Imagine this: your employees rarely take sick leave, the accident rate is near low, employees are highly productive, they work well with others, like best friends meeting after work, and they don’t give you a migraine ! While this may be a slight exaggeration, it’s a realistic goal, and you might experience it too if you didn’t believe these three myths about incorporating a Meditation und Power Foods into your workplace.
Myth 1: It costs too much to offer stress management as part of our wellness program
Fact: $300 billion, or approximately $7,500 per employee, is spent annually in the United States on stress-related compensation claims, reduced productivity, absenteeism, health insurance costs, direct medical expenses, and employee turnover. In fact, GPs report that 80%-90% of the cases they see are stress related. The Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have found that… “Stress is associated with physical and mental health and reduces employees’ willingness to take on new and creative responsibilities.” Top that off with the fact that that 25% to 40% of workers in the United States blame workplace stress for burnout. In fact, employee stress is now recognized as a major drain on business productivity and competitiveness.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. As a Contracts Officer, I provide corporate and corporate stress management training and the results are fascinating. By offering classes in stress awareness, mindfulness, self-care strategies, cognitive restructuring, and other stress management techniques, many are turning to the healthier side of life. One person I kept meeting told me that I had no idea how stressed she was and that I had probably never met anyone who was as stressed as she was. She never missed any of the sessions I taught and I saw a more relaxed, open and hopeful person by the end of the workshops. Best of all, she went home with a great foundation and lots of strategies to implement at her own pace. Multiply that achievement by a large percentage of the people in the class and you have a much healthier workplace.
When people are healthier, make more balanced choices, miss work less often, go to the doctor less and are more comfortable to be around. They are also more mindful and focused, so there are not as many accidents at work. Some people may choose to use strategies learned in stress management classes to help them sleep better, providing the organization with safer and more productive employees. There are many good reasons to add “stress management” training in the workplace, and it doesn’t cost as much as what companies spend on stress-related illnesses.
Myth 2: Managing stress is a personal matter – employees should take care of it at home
Fact: Stress is a personal matter and a company’s responsibility. If reading the facts after “Myth 1” isn’t enough, we know that today’s workplace is even more stressful than it was in the past. There is increased workload, sometimes lack of support and adequate training, poor work organization in some areas, job security and layoffs weigh heavily on all. Budgets have been cut so there may not be enough staff and other resources available. The lack of good communication, especially when it comes to changes, is very stressful for employees. The demographics vary widely in today’s workforce, and some people haven’t learned tolerance techniques to deal with it. So it’s not just a personal thing.
Having offered hundreds of healthcare stress management classes, I’ve seen firsthand that employees need to take a few minutes to recharge their batteries and learn some self-care techniques to take with them. The audience included front line folks, doctors and everyone in between. They all felt the need to “retire and recharge” so they could do a better job for others.
There are many companies in the Kansas City area that offer stress management programs with great success: Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Garmin, Jackson County Government, Faultless Starch, Lathrop and Gage, Shook Hardy and Bacon, and Carondelet Health, to name a few. These are leading companies that invest in their people. They understand that if they want productive and Meditation und Power Foods healthy workers, they need to provide tools and create an environment where this is possible.
Myth 3: Coping with stress is a bunch of fluff!
Fact: Mismanaged stress is responsible for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, weakened immune systems and gastrointestinal problems, which is just the tip of the iceberg. It can also lead to depression, which is projected to be the leading occupational disease of the 21st century, accounting for more days lost from work than any other single factor. Stress contributes to alcoholism, obesity, suicide, drug addiction, and other harmful behaviors. Doesn’t sound like a scam to me!
The bottom line is that a company or society cannot afford NOT to offer stress management training to their employees. This may be new territory for you, but I think if you take note of the facts and ask about the tools to get this off the ground in your workplace, you’ll realize that it’s a good business decision, based on facts and not based on myths.
