Health, Wellness & Fitness in the Workplace

Regardless of the size of the business, the health, wellness and fitness of employees has to be on the minds of the ownership. This Week with Sara Fitts takes a look at what it means to employees, owners, and customers/clients for health, wellness and fitness to be a top priority for all business owners.

When employees are out due to illness - whether it's a day or two or extended over several weeks, business is affected greatly. The costs are great - especially for small businesses and their owners. Health insurance costs are continuously increasing to the point of putting small business owners in a much tougher spot than ever before experienced. Some businesses have had to recently pass more of the health insurance costs to their employees. Other businesses have opted to go to a "bare-bones" approach and pay less and less of the direct health insurance costs. Health insurance premiums for the self-employed are also rapidly increasing - often without warning.

The critical key to combat rising health-care costs for small business owners and self-employed professionals lies in the health, wellness and fitness of each employee. I think the only way to really get a handle on health care and the significant costliness of it is to make health, wellness and fitness a top priority for all employees - regardless of position in the business.

There are simple programs that will work to improve the health, wellness and fitness of the employee as well as improve the business as a whole. The benefits of such a program can include:

• reduction in sick leave costs and absenteeism
• increasing morale and reducing stress
• reduction in workman's comp claims
• higher energy and higher production levels
• more efficient employees
• lower health insurance costs
• bigger bottom line

There are several simple steps that all small business owners can easily implement. Some of them are listed here:

• offer employees memberships to gyms and fitness centers as a benefit
• have a fitness center on the premises
• provide time for fitness
• provide health and wellness fairs
• provide routine health screenings
• offer Pilates or yoga classes after work
• create a walking club for lunchtime exercise

There are many ways to improve health, wellness and fitness in the workplace - and the first way is to make it a priority. More to come on this topic ...

10 Ways to Double Your Effectiveness and Productivity within a Week

This Week with Sara Fitts shares 10 ways to double your effectiveness and productivity within a week. If you employ these 10 suggestions, you will likely quadruple your results. If you employ even 1 or 2 of these suggestions, your efficiency and productivity will double. Try them and see what happens. These suggestions are based on more than 5 years and the successful and sustainable implementation by 500 people in various industries and careers. They are simple; however, they are powerful tools for success.

1. Make the commitment to being more productive by refusing to put this off another day.
2. Respond to problems immediately - and stop using band-aids. [Solved problems are problems that have been eliminated and therefore no longer exist.]
3. Create and develop a culture of "Do it today" by refusing to put off any task that needs to be done.
4. Have your own personal resource list of people, organizations, websites, etc. that can be used for accessing information and assistance.
5. Ask for exactly what you want or need - and by when you want or need it. Accept nothing less.
6. Cut in half your normal appointment block time. If you use 30 minute blocks of time, make them 15 minutes. If you use hour-long blocks, cut it down to 30 minutes.
7. Get the information you need immediately. Don't wait until later.
8. Expect twice as much from others - and you'll get it. Expect effectiveness and efficiency from yourself - and you'll get it, too.
9. Stop saying "yes" when "no" is the correct answer. Protect yourself by saying "no" when you need to.
10. Set up and utilize systems - software, hardware, voicemail, calendars - even sticky notes if they work for you - to your full advantage.

(C) 2007 Sara L. Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

Where are You Going?

This Week with Sara Fitts is taking a look at how we get from one point to another - in life and in business. This particular post is the result of this powerful quote:

"If we do not change direction, we are liable to end up where we are headed."

If we simply look at our lives and our businesses or careers, are we where we want to be? Are we where we think we should be? Did we plan on reaching the place we are currently? Where are we really going? What do we really want? How can we change directions now? Is it too late to change directions? Lots of questions flood our minds. And the answer is found in the power of the quote!

Try this exercise. Sit down and really reflect on your life and your business or career. Take the time to focus on where you are now, where you were before, and where you ultimately want to be. Then get paper and pen (or pencil if you want an eraser), and do the following:

1. Write the quote on your paper.
2. Re-write the quote substituting "I" for "we" .
3. Answer this question: If I do not change direction, where will I be next month? What will be the same? What will be better? What will be worse?
4. Answer this question: If I do change direction, where will I go?
5. Answer this question: What do I want to change about my life (my business, my career)?

Use this exercise as a starting point for deciding where you are going in your life as well as in your business or career. For some businesses, this is the "New Year" (July 1 - June 30); for others, July marks the halfway point in the year. Either way, now is a perfect time to decide where you are going and what it will mean when you get there. This is a powerful advantage in personal growth as well as business development and professional growth.

More to come....