Index

61_2. Results CAT June 2007

John Miller conducted a Work/Life Balance seminars for The Group in June 2007.

Participant profile

15 participants  - 5 men and 10 women.

Participants completed two profiles

■ Mind and Body

■ Musculo-skeletal risk

The results are presented in graphic format, with commentary.

CONTEXT

The health assessment program conducted by Miller Health is based on the premise that the health of key body systems depends on

•      physical fitness

•      diet and

•      an ability to manage the stress of both life and work.

Within the Australian community, there is currently an epidemic of body system dysfunctions which when translated into the workplace are associated with increased absenteeism and workers compensation, and decreased work performance and productivity.

There are very few organisations that are not affected by this epidemic.

THE PROGRAM

The assessments took an holistic look at health, based on the premise that the major systems of the body maintain healthy function when they are supported by 

HEALTH PROFILES

The Mind and Body profile was used as a way of obtaining a snap shot of people’s health, fitness and stress levels. In the workplace it is also a good measure of the risk of absenteeism, presenteeism and workers’ compensation.

People in poor shape experience

•      headaches

•      poor sleep

•      lack of energy and vitality

•      musculo-skeletal dysfunction

•      frequent colds and flu

•      obesity

•      anxiety ...

The aging population

We believe (barring disability) there is nothing stopping anyone of working age from being in exceptionally good physical condition – except lack of training. It's not so much that we have an aging population but a lazy population. We know this is the case because according to the principle of increased dysfunction, people are getting older younger!

Theoretically, as people get older they should be able to maintain a high level of fitness – they’ve had longer to train!

The Governments of Australia base their medical system data on the fact that as people get older they become more dysfunctional. It's a poorly researched premise. What's actually happening is that people are getting older younger! They're unfit and unhealthy. Junk medicine is not contributing to an improvement in community standards of health, on the contrary.

Whilst we can expect people over the age of 70 to start slowing down, it is not necessarily the case for people of working age. As a general rule, poor health and body system dysfunction is not so much related to age as it is to

▪ low levels of physical activity

▪ junk food diets

▪ over-consumption of alcohol

▪ smoking

▪ an inability to handle the normal stresses of life

▪ a job that does not suit their personality, intelligence strengths or interests

▪ an over-reliance on junk medicine - medicine that is pharmaceutically based and which masks

   symptoms without stimulating the body's own recuperative power.

MIND AND BODY PROFILE

The Mind and Body profile provides people with a very good idea of how well the various systems of the body are functioning, particularly the

•      the mind

•      autonomic nervous system

•      immune system

•      digestive system

•      circulatory system

•      elimination system

•      musculo-skeletal system.

On this profile, the lower the score the better.

To complete the profile, circle the number appropriate to the degree to which you experience the symptoms on the left hand side of the page. The greater the symptom, the higher the score.

The score of a normal, fit and healthy human being is less than 20     

Higher scores are symptomatic of dysfunction of one or more body systems.

People with high levels of stress usually score well over 100.

For people with a score of more than 80, the ‘background noise’ of their life is becoming louder and louder. It is hard to concentrate on your work when body systems are dysfunctional.

We know a fit and healthy group when we see the majority of scores below 40. This was not the case with this group. By and large higher scores are usually a reflection of

•      low levels of fitness

•      an inability to deal with what life and work are serving up to people.

Remember, it is not what happens, but how we deal with what happens that determines our level of stress. 

Classification of average scores:

Excellent, less than 40:  Good, 41 - 50:  Not bad, 51 - 60: Poor, 61 - 70: Dreadful 70+

This profile is described as poor. The average score was 92. Too many people are putting up with a lot of 'background noise'. From my assessment this is not a very fit and healthy group. The risk of absenteeism, presenteeism and workers' compensation claims is considered high. The people scoring more than 140 are at grave risk of poor physical and mental health.

SCORES ON EACH ITEM, RANKED - the higher the score the worse the problem

46 people completed the profile. We added the scores for each item. The results appear in the table below.

* Fitness related

* Diet related

* Stress related

We would recommend the organisation focus on dealing with the top 11 items, plus the issues of irritable bowel.

This is the first set of numbers that did not have musculo-skeletal dysfunction at the top of the list.

It's the first set of numbers that had under-appreciated at work at the top of the list. This item has usually appeared well down the list in previous profiles.

Perception

Based on people's perception (where they gave a particular symptom a score of 7 or more) the underlying issues are lack of career satisfaction, low levels of fitness, and anxiety.  There was a high than normal level of anxiety.

Fitness

This workplace, like all others has a fitness problem. Of the top 11 items, 6 are directly related to low levels of fitness.

It's interesting that rarely do people have their aerobic fitness levels measured, when this is the key driver of poor health. We measure every thing but; blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and fail to measure the key driver of metabolic health.

It would be good to conduct a measure of aerobic fitness on this group and run a program designed to inspire and motivate them to keep themselves fit and healthy.

Musculo-skeletal dysfunction

Like all organisations, the organisation has a musculo-skeletal dysfunction problem. 26% of people gave rated themselves as having musculo-skeletal dysfunction. Sooner or later these self-generated dysfunctions become labeled as 'injuries', at great cost to the organisation's workers compensation arrangements.

It is recommended that the organisation build a firewall between dysfunctions and injuries.

What this means is requiring staff at risk (and staff experiencing musculo-skeletal pain) to attend musculo-skeletal prehab sessions, in work time, to improve strength and flexibility and to get bones back into alignment - tracksuit therapy not white coat therapy.

Our surveys show that staff will overwhelmingly participate in such a program.

A similar approach needs to be taken with people who've already been tipped into the workers compensation bucket. These people should attend daily rehab sessions, conducted by registered fitness practitioners and involve strength and flexibility exercises.

There is a good case for subsidizing fitness centre memberships, but only for people who go and only for people whose fitness is getting better, or has achieved an acceptable level. A lot of organisations pay by input, not output. They don't get good value for money.

Smoking

4 people smoked. That's 4 too many. Although it's below the community average of 18%, for smart people working in a smart organisation it's not a smart thing to do. Plus it's a great time-waster. I recommend the organisation implement a program to assist smokers to quit smoking.

Depression

5 people scored highly on our depression scale. 2 of them were on anti-depressant medication.

As the population becomes less physically active, eats diets high in flour and sugar and low in omega 3 fats, selenium and B group vitamins, lacks resilience, drinks too much alcohol and caffeine, has difficulty managing the internal and external conversations going on inside their head and/or live lives devoid of meaning and purpose, we can expect rates of anxiety and depression to increase.

This epidemic will, of course increase at the same rate as the epidemic of all other body system dysfunctions. The mind is just another part of the human ecosystem - an ecosystem under threat from low levels of health, fitness and wellbeing.

There is an epidemic of 'depression' in the community, and whilst not wishing to make light of the true ‘black dog’ of clinical depression, for some people the symptoms of stress, unhappiness, sadness, grief, hopelessness, disappointment, despair, vacuity, anger and anxiety are being treated as if they were the symptoms of clinical depression.

I believe it is appropriate for the Organisation to encourage those people with an unhappiness, anxiety or depression problem to make full use of the counselling services of the EAP and encourage them to do the things that unstressed people do - like keeping themselves fit, having a lunch hour outside, taking their holidays, eating wisely, not working too many hours and ‘getting a life’. There could be a high price of achievement for those who can't keep lives in balance.

It is frequently the case that those people on anti-depressants are not doing the things that unstressed people do to keep their bodies and minds in good shape.

The best book about depression I've read, and what you can do about it, and one that I recommend highly is by psychiatrist, David Servan-Schreiber, Healing Without Freud or Prozac.

Health, fitness and wellbeing

I recommend that all organisations establish a health, fitness and wellbeing section and employ registered fitness practitioners to give oversight to a systematic health, fitness and wellbeing program. Those at risk need to be given the greatest encouragement to get themselves back into good shape, in their own and company time.

These fitness practitioners would also supervise musculo-skeletal prehab and rehab programs.

STRESS RISK

Participants completed a simple stress and relaxation profile designed to assist them in making an assessment of how they were affected by stress. It is based on the habits of unstressed people.

If you do what unstressed people do you are less at risk of becoming stressed. I’m yet to see someone who said they were highly stressed or depressed who got a high score on this profile. A good score is over 70.

•      How would you rate your current stress level

•      Do you get a good night’s sleep?

•      Do you take your holidays?

•      Are you keeping yourself fit and healthy?

•      Is there balance in your life?

•      Do you take time off at lunch time?

•      How many hours a week do you work?

•      Are you good at giving back to your Self?

•      Do you meditate?

•      Are you happy with your family (and romantic) life?

The matter of stress always needs to be addressed by organisations as part of a personal development thrust, and aimed at all staff. If stress management type programs are to be conducted, all staff need to be involved, otherwise those at most risk and those who are currently most stressed (and too wrapped up in their own busyness) will not attend.

For those who spend long hours at work, I often wonder whether the behaviour is externally or internally driven. I suspect the latter. No body on their death bed ever said 'I wish I'd spent more time at the office.'

A few people are struggling with their family life. This is another fertile  area for personal development and counseling programs. It's hard to concentrate at work when your home life is in turmoil

SCORING GUIDELINES

Excellent, scoring 8 or more

Good, scoring 7 or more

Fair, scoring 5 or 6           

Poor, scoring less than 5

‘Pass mark’ on all parameters 7/10. 

A patchy result. Most people are coping well but the people scoring 5 or less need support.		Another patchy result. 30% of people are not getting a good night's sleep.
A fair result. People need to be encouraged to take their holidays when they fall due - and take at least one 21 consecutive day away from home holiday each year.		This is not a good score. Too many people are not keeping themselves fit and healthy. It shows in the Mind and Body profile results. good score. It's harder to manage stress if you're not fit.
As a group you'd have to say 'No'.		Another patchy result. People obviously need more encouragement from their managers to take a break and get outside during their lunch hour.
With a few exceptions this is a good pleasing result.		With a few exceptions most people acknowledge that they are not giving back to themselves in a way they would like.
Very few people meditate. The benefits are compelling.		There are two graphs here. The good and the not so good.
Average score: 55. This is a very average set of numbers suggesting that the Organisation would benefit from a range of health, fitness and wellbeing seminars and interventions. A lot of people are not doing the things that fit and healthy people do to keep themselves fit and healthy.

CAREER SATISFACTION

The parameters in the profile relate to a mix of factors influences by the participant, management and their colleagues.

•      How close are you to doing the job you’d really like to be doing?

•      Are you in the right job for now?

•      Is work giving you life or sucking life out of you?

•      Are you focused on your career options?

•      Do you get good feedback from your manager?

•      Do you receive an appropriate financial reward?

•      Do you feel you and your work are valued and appreciated?

•      Do you work for an organisation that cares about people?

•      Do you enjoy the company of the people you work with?

•      What’s the level of morale like in your work group?

Normally, when results on the overall career profile are less than 70/100, people agree that they’re not in the right job. Certainly those scoring less than 60 have sufficient issues relating to career management as to seriously consider going somewhere else.

SCORING GUIDELINES

Excellent, scoring 8 or more

Good, scoring 7 or more

Fair, scoring 5 or 6           

Poor, scoring less than 5

‘Pass mark’ on all parameters 7/10. 

The 5 people who scored zero don't know what they really want to do when they grow up! This is not a good set of numbers.		Too many people are not in the right job. In fact an overwhelming number of people are not in the right job.
Too many people are finding life stressful.		There are two graphs here, the focused and the unfocused.
This is usually the worst answered of questions. This group is no exception. It is not a good set of numbers. There are two sides to this graph. Individuals need to pay more  attention to managing up and better managing their manager. The graph also suggests a need for managers to spend more of their time managing. Feedback should also be incorporated into manager's key performance indicators.		Most people feel they are well compensated financially for what they do. The few that don't are selling themselves short.
Another poor set of numbers. A lot of people don't feel valued or appreciated, an indicator for the need for more attention to management development.		Most people think they work for a caring organisation. A few don't.
This is an exceptionally good score. With few exceptions, people like working with each other.		This is a patchy result. Morale could be better. It confirms a trend that's appeared in most of the graphs; people not in the right jobs and inattentive management.
Average score: 58. Compared with other groups, this is a poor result. People who score less than 60 are probably in the wrong job. That's 65 percent of the participants in the seminar, one of the highest scores we've seen.

The first six questions relate to the focus of each individual - knowing what they want to do, being in the right job, managing up, getting an appropriate financial reward etc etc.

Questions 7 and 8 relate more to management.

Questions 9 and 10 relate to 'us', though to be sure, 'our' morale is usually good when 'my' morale is good.

There's work to be done here by both staff and management.

RECOMMENDATIONS

See the generic list of recommendations.