Incentive - April 2008 - (Page 28) other fun brain-building activities. Besides the impact on the bottom line, severe stress in the workplace poses a serious threat to employees’ overall health and longevity. Commonly known as the “fight-or-flight” mechanism, stress response is the body’s way of dealing with a physical or psychological threat. Upon perceiving this threat— be it a barking dog in the street or a growling customer on the telephone—the hypothalamus gland sets off an alarm, and a surge of hormones enters the bloodstream. Adrenaline (which increases heart rate and elevates blood pressure) and cortisol (which increases glucose) rush in to save the day. Once the predicament has passed, hormone levels adjust back to normal. But in today’s hurly-burly, 24-7 world, the stress associated with work tends to be protracted, causing long-term exposure to stress hormones that can wreak havoc on the body. “While all stress involves the release of adrenaline into the bloodstream,” says Winner, “good stress is characterized by a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm. Winner says it may even enhance performance to a degree, such as the anticipation an actor experiences before going on stage, or a sales representative feels before giving a presentation. But bad stress— which shows up as anxiety and worry—that is too high for too long can lead to serious declines in productivity and health. “If you run your engine at too high an rpm mile after mile, it will break down,” says Winner. comfortable with this style of breathing. Once you feel comfortable, let your hands gently rest on your lap. Notice the thoughts that come into your mind. Think of them as clouds floating by, let them pass, and focus your attention on your breathing. Bring your attention to your feet. Allow them to soften and relax. “Good stress is characterized by a feeling of excitement.” –Dr. Jay Winner The January 2008 issue of European Heart Journal published results from a recent largescale study, which looked at the cardiovascular mechanisms of work stress. The study showed strong evidence of a link between work stress and coronary heart disease. In the study, participants’ stress was measured by questions on working conditions and blood tests for stress hormones and heartrate variability. Workers under 50 years of age identified as chronically stressed were 68 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or angina (chest pain). Interestingly, the physical effects were more pronounced on weekdays, suggesting a link with work. Dr. Jay Winner, author of the new book Take the Stress Out of Your Life: A Medical Doctor’s Proven Program to Minimize Stress and Maximize Health, is not surprised by these results. He says that one million U.S. employees miss work every day due to stress, and that health care expenses are nearly 50 percent greater for workers under high levels of stress. Still, Winner points out that not all stress is bad stress. Smart companies have recognized both the bottom-line and personal reasons why dealing with stress in the workplace is simply good business, and many have begun using rewards and incentives to help create a self-care culture. Paula Godar, business development director for Maritz Motivation in St. Louis, whose clients include Lexus, CocaCola and Marriott, says the company has been seeing a dramatic interest in wellness programs. “Either companies or their medical insurance providers are realizing the cost savings to be gained from helping people to reduce their stress and stay healthier,” says Godar. As a result, Maritz has been helping companies to Next let the muscles in your legs relax. With each subsequent breath, relax the muscles in your groin area, buttocks, abdomen, chest, back, shoulders, arms, hands, neck, jaw and finally, face muscles. As you focus on your breath, notice if any other areas of your body still seem tense, and allow them to relax. Gently open your eyes and move on to a more relaxed day. develop rewards for wellness programs, and recently made the wellness category a permanent part of its catalog. “We offer a wide variety of products in this area,” says Godar. “Everything from Pilates equipment, yoga apparel and heart monitors to aromatherapy and foot-spa massagers.” Godar says that experiential rewards have not yet made it into the catalog, but Maritz works with many companies individually to provide spa gift certificates, for instance. “Spa has overtaken golf as one of the things people most want to do in their leisure time as part of incentive travel,” says Godar. Maritz itself is leading the trend with its own in-house program. “In our company, we get points for participating in certain wellness activities, which can then be redeemed for items in an online catalog,” says Godar. Maritz employees can earn points for a host of activities, including going to a laboratory and getting baseline blood work done, signing up for an exercise program, going to a health seminar or losing weight. Godar believes that the wellness program at Maritz and the similar ones it creates for clients help reduce stress, because they motivate people to understand not only what they need to do, but why they are doing it, and then reward them for making it important. “I am certain,” says Godar, “that given today’s workplace, we are going to be asked to do significantly more of these types of programs in the future.” Send comments to incentivemagazine@nielsen.com Listen to Kamal Sarma, author of Mental Resilience, discuss how to develop the focus of a warrior and peace of a monk in the workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.incentivemag.com/podcasts 28 | Incentive | April 2008 | incentivemag.com http://www.incentivemag.com/podcasts http://incentivemag.com
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