Going for the Balanced Approach

Work-life balance is realized by some after years of effort, while the concept remains elusive to others. But what about recent college graduates?

Here is some guidance from Purdue University’s Ellen Ernst Kossek, the Basil S. Turner Professor of Management in the Krannert School of Management and research director at the Butler Center of Leadership Excellence.

Schedule fun (and healthy) ways to unwind: “Take time to reflect on ways you can unwind and identify your passions to continue as you enter the world of full-time work. Is it tennis, a book club, running, Comic-Con, gaming, lunch with friends, working out at the gym, walking in nature with a pet? Whatever makes you feel good and your heart sing, try to organize your calendar to block out time daily or weekly as you plan your work week. It is easy for work to creep in and take over your leisure time.”

Avoid long commutes: “Assess your commuting time as you search for apartments and pick one with a commute of 30 minutes or less that is close to safe public transportation. Living in the hot spot of night life may be fun, but if the commutes are long, you should consider living closer to work. You can always take a Lyft on the weekends and make your weekdays less hectic.”

Get plenty of sleep: “Regular sleep is very important to plan in your daily routine, and most of us need seven to eight hours at a minimum. During the work week, you should go to bed at a decent hour on a regular schedule. Being a night-owl and writing term papers may work in college, but it’s not a good idea for your health or well-being at work.”

Abstain from social media at work: “Learn your boundary management style and avoid checking personal communication at work. This helps you focus and get done early. I have found that many young people integrate their work and personal lives. While it’s fun to check Instagram during the day, you can lose concentration and mental flow. This can result in your having to stay later at work due to increased process losses from increased switching costs and greater transitions between your job and your personal life.”

Unplug at home: “Manage your smartphone wisely to unplug from work at night and on the weekends. It is easy to become addicted to work and engage in overwork as you are trying to build your career. Don’t get in the habit of checking work emails or texts on the weekends unless something is critically important. Let your boss and colleagues know how to reach you for important matters, but also let them know when you are offline, too, so you don’t become burnt out.” 

Technology on Tap at Safety Conference, March 12-14

Technology has advanced in the workplace and not only from the standpoint of evolving the products or processes used in specific industries. Advanced technology has also entered the world of workplace safety.

An emphasis on technology in safety is one of the educational tracks at this year’s Indiana Safety and Health Conference & Expo.

For example, one of the sessions focuses on the impact of virtual reality on safety training. The use of virtual reality in the workplace can allow workers to practice their skills, while lowering costs and increasing revenue. It also displays a commitment to worker safety.

Several other technology-focused sessions include effective safety management, management safety principles and solutions, updates in education and consulting skills, and INSafe/safety fundamentals.

The conference is less than two weeks away, but there is still time to register. Sending two or more people allows for a 20% discount using promo code “Group20” at checkout.

For a complete list of educational tracks and schedule of events, visit www.INsafetyconf.com.

The 2018 Indiana Safety and Health Conference & Expo is presented by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Central Indiana Chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), in partnership with INSafe and the Coalition for Construction Safety. Gibson is the conference sponsor.

Seeking Productivity in 2018

If you’re like me, you probably made a few resolutions for 2018 and you may or may not be sticking to all of them. But now that it’s just February, you’ve had ample time to adapt to some new life habits and still plenty of time to call any such habits “New Year’s” resolutions.

Maybe it was to work on your health (that’s one of mine!), or perhaps it’s to be more present with your family (okay, also me!) or get more sleep to help with all facets of life (me again. Hmm, I’m sensing a pattern…).

If you’ve got “be more productive” on your list for 2018, this post from Forbes offers three smart tips to help you on that path:

  1. Figure out your to-do and not-to-do list and don’t do unnecessary things because it can hamper your productivity and slow you down.
  2. Automate your life – the article mentions a few apps to help you automate everything from your home’s thermostat to adding events to your calendar and more.
  3. And maybe you’re in a position to outsource tasks. Is it time to consider hiring an assistant (even a virtual assistant) to help manage your day-to-day tasks? It could be that hiring the kid down the street to come mow your lawn once a week frees up enough of your time and energy to be more productive.

Whatever you’re doing to improve yourself or your work in 2018, keep it up; because then we’ll all have fewer resolutions to try and keep track of in 2019.

Takeaways From 2017 Indiana Health and Wellness Summit

Thank you to those who attended the 2017 Indiana Health and Wellness Summit at the beginning of the month. We hope you enjoyed the fantastic keynote speakers, breakout sessions and exhibitors. As the largest gathering of wellness professionals in Indiana, we strive to provide an exceptional experience to all who attend.

Wellness Summit

The summit connected more than 400 Indiana professionals with an opportunity to network and learn from others. I enjoyed honoring our 19 new AchieveWELL organizations, learning best practices and meeting dedicated wellness leaders from across the state.

Over the last several days, I have reflected on my key takeaways from the event and narrowed it down to these four items:

1) Wellness isn’t about the program; it’s about the people: Wellness champions should not get too hung up on implementing wellness programs, as the “program” is only the beginning. To truly effect change, wellness champions need to keep the employee (not ROI or reduced health care costs) at the center of all efforts.Stretch

2) Wellness requires top leadership support supplemented by grassroots efforts: Leaders must communicate the value, motivate the employees, link wellness to overall business goals and “walk the walk”. At the same time, employees need to drive efforts from the bottom up. Initiatives created and led by them will have a greater chance of buy-in.

hygiene kit

3) Workplace wellness efforts should go beyond the four walls of the organization to reach the community: An emphasis on wellness within the organization is important, yet the value of strong community wellness and employer support of communities cannot be overstated. Community initiatives should move beyond only financial support to truly engage employees.

4) The evolution of wellness: These elements of wellness – mental, physical, purpose, community and financial well-being – continue to be the backbone of a sustainable and comprehensive workplace wellness program. The wellness conversation continues to evolve, however, as workplaces look to address employee well-being as it relates to food insecurity, housing crises, workplace violence, diversity and substance abuse.

Jennifer Pferrer is the executive director of the Wellness Council of Indiana. Find out more about the Wellness Council of Indiana at www.wellnessindiana.org.

Nominate Workplace Safety Champions for 2018 Awards

Do you know what makes someone an “Everyday Safety Hero”? Here are some qualifications to look for:

safety in a warehouse

  • Safety and Health Leadership – Leadership in advocacy of worker safety and health initiatives which are above and beyond the traditional scope of one’s position
  • Innovation in Safety and Health – Development of innovative practices and procedures that reduce occupational hazards or risk
  • Promotion of Teamwork – Encouragement of team safety awareness, communications, and advocacy of safe and healthy workplace
  • Hazard Identification and Correction – Encouragement of improved safety self-audits, incident reporting, and other practices which lead to hazard reduction

If you recognize these traits in someone you know, nominate them for the Everyday Safety Hero award! The awards will be announced during the Governor’s Workplace Safety Awards luncheon at the annual Indiana Safety and Health Conference & Expo on March 14, 2018.

Nominees aren’t required to be safety or health professionals to be eligible; the award is designed to recognize those who are contributing to health and safety excellence in the workplace. Fill out a nomination form here.

Nominations are also open for the 2018 Governor’s Workplace Safety Awards (GWSA). This award recognizes Hoosier workplaces that instill a culture of employee safety and health. All Indiana workplaces are eligible for the awards. To qualify, nominees must be deemed free of compliance disputes concerning all applicable local, state and federal statutes and regulations. Find the application form here.

All submissions are due by January 19, 2018. Download application forms at www.insafetyconf.com/awards.

Ball State: New Clinical Trials Examine How Exercise Helps Us Down to Our Molecules

Todd Trappe (left) and Scott Trappe (right) work on a research project at Ball State’s Human Performance Laboratory.

Ball State University will partner with two other major research institutions as part of a national project to uncover how exercise changes the body on a molecular level, which could lead to people engaging in more targeted and optimized activities.

Ball State’s Human Performance Laboratory (HPL) will form one clinical trial site with the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Center for Exercise Medicine and the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes in Orlando, Florida. Their work is part of the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity in Humans program (MoTrPac), which will be financed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund.

The three partners will share a projected $6.6 million over six years, 2017-23, as part of a $170 million NIH investment for the largest, most complex and highly coordinated human exercise physiology training study in the field’s history.

“The NIH initiative is a moonshot opportunity for the exercise community, and the Human Performance Laboratory is honored to be part of the team,” said Scott Trappe, the John and Janice Fisher Endowed Chair of Exercise Science and director of the Human Performance Laboratory in Ball State’s newly formed College of Health. “This is a new frontier that will move the field forward to better understand the health benefits of exercise.”

Under the $170 million project, 19 grants will support researchers working around the country, including seven clinical trial sites and several analytical sites to collect samples from people of different races, ethnic groups, sex, ages and fitness levels.

“We have long understood that exercising is beneficial to our overall health; however, we still do not understand why,” NIH director Francis S. Collins said in a statement. “The development of a so-called molecular map of circulating signals produced by physical activity will allow us to discover, at a fundamental level, how physical activity affects our health.

Under the national research initiative, researchers will partner to develop plans to recruit people for clinical trials, identify how to analyze tissue samples and select animal models to best replicate human studies.

Investigators across the country will recruit a total of about 3,000 healthy men and women of different fitness levels, ages, races and ethnicities. Each clinical site will enroll and study 450 to 500 participants. Researchers will collect blood, urine and tissue samples from the volunteers, who will perform resistance or aerobic exercises as part of the national study.

During the first year, clinical site teams will finalize plans and responsibilities. Trappe said HPL will quickly ramp up operations, including adding more researchers and post-doctoral students, to begin work in 2017. He will be a co-director of the test site; Todd Trappe, a Ball State exercise science professor, will be a co-principal investigator for the site.

Toby Chambers, a first-year doctoral student in Ball State’s human bioenergetics program, believes the NIH project underscores the national reputations Ball State and HPL have developed.

“As a doctoral student in the Human Performance Laboratory, I am really excited about the learning opportunities that will result from the research team’s involvement,” he said. “The unique opportunities this presents to the research team are why individuals, like myself, continue to be attracted to the HPL at Ball State.”

Interim Committee Votes Down License Compact, Approves Debt Forgiveness Program

The second meeting of the Interim Study Committee on Public Health was held recently. Committee members first heard testimony regarding a multi-state nurse licensure compact, which would allow nurses to practice in different states without obtaining another license. Kentucky is the only border state that is a member of the compact. If legislation is passed in Indiana to participate in the compact, the adoption of any rules by the commission for the compact would be binding on Indiana. The attorney general’s office addressed legal concerns for the compact. The Public Health Committee voted to not recommend the adoption of a multi-state nurse license compact by a 14-0 vote.

The committee also entertained discussion about forgiveness of student loans for dentists and dental hygienists accepting Medicaid reimbursement. The IU School of Dentistry provided information on the debt burden of both resident and non-resident IU dental grads. The combined average debt is a little more than $189,000 upon graduation. In addition, only 16 of Indiana’s 92 counties had an adequate supply of dentists to service Indiana Medicaid patients – suggesting that significant gaps may exist in Indiana’s oral health care safety net for both urban and rural communities. A loan forgiveness program was proposed that would support six to eight dentists and two to three dental hygienists in high need Medicaid areas by forgiving some of the debt if a four-year commitment was made. The program was approved by the committee unanimously.

Health Means Business for Indiana’s Economy

tom hironsThe improvement in Indiana’s economic environment is an outstanding success story. The series of top 10 business climate rankings from respected national sources is a tribute to the work of many throughout our state.

The same broad-based, dedicated effort is required in one very important area in which the state is not faring well in national comparisons. And if we don’t finally make some significant advances, those sought-after employers and their talented employees might not find Indiana to be such a great place to work and live.

The inferior health of our workforce – and overall population – is no secret. In the 2015 Report Card measuring progress on the Indiana Chamber’s Indiana Vision 2025 plan, two rankings stood out in a negative manner: 39th in adult smoking rate (despite a four percentage point improvement from the prior measurement) and 42nd in adult obesity.

In the most recent America’s Health Rankings from the United Health Foundation, Indiana’s behaviors (physical activity in addition to smoking and obesity) and outcomes (diabetes, cardiovascular deaths and cancer deaths) fare no better.

Health Means Business. That is a statement and the title of an upcoming event intended to promote business-led community health initiatives. As the Wellness Council of Indiana has been advocating, a healthier Indiana is vital in recruiting and retaining employees, reducing health care costs, limiting absenteeism and increasing productivity.

Details are coming soon on a new Indiana Healthy Community Initiative – modeled after the Wellness Council’s AchieveWELL process for employers – that will allow towns/cities/counties to lead collaborative efforts to improve the health of their citizens.

Indiana is one of 10 stops on a national Health Means Business tour. The Indiana Chamber Foundation is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the February 5 event. We see this as just one of many steps to putting Indiana on a healthier road and keeping our state among the nation’s business leaders.

Tom Hirons, president and CEO of Hirons, is the 2016 Indiana Chamber of Commerce chairman of the board.

Maple Leaf Farms: Maximizing Chamber Investment Through Wellness

Christy_BobWhen Maple Leaf Farms’ facility took over the space occupied by an old elementary school in the small town of Leesburg, the building was nearly entirely gutted and changed, but one room remained the same: the gymnasium.

With the on-site gym and fitness center already in place and remodeled, Bob Christy, benefits manager, began to set forth a competitive wellness plan with a little help from the Indiana Chamber.

Chuck Gillespie, executive director of the Wellness Council of Indiana, provided a wellness consultation to Maple Lead Farms to help the company determine how to move forward with its wellness program and answered questions from employees.

“I would highly recommend the consultation,” Christy asserts. “I think it should be a requirement. You need to do it once a year and have somebody (from the Council) talk to your whole group.”

For the past year and a half, Christy says Maple Leaf Farms has done “everything from poker walks to health challenges to biometric screenings.” The business’ efforts have earned it a Three-Star AchieveWELL certification from the Wellness Council of Indiana.

“When I started, (it took about the first year) to get most of the health programs set up,” Christy says. “Before that, the wellness program was kind of nonexistent. I spoke at the first annual meeting on portions … and that’s when I really got started.”

A wellness program that once was “nonexistent” now even has its own jackets – emblazoned with the words “Wellness Protection Program” and a picture of a duck, a very important symbol for the company.

Maple Leaf Farms is a family-owned business that raises and processes ducks; today it boasts 17 locations. The wellness plan now extends to all employees, regardless of their whereabouts, and each year, Christy spends two weeks on the road encouraging employees to complete biometric screenings and the Anthem health assessment.

Because Maple Leaf Farms leads the nation in the duck market, it often works with a lot of celebrity chefs and cooking initiatives. With its large kitchen and focus on healthy eating, Christy saw an opportunity to promote healthy eating through lunch-and-learns or quick dinners, meal prep demonstrations, vending machines with nutritious options and the upcoming fresh fruits on Fridays.

“We’re trying to do ‘Fruitful Friday,’” Christy explains. “We eat so much food here because there are always things going on in the kitchen.”

The wellness program continues to grow, with presentations from nutritionists and dieticians, new partnerships with the Warsaw YMCA and the potential of on-site chair massages. Maple Leaf Farm’s partnership with the Chamber and its attendance at Chamber conferences has improved its offerings for employees.

“The biggest thing with this (Chamber) membership is the resources that they have,” Christy says. “It’s some of the best you can get. It’s in Indiana, and it’s about Indiana. These people all work here just like us, and we deal with the same laws, the same tax codes, the same everything. It is about Indiana.

Q & A: Cultivating a Wellness Culture Shift

domination concepts with apples

Linda LeCour is the health and wellness manager – North America at Taghleef Industries in Rosedale. I interviewed her about the company’s continued push to enhance the wellness of its staff. (Look for the full story about companies encouraging wellness in the July/August edition of BizVoice.)

Indiana Chamber: What prompted Taghleef Industries’ increased focus on wellness and healthy workplace snacking?

Linda LeCour: We analyzed our claims data to identify the biggest health issues that are contributing to our costs. Around 2010 we really started to pay attention to the numbers and seeing what we could do to move the needle. Our health care costs were going up, our renewal rates were high. Rather than shifting the cost to the employees, there was more and more interest in how an employee’s lifestyle impacts the costs that we incur at work.

IC: What was the process like for making the change to healthier snacking and food sales?

LC: We don’t have any cafeterias in our plants, and we’re a 24/7 operation, our employees work 12-hour shifts. We are 20 minutes away from any restaurants. Up until last summer, we had traditional vending machines. The employees would often refer to them as “Wheels of Death,” because they recognized that the foods in there were not the healthiest choices, but they’re kind of a captive audience when you’re out in the middle of nowhere.

Fox Canteen is our vendor, and I was talking to them about how we could provide healthier choices for our employees. They had implemented a new system at a couple other locations in the Wabash Valley and thought it would be profitable enough for us to do that at Taghleef. It’s called Avenue C. Basically it’s a vending service where everything is out in the open. It’s like going into a convenience store where you can actually open the door, take out the product, and look at the nutrition label, if you want and decide whether or not you want to eat that and put it back if you don’t like it.

IC: What is key to making a change like this work?

LC: Our goal is to treat people like adults and let them make decisions, not necessarily just wipe out any product that’s not within the healthy standard. We’re saying, ‘Here’s your healthier choices, here’s some that aren’t so healthy if you want to incorporate that into your overall food choices for the day.’

IC: Are you starting to see a culture shift?

LC: One day an employee came to me tongue-in-cheek, pointing a finger saying, ‘It’s all your fault. You need to come see what everyone is bringing in for our birthday parties now.’ I went over there and there were fruits and vegetables and healthy foods that people were starting to bring in as a result of education and awareness and realizing people need to have healthy choices.