miller Health Occupational Health and Fitness

Index

38. Results DA September 2006

John Miller conducted a health management seminar for The Organisation in September 2006.

Participants completed several profiles

■ Mind and Body

■ Stress

■ Career Satisfaction

Everyone completed the Mind and Body profile. Most people completed the Musculo-skeletal Risk factor profile and a few completed the Stress and Career satisfaction profiles.

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 immune from this epidemic.

THE PROGRAM

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

n	a physically active way of life

n	management of stress, both that which is generated internally and that which impact on each individual from their external environment

n	work satisfaction, including work stress

n	a life in balance in which people have interests outside of work which distract them from being busy and miserable.

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 ...

Sample

Because of the nature of the sample selection, it is not appropriate to make organisation-wide generalizations about health and fitness. As the Mind and Body Profile indicates, by and large this was a group of people of average health and fitness.

OH&S risk management

Overall we rated the health of the group as average.

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. Whilst this may be the case for people over the age of 75, it is not necessarily the case for people of working age . As a general rule, poor health and body system dysfunction goes hand in hand with low levels of physical activity, junk food diets, over-consumption of alcohol, an inability to handle the normal stresses of life and a job that does not suit their personality, intelligence strengths or interests.

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.

	Symptom	None		Not much			A fair bit			A lot
1.	Headaches	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
2.	Migraines	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
3.	Lack of energy and vitality	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
4.	Candida - jock itch, thrush, tinea ...	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
5.	Poor sleep. If on tablets score 10	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
6.	Snoring &/or sleep apnoea.	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
7.	Crook back, sore shoulders RSI ...	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
8.	Frequent colds, flu, sinus	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
9.	Unsettled stomach, reflux	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
10.	Irritable bowel, constipation, trots ...	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11.	Overweight - 1 point for every 2Kg	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
12.	Asthma	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
13.	Low level of aerobic fitness	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
14.	Chest pain, palpitations	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
15.	Rashes, itchiness, psoriasis, zits	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
16.	Mouth ulcers, cold sores	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
17.	Elevated blood pressure. Score 0 on pills	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
18.	Reduced libido	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
19.	Shakes, nervous ticks, mannerisms	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
20.	Grinding teeth	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
21.	Alcoholic drinks per day (2 pts/drink)	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
22.	Smoking. (1 pt/cigarette/day)	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
23.	Caffeine (1 pt/cup per day)	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
24.	Anxious about life in general	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
25.	Insecure/apprehensive about the future	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
26.	Sad or depressed (On medication, score 0)	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
27.	In wrong job for now	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
28.	Under-appreciated at work	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
29.	Under-appreciated at home	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
30.	Unhappy with family and romantic life	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

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 them.

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

This profile is described as not bad. The average score was 60. A few people are putting up with a lot of background noise. From my assessment this is not a very fit and health group. The risk of absenteeism, presenteeism and workers' compensation claims is considered high.

How well people score on the Mind and Body profile provides them with a good indication of how fit and healthy they really are.

I read somewhere that we don't see full blown body system dysfunction until the particular system is 70% dysfunctional. What the Mind and Body profile does is pick up the dysfunctions at an early stage - (you know something's wrong and you feel dreadful but you can't put your finger on the particular system that's causing it. It doesn't matter that you don't know the precise system involved. What you are aware of is that one or more of your systems isn't working at full pitch. The good news is that you can restore function to normal by getting fitter, eating wisely, meditating getting the job you'd love to do ...) Very few people became fitter and healthier in a doctor's surgery!

Being vigorously physically active on a regular and systematic basis is the most powerful symbol of your ability to give back to your Self. On top of that it protects the body from a wide range of dysfunctions and contributes to an enhancement of the body's own recuperative powers.

There is an epidemic of body system dysfunction in our community and it is certainly not caused by a lack of Panadol, Avpro, Diabex, Lipitor, Ventolin, Milantin, Celebrex, Valium, Zoloft, Viagra or Anusol!

The mind/body relationship

The body is an ecosystem of which the mind is an integral part. Major body systems are frequently negatively affected by stress generated in the mind. The body is incapable of dishonesty!

On the other hand, the mind is effected by the healthy working order of other body systems. Certainly it is affected by physical activity, diet, meditation, acupuncture and a low-toxic environment.

People who are physically fit are less likely to become depressed. They are also more likely to have a strong immune system and an autonomic nervous system that is balanced and healthy in its management of key physiological responses. They are healthy and happy. They have normal blood pressure, they sleep like logs, are about their ideal weighty, rarely, if ever get a headache and don't have a crook back.

As your fitness level improves you can be certain that your score on the Mind and Body profile will also.

STRESS PROFILE

Participants completed a simple stress and relaxation profile designed to assist them in making an assessment of how they were affected by stress. It's 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?

If you look at the profiles you’ll see that quite a few people

• lack an ability to manage stress

• don’t get a good night’s sleep

• don’t take a good long holiday every year

• aren’t keeping themselves fit and healthy to the best of their ability

• don’t take time off a lunch time to stretch their legs, fart and get a

whiff of fresh air and a bit of sunshine

• don’t give back to their Self

• aren't particularly happy with their family life.

Most people don’t meditate – there is as compelling a reason to meditate as there is to be physically active

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.'

Depression

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’.

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.

Not a bad score. Those who scored less than 50 are at risk.

Not good. People who scored less than 50 are coming to work tired and wrung out. The first casualty of anxiety is sleep.

Not good. Managers need to make sure people take their holidays as and when they fall due. In the first few weeks of each calendar year, staff need to put in their leave requests.

Not good. It's very difficult to manage stress if you're not fit. Physical activity is the great stress reliever. It affects all body systems including the mind.

When you can't find time to do the things that unstressed people do: when you can't find time for yourself, life gets stressful.

Not good. The people I see who are most stressed are people who can't even get away from their desk at lunch time. Managers, make sure your staff gets out into the fresh air at lunch time!

Good. It is likely that the people who scored poorly are people running three shifts, two at home and one at work - people with responsibilities for young children.

Patchy. Stress is the rebellion of the Self against lack of time, attention, affection and thought.

Very few people in our society meditate, yet there are compelling reasons to do so, reasons as compelling as a vigorous aerobic exercise program.

There are few things as stressful as families in turmoil. There is a good case for people being encouraged to go to the EAP for counseling and support.

Average score, 61. Not a bad sort of a score.

CAREER SATISFACTION

The parameters in the profile relate to a mix of factors influenced 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 making a job or career change.

Good. Only 1 person didn't know what they wanted to do when they grew up!

Very very good, but managers need to identify those of their staff who are not in the right job for now and do whatever it takes to help them get the job they really want to do. An ability to do this is the hallmark of a good manager. If managers don't manage this part of their job it sucks all vitality out of the workgroup.

Managers need to identify the group on the left of the graph and do something about it. Stress is the distance between what you're getting and what you want.

Patchy. There's always a need for a focus on career development. This could be worked on.

Not bad! However the management skills of the managers managing the people down the left hand end of the graph need to be questioned.

This is why people work at this organisation. They just love the sound of money dropping into their bank account every second Thursday. You get paid what you sell yourself for. If you score low you might be selling yourself short.

On the whole, good. People on the LHS could do with a pat on the head and a bag of lollies now and then.

Very good. Only a few dissenters.

This is a very good result. There's cohesion here - another reason, along with the money for coming to work.

Very good. 'Our' morale is usually good when 'my' morale is good.

Career satisfaction average, 71. This is a good score. People scoring less than 70 are probably in the wrong job. It's unlikely that people who score less than 60 are in the right job. Managers need to identify people scoring less than 50 and assist them to move toward the job they'd really like doing, whether inside the organisation, at a different location or somewhere else.

A word on management

It is usually the case that the question on the feedback is the worst answered question in the book.

This is something managers need to be aware of. Whilst I know from experience that a large proportion of managers hate managing and just want to get on with their work, the fact that they are being paid to manage behooves them to make sure they persistently strive toward the creation of a productive, cohesive, happy organisation. Regular feedback is an important aspect of the work satisfaction equation - the better, the better!

Staff also need to be aware of the first two laws of management

1. manage yourself

2. manage your boss.

If they understand that and arrange to meet with their manager regularly, then the feedback score usually improves.

RECOMMENDATIONS

See the generic list of recommendations.