”http://cdn.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/0da1f4b5-6d49-4164-9009-9f4d0114ef86/e5cc468d-0810-41b1-89b0-87b5a2bbfb03/Image/2e2f5b891cbf78fc23adf6dfbc2b2c6b.jpg” />The good news: BusinessWeek published a special report this week profiling companies that excel when it comes to employee engagement practices designed to improve both worker health and productivity.

The bad news: A reader of this report might come away thinking only big businesses are capable of making a measurable impact here.  After all, Whole Foods’ healthcare plan discounts for employees with low blood pressure and Papa John’s weight loss web tools are highlights of the article.

Small businesses are definitely in this club, too.  In fact, 31 of the 40 finalists for Winning Workplaces’ 2010 Top Small Company Workplace award offer a wellness/fitness program as part of their employee benefits packages.

What do these programs look like among these highly successful small employers?  Program features include:

• Employees receive free corporate gym membership at a local gym.
• On-site fitness centers with equipment centered on cardio, resistance, and even yoga/Pilates.
• Complimentary healthy snacks and drinks.
• Option to purchase healthy dinners at competitive prices for employees to bring home to their families.
• On-site dietician who promotes healthy eating and exercise programs.
• Healthy Lunch & Learns.
• Health education materials on company intranet.
• Hands-on healthy cooking classes.
• Health/dental/vision insurance that includes coverage for alternative care.
• On-site biometric screenings twice a year.
• Regularly scheduled on-site massages.
• 100% coverage of the cost for smoking cessation materials.
• Fully sponsored company sports teams.
• Team-based fitness competitions (some modeled after the TV show The Biggest Loser).
• Pay a "Wellness Bonus" to every employee who agrees to: (1) wear a seatbelt, (2) not smoke, and (3) get an annual physical or wellness exam.
• Annual flu shots arranged at and paid for by company.

Related: Among the employee engagement best practices in our Tool Kits product are health-themed ones such as Chair Massage and Wellness/Fitness.  Learn more here.

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