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Feeling the stress of running your own business? You’re not alone, and with the Stress Tracker app, you can help yourself by figuring out what is stressing you out the most during your day. Created by a team of leading clinical psychologists and researchers using cognitive behavioral therapy, Stress Tracker provides an all-in-one personal stress management app that tracks, identifies and helps relieve your daily stress. Record such information as the source of stress, symptoms of stress and which coping strategies work best. Then the app gives you an action plan to deal with your stress and helps you make healthy choices.
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Health and Wellness Articles
Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Stress Tracker (App to Measure Stress)
November 8th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichWeb.com Small Business Toolkit: Pocket Yoga (Yoga App)
October 25th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichNo time to get to your yoga class and it’s making you feel oh-so-un-yogi-like? No need to drive to a class with Pocket Yoga, a mobile app that offers quick instructions on yoga positions you can do in your office, hotel room or anywhere you need a little “om.” Practice at your own pace and on your own schedule. You can choose from three different practices, difficulty levels and durations. A detailed voice and visual instruction (of over 145 pose images) guides you through every pose, including each inhalation and exhalation. Since you don’t need Internet connectivity, you can use this app anywhere.
Google+How to Save Money on Your Business’s Health Insurance
May 1st, 2012 :: Karen AxeltonBy Karen Axelton
Are you struggling with the high cost of health insurance in your business? It seems like every year, premiums go up without fail. Fortunately, there is one way to decrease your costs that could also increase your team’s productivity, satisfaction and happiness: offering wellness programs and incentives.
AccountingWeb recently rounded up the results of several surveys of health and wellness programs in the workplace. WORKING WELL: A Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies found that 45 percent of companies who measured the results of their wellness programs found that such programs reduced overall healthcare costs. A survey by Highmark Inc. that analyzed wellness programs over a four-year period found companies that had wellness programs saved an average of $332 per participant.
A Department of Health and Human Services Report done in 2010 found that 75 percent of the $2.5 trillion spent on health care each year in this country goes to treat preventable conditions. So it only makes sense that preventing health problems before they arise through wellness programs would decrease health care costs.
Beyond the costs savings, offering wellness or fitness programs to your employees can have benefits including better employee morale, greater productivity, fewer sick days, less turnover among employees and greater success in attracting qualified employees.
What do employees say? According to AccountingWeb, employees whose companies offer wellness programs say they not only have more energy and feel healthier, but also feel more valued by their employers and more bonded with their co-workers.
How can you incentivize employees to stay healthy and well? AccountingWeb reports that some of the most popular incentives include:
- Access to such as cholesterol screening, smoking cessation programs and nutrition counseling.
- Access to fitness programs such as gyms, exercise classes or yoga classes
- Discounts on health club memberships
- Healthy snacks at the office such as providing fresh fruit instead of donuts at meetings, or catering healthy dinners instead of pizza when employees work late
- Holding wellness-related events such as brown-bag lunches where experts come in to talk to the team about health and fitness
- Offering health-related perks or rewards such as gift certificates for spa treatments or massages
Of course, some of these incentives are easier than others for small companies to offer. Start by checking with your health insurance provider to see what types of fitness and wellness incentives or educational programs they offer. Even if you can’t get your employees free membership in a health club, you may be able to work out some type of discount or set up a barter system where your business barters services in return for discounts on memberships. Also consider teaming with other small businesses to attract health educators to speak at your companies or provide on-site massage, yoga or relaxation classes.
Last, but not least, remember that you need to set the example. Hold “walking meetings,” encourage employees to use their lunch hours to work out or take a walk, and support healthy habits. The results will pay off for you, your team—and your business’s bank account.
Image by Flickr user Mimar Sinan (Creative Commons)
Google+Can a Business Trip Make You Healthier?
August 26th, 2011 :: Rieva LesonskyBy Rieva Lesonsky
Are you a frequent business traveler (like I am)? If you’re also health-conscious (and what small business owner can afford not to be?) you’ll be happy to learn that today’s hotels are paying attention to business travelers’ needs and becoming healthier places to stay. Going beyond the now-standard in-hotel gym or offering oatmeal at breakfast, here are seven ways hotels are getting healthier as reported by MarketWatch.
- Group wellness: If you’re holding an offsite meeting for your team or an annual conference at a hotel, you can now take advantage of healthy options like light meals and exercise breaks during the event. (Forget the rubber chicken!) At some Hyatt resort properties, for instance, meeting groups can enjoy wellness activities like chair yoga or 15-minute neck massages during sessions.
- Breathing easy: Smoking rooms are fewer and far between (about 10 percent of all hotel rooms), which is good news for those of us bothered by smoke. But if it’s really crowded, you might get stuck in a smokers’ room anyway. To avoid that, visit FreshStay.com, which lists more than 5,000 hotels that are totally smoke-free.
- Get PURE: If a nonsmoking room’s not enough, go one step beyond nonsmoking with PURE rooms, designed for guests with allergies or asthma. These rooms use air purifiers, hypoallergenic mattress covers, and special cleaning treatments to ensure there are no allergens; they are offered by about 250 hotels in North America.
- It’s organic: Remember the days when a club sandwich was about as healthy as room service got? No more. A growing number of hotels are adding locally sourced and/or organic food to their room service and restaurant menus.
- In-room fitness: If you’ve ever tried to motivate yourself to get dressed in workout gear and head 30 flights down to the hotel gym at 5:30 in the morning, you’ll appreciate this increasingly popular amenity that lets you roll out of bed and work out in privacy. MarketWatch cites a 2010 American Hotel & Lodging Association survey that found about 21 percent of luxury hotels, 17 percent of upscale hotels, 15 percent of midprice hotels, 7 percent of economy and 4 percent of budget hotels have in-room exercise equipment. Hilton Garden Inns and Omni Hotels Resort are two that provide in-room fitness kits; many hotels also have on-demand exercise shows for viewing on the room TV.
- Get smart: Concierges have long provided guests with suggested running routes, etc., to work out on the road. Now you can forget trying to remember directions or carrying a paper map on your run. Concierge suggestions are going digital with smartphone apps that let travelers find routes or calculate their distance.
- Professional help: Some locations (often resorts) have personal trainers, nutritionists and wellness coaches on staff. Got some extra time between meetings? Book a session and instead of going back to your business feeling flabby, you can be better than ever.
Who knew going on a business trip could actually improve your health? These days, it just might.
Image by Flickr user Jennifer Woodard Maderazo (Creative Commons)
Google+Adding Employee Wellness Benefits Can Help Your Small Business
March 24th, 2011 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichBy Maria Valdez Haubrich
With the rising costs of employee health care always an issue for businesses, many companies both big and small are emphasizing employee wellness to help keep insurance costs down. A recent study by Principal Financial Group and Harris Interactive reveals that employees are giving wellness programs a big thumbs-up.
The Principal Financial Well-Being Index surveyed small and midsize U.S. companies and found that benefits related to wellness and weight loss were among the most coveted by workers. The percentage of employees who use weight-loss programs offered by their employers increased to 53 percent in 2010, up 25 percent from 2009.
Other benefits employees would love to receive are fitness facilities (27 percent), discounts on fitness center memberships (24 percent) and weight-loss programs in the workplace (17 percent).
Lee Dukes, president of Principal Wellness Company, a subsidiary of the Principal Financial Group, notes that “Americans in general are more aware of the impact of obesity on their health” and that employers as well as employees are increasingly seeking out this type of program.
Employees seem to be growing more aware that they need to be responsible for their own health to help keep costs down. Some 68 percent used an employer’s personalized action plan to manage high-risk health conditions (up 21 percent from last year), and 84 percent used blood-sugar screenings (an increase from 66 percent in 2009).
If you offer health insurance to employees, check with your plan administrator to see if the plan offers any type of wellness benefits. Some plans offer things like fitness center discounts, discounts on massages or acupuncture, or other assistance to maintain good health. If you don’t have health insurance for your staff or your insurer doesn’t offer wellness programs, contact local hospitals to see if they have any programs for business. You may be able to get hospital staff to hold educational sessions about weight loss, stress relief or other wellness concerns at your company. Another option: See if you can barter with local small businesses that provide wellness-related services like yoga classes or stress management to hold events at your company.
In addition to keeping your insurance costs down and lessening absenteeism, wellness benefits have some other, well, benefits. According to the survey, 43 percent of employees say wellness programs make them want to work harder; 48 percent say the benefits make them more loyal to their employer; and 38 percent say wellness benefits make them more productive on the job.
Image by Flickr user Coni Dutka (Creative Commons)
Google+Small Biz Resource Tip: EatingWell
March 11th, 2011 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichThe busy life of a small-business owner doesn’t leave much time for good eating and exercising habits. But ask any successful (and happy) entrepreneur about diet and exercise and you can bet, good habits are a priority. To keep the goal of a healthy lifestyle top of mind no matter where you are, it helps to have an informative website bookmarked for quick reading. EatingWell.com is filled with interesting articles and helpful tips to help you maintain good habits. Articles and recipes such as “Breakfasts That Fight Fat” are a quick read and the site focuses on fast, not fancy, solutions that don’t require a lot of extra time to prepare. Plus, sign up for the weekly newsletters and have healthy ideas send directly to your inbox. Your body and mind will thank you.
Google+How To Balance Work, Life, and a Home Office
December 17th, 2010 :: Monika JansenBy Monika Jansen
People are amazed that I like to work from home and that I get so much accomplished between 9am and 5pm. Add the facts that I’m married, have an 8 year old and 4 year old, and keep an obscenely neat and organized house, and I probably sound all Super Mom-my (far from it, but thanks for thinking it anyway).
Balancing work, life, and a home office require discipline and excellent time management for sure, but you can read more about that in The Four Hour Work Week. I have found that the keys to achieving some sort of balance are both commonsense and easily doable.
Keep your office separate from your home
Do the best you can to keep your office space separate from your living space. This means no working in the dining room, family room, or kitchen! This simple act will help you close the door on work and “leave” the office at the end of the day…and on the weekends. If your work stuff is in plain sight at all times, it is hard to not think about it, and the next thing you know you’re at the computer checking e-mail “just one more time.”
Keep all of your work-related stuff in your office, too: computer, files, software/hardware, books, and supplies. If you can set up your office on a floor in your home that is separate from the main living areas, even better (mine is in the basement).
Compartmentalize
Set your work hours and keep them. If you need to occasionally start work earlier than usual or work a little later, no biggie. But devote the time you are home before and after work hours to your family, friends, and “regular life.”
To stop yourself from thinking about work after-hours, make a list at the end of the day of everything you need to do tomorrow/this week/this month. Then walk away from it.
Take productive breaks from work
If you work in an office outside of your home, you probably take more breaks than you realize. You chat with coworkers at the water cooler, in the kitchen, in the supply room, in the hallway, before and after meetings, when they stop by your office or desk, at lunch, etc. You might even run out to the nearest coffee shop a couple of times a day.
Feel free to take breaks at home, but make them productive if you can. When I need a break, I do the dishes, unload the dishwasher, throw in a load of wash, fold laundry, pick up the house if it’s a little messy (I’m a little Monica Geller if you haven’t figured that out yet), marinate chicken for dinner. This way, I feel like I am keeping on top of “house” stuff. Do whatever would help you feel like you are balanced and not juggling a million balls. If that means catching up on the latest episode of Big Bang Theory, so be it.
Ignore your smartphone
This is really hard for people to do, but try it anyway. I check my BlackBerry if I get stopped at a long light on the way to pick up my son from preschool between 5 and 5:30. Then I check it after dinner, around 7:30. Then I check it one last time around 9pm. Then I shut it down for the night and I don’t turn it back on til around 7am the next day. 10! Hours! E-mail! Free!
Note that I said I check my BlackBerry. It is rare for me to reply back to an e-mail after hours, because guess what? Only a tiny fraction of e-mails are actually emergencies, and most everything can wait til the morning.
Oh, and on the weekends, I don’t even look at my work e-mail.
So, how have you managed to achieve work/life balance when there’s a home office in the equation?
Image by Flickr user Joie de Cleve (Creative Commons)
Google+Staying Healthy while Running a Small Business
June 18th, 2009 :: Steven Fisher
Ok, so I went back to the gym about a month ago after six years of letting my business life over take my personal life and not forcing a balance in my life. I have lost 15 pounds over the last six weeks and have about 70 more to go or a “middle schooler” as I like to remark often. My goal is not to turn this blog post and the blog into fatblogging Steve’s path to fitness, however, I do want to make this the first of many posts related to Health & Wellness for Entrepreneurs/Small Business Owners. I am on the hunt for guest contributors in this area so if you know of someone with experience in this area, please have them reach out to listen@networksolutions.com and put “Guest Blog Contributor-Small Business Health and Wellness” in the subject line.
Nevertheless, let’s discuss the state of fitness which in most cases is just poor. People are stressed even more these days with less time because they have to work harder on their business to keep things running as smoothly as possible through this economic downturn. Still, you will hear that people don’t have the time to work out when in fact, if they don’t integrate health and fitness into their business lifestyle, they can increase their chances of health problems that could hurt their business in the long run.
Many entrepreneurs fall into two distinct categories of health and fitness – Type A Athletics who view exercise as critical to their performance AND Type A Achievers who usually have a routine but the new stresses and schedule of running a business run their fitness regiment off the rails.
I fell into the later category and I realized that these past few years had really taken a toll on my body. Lack of sleep and exercise, unhealthy foods and high stress had kept me performing at my best. I realized that this correlated to the fact that “your business is only as healthy as you are”. I have come to realize after many years of insane schedules, horrible eating habits at client meetings and while on travel and ignoring my gym despite paying for a membership and driving by it almost every day that I can get busy being healthy or risk my very well being and not be able to do what gets me out of bed every day.
The Three Things I Do Every Day to Get Me Healthy and My Fitness Back to 1999 levels
I was in great shape in 1999 and I partied like it was 1999 for the last 10 years. 95 pounds and five inches on my waist later I began this journey and they three things that I do every day keep me motivated:
- Eat a healthy breakfast – used to skip it all the time or eat sugary junk that would jump start me. These days it is oatmeal or fruit or the occasional eggs and wheat toast to keep the variety.
- Slowly remove the empty calories – I took two weeks and moved from Half and Half to Skim milk and shaved 150 calories a day. I ask for a box at the beginning of a lunch or dinner meeting and cut the meal in half. If it isn’t in front of me on the plate, I don’t eat it. Over six months or a year you will be amazed at how much this will add up. Plus I have leftovers that save me money. Double win.
- Walk everywhere – I used to live in the city and I love to walk. Living in a suburban environment, the car is not a treadmill and in fact just makes your butt bigger and posture worse. If you are not going to the gym, find places you can walk and just get moving. You will feel great and full of energy.
The changes are starting to become apparent and my energy hasn’t been as high since the last century. To people around me and in words of my friend Meghan “every time I see you, you are shrinking”. I look forward to hearing that every week.
Here are few easy things you can do to be a healthy entrepreneur and small business owner:
- Be a Role Model. You’re a role model for employees. They look to you for direction within your company. Why wouldn’t they look to you as a model of healthy living?
- Get Everyone Involved and Reward Them. Create your own physical-activity incentive program. Do your organizational culture and facility support health? You’d be surprised how creative people can get when they’re outside moving together.
- Make Life Changes, Don’t Go on Diets. Diets do not work. They are temporary and fleeting but most of all could be damaging to your body. Trust me, I know this personally. Life changes are what stays with you the long term as does your improved health and fitness.
- Meditate and Disconnect. I know this might sound “New Agey” and fuzzy but even if it’s only for a few minutes a day, take time to do something you really enjoy that doesn’t have anything to do with your business. Clear your head and disconnect. You will be surprised how much your creative juices get flowing and not only gets you recharged it could allow you the time to come up with a breakthrough idea.
Other great articles on health and recharging:
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