miller Health Occupational Health and Fitness

Index

97 FADS DNMR February 2008

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John Miller conducted a Health Management seminar for The Group in February 2008.

40 people, 26 men and 14 women participants completed the following profiles: -

■ Health, Fitness and Wellbeing Profile

■ Stress risk

■ Career satisfaction

The results are presented in graphic format, with commentary.

Click here to read what the assessments are all about

HEALTH, FITNESS AND WELLBEING PROFILE

The Health, Fitness and Wellbeing 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.

	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 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. Reasonable 51-60. Poor - over 60.

This profile is described as poor. The average score was 75. Anyone scoring more than 80 is putting up with a lot of 'background noise'.

HEALTH CLIMATE SURVEY

Based on scores received in the Health, Fitness and Wellbeing profile we've compiled a Health Climate Survey. Scores on each item have ranked - the higher the score the worse the problem. We added the scores for each item. The results appear in the table below.

Symptoms/ issues / concerns	% of people scoring over
Low level of fitness	50
Lack of Energy	48
Work-life balance	48
Crook back, sore shoulders	45
Overweight	43
Poor sleep	40
Wrong job	38
Anxious	33
Under appreciated at work	33
Financial status	25
Snoring, sleep apnoea	23
Headaches	20
Irritable bowel, constipation etc	20
Reflux, unsettled stomach	18
Elevated cholesterol	18
Caffeine	18
Furry tongue, thrush, tinea,	15
Grinding teeth	15
Shakes, nervous mannerisms	13
Alcohol	13
Depressed	13	1
Frequent colds, flu, sinus	10
Itchy, rashes, psoriasis	10
Elevated glucose	10
Smoking	10
Chest pain, palpitations	8
Mouth ulcers	8
Elevated blood pressure	8	0
Unhappy family life	8
Shortness of breath from asthma	5

We registered those scores of 5 and over as being a symptom, issue or concern, the most pressing of which have been highlighted.

Perception

Based on people's perception (where they gave a particular symptom a score of 5 or more, and backed up by objective scores) the key issues are

•	Fitness A very high proportion of staff indicated they weren't particularly fit. We recommend staff be given the greatest encouragement to leave the office at lunch time and get in some physical activity. Ideally the next seminar in the series needs to be a fitness seminar in which fitness is measured and staff helped to set goals for getting themselves fitter and healthier. Fitness has a significant bearing on the scores for low levels of energy, poor sleep, snoring, depression and headaches.

•	Musculo-skeletal dysfunction A high proportion of staff are groaning and travailing in paid. Surprise then that so few attended the CrookBack Clinic. Musculo-skeletal dysfunction goes with low levels of strength and flexibility. Those are greatest risk need encouragement to attend a strength and flexibility training program several times a week.

•	Under-appreciation at work This is a course for concern and managers need to take note and put in train a series of measures to improve this score in say, 3 months time. This factor certainly needs addressing in more detail and re-evaluation.

•	Being in the wrong job There is a high and positive correlation between people being in the wrong job and people saying they are under-appreciated at work. There is evidence that a career development program may be needed in this workplace and/or people given strong encouragement to have a few sessions with the employee assistance program people - or me!

•	Diet A diet high in flour and sugar and low in fruit, vegetables and fibre leads to irritable and bowel, reflux.

Depression

There is an epidemic of depression in our community and we encourage all organisations to target depression. Five people gave themselves a score higher than 5 on the depression question, indicating risk that need to be dealt with. Only one person was on anti-depressant medication.

There is a significant core of depression that relates to poor health generally. All body systems are connected. It is important that these people be encouraged to have regular counselling - through the EAP or other counsellors - and be given encouragement to exercise at lunch time.

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.

Blood pressure

3 people indicated they blood pressure was elevated. Nobody was on medication.

Blood pressure is a symptom of body system dysfunction relating directly to

- lack of aerobic fitness

- being over weight

- being stressed.

Obesity

43% of people indicated that they were 10 or more kilograms over weight. It's suggestive of high energy diets and low energy lifestyles. The recommendation, 43% of people need to get out and exercise at lunch time.

Smoking

4 people smoked. At 10% of staff this is below the community average. Now lets move heaven and earth to assist those 4 people to give it away altogether.

STRESS RISK 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 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.


	With a few exceptions this is a pleasing result.	With a few exceptions this is a pleasing result. The first casualty of anxiety and low levels of fitness is sleep.

	Patchy. Paul Pearsal in his book Superimmunity' said you need a 21 day away from home holiday every year.	Not particularly good. A lot of people are not keeping themselves in good shape.

	FAQ. There's more to life than work and TV.	A poor result. Too many people don't take time off to switch off and get outside in the fresh air. This is a reflection of poor management - personal and organisational

	This is a very good result.	Mediocre. Some people are too busy to look after and nurture their Self.

	Very few people meditate. The reasons to do so are compelling, particularly for people in this industry.	Family life satisfaction is good for most people, but not for a few. The tail suggests the organisation could move heaven and earth to encourage staff with family problems to go to the employee assistance program for advice and support.

Average score: 61. This is an average score. People could do more to look after their Self. I recommend that people scoring less that 50 spend time with a counselor or life coach, or go to a personal development weekend to get themselves centred and grounded on looking after their Self. Giving yourself 30 minutes every lunch hour to exercise is one of the great symbols of being able to give back to your Self.

CAREER SATISFACTION PROFILE

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.