TSPA DECEMBER 2009
John Miller conducted a Health Management program for The Group in December 2009.
43 people, 42 men and 1 woman completed the following profiles: -
■ Health, Fitness and Wellbeing
■ Musculo-skeletal 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.
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Symptom |
None |
Not much |
A fair bit |
A lot |
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1. |
Headaches including migraines |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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2. |
Lack of energy and vitality |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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3. |
Candida - jock itch, thrush, tinea ... |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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4. |
Poor sleep. If on tablets score 10 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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5. |
Snoring &/or sleep apnoea. Score 10 if using a mask |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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6. |
Crook back, stiff neck, sore shoulders, dicky knee RSI ... |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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7. |
Frequent colds, flu, sinus |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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8. |
Unsettled stomach, reflux (Score 10 if on medication) |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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9. |
Overweight - 1 point for every 2Kg |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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10. |
Irritable bowel, constipation |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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11. |
Asthma |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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12. |
Low level of aerobic fitness |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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13. |
Chest pain, palpitations |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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14. |
Rashes, itchiness, skin outbreaks, psoriasis ... |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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15. |
Mouth ulcers, cold sores |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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16. |
Elevated blood pressure. Score 0 on pills |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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17. |
Elevated blood cholesterol. Score o if on pills |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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18. |
Elevated blood glucose. Score 0 if on medication |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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19. |
Shakes, nervous ticks, mannerisms |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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20. |
Grinding teeth |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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21. |
Alcoholic drinks per day (2 pts/drink) |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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22. |
Smoking. (1 pt/cigarette/day) |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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23. |
Caffeine (1 pt/cup per day) |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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24. |
Anxious about life, insecure, apprehensive |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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25. |
Sad or depressed (On medication, score 0) |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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26. |
In wrong job for now |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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27. |
Under-appreciated at work |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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28. |
Have poor work/life balance |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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29. |
Unhappy with family life |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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30. |
Unhappy with financial status |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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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. Fair 51-60. Poor - over 60.
This profile is described as fair. The average score was 55. 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.
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Symptoms/issues/concerns |
% of people scoring over 5 |
Number of people scoring 10: total number 43 |
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Overweight |
47 | 10 | ||
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Low level of fitness |
42 | 3 | ||
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Elevated blood pressure |
35 | 15 | ||
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Alcohol |
30 | 4 | ||
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Under appreciated at work |
30 | 4 | ||
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Crook back, sore shoulders |
26 | 0 | ||
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Smoking |
23 | 0 | ||
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Poor sleep |
21 | 2 | ||
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Snoring, sleep apnoea |
21 | 2 | ||
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Elevated cholesterol |
19 | 6 | ||
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Financial status |
19 | 4 | ||
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Lack of Energy |
16 | 0 | ||
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Reflux, unsettled stomach |
14 | 2 | ||
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Itchy, rashes, psoriasis |
14 | 1 | ||
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Elevated glucose |
14 | 6 | ||
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Work-life balance |
12 | 0 | ||
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Caffeine |
9 | 1 | ||
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Irritable bowel, constipation etc |
7 | 0 | ||
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Anxious |
7 | 0 | ||
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Depressed |
7 | 2 | ||
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Wrong job |
7 | 1 | ||
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Shortness of breath from asthma |
5 | 0 | ||
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Grinding teeth |
5 | 0 | ||
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Unhappy family life |
5 | 2 | ||
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Headaches |
2 | 0 | ||
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Chest pain, palpitations |
2 | 1 | ||
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Mouth ulcers |
2 | 0 | ||
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Shakes, nervous mannerisms |
2 | 0 | ||
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Candida |
0 | 0 | ||
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Frequent colds, flu, sinus |
0 | 0 |
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
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Obesity 47% of people said they were more than 10Kg over weight. 25% were more than 20Kg over weight. It's a symptom of metabolic dysfunction and relates to high energy diets and low energy lifestyles. It's suggestive of elevated levels of insulin floating around the body, which is a precursor of all manner of body system dysfunctions - elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, elevated blood glucose.
The recommendation, that people need to get more exercise, eat from the top of the Hourglass and lay off the grog.
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Fitness 42% said they were unfit. We recommend staff be given the greatest encouragement to engage in some physical activity before work. Fitness has a significant bearing on the scores for low levels of energy, poor sleep, snoring, depression and headaches.
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Blood pressure 35% of people indicated they had elevated blood pressure. 15 people were on blood pressure medication.
This is not a fit and healthy group. High blood pressure is not caused by a lack of Avpro.
Blood pressure is a symptom of body system dysfunction relating directly to
- lack of aerobic fitness - being over weight - being stressed.
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Under-appreciation at work 30% said they were under-appreciated at work. This is a poor result. Managers and staff need to have a big think about what can be done to improve this score.
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Alcohol intake 30% indicated a higher than acceptable level of alcohol consumption.
I don't agree with the medical charities that you should have a drink every night. The people who score lowest in the Health, Fitness and Wellbeing profile only have a couple of drinks a week, if that.
The problem with alcohol is that will power dissolves in it. Once you've had one, you're more likely to have another, and another ... Then out come the chips and cashews, finishing off with a couple rounds of Tim Tams.
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Musculo-skeletal dysfunction 26% of people said they had some sort of musculo-skeletal dysfunction. Musculo-skeletal dysfunction goes with low levels of strength and flexibility. Those at greatest risk need encouragement to attend a strength and flexibility training program several times a week. All staff need to be involved in a daily, 10 minute flexibility work out.
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Smoking 23% of people smoked. This is a lower figure than for some groups in this organisation but slightly above the community average of around 18%. Now lets move heaven and earth to assist these people to give it away altogether.
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Poor sleep 21% of people do not sleep soundly - it takes them a long time to go to sleep, they wake in the middle of the night, they don't wake up refreshed.
The first casualty of anxiety is poor sleep. Lack of a regular and vigorous physical activity program is also attended by poor sleep.
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Snoring 21% of people said they snored loudly enough for it to be a problem.
The recipe for a good snore is to be male, be unfit and at least 20Kg over weight, to have high blood pressure, have a few drinks every night, be stressed out of their brain and sleep on their back.
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Poor financial status 19% indicated they were under financial stress.
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19% indicated they had elevated levels of blood cholesterol. 6 people were on medication.
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Lack of energy 16% of people said they lacked energy. Low levels of energy come from many sources, including: - lack of a good aerobic fitness training program - a diet high in wheat flour and sugar - dullness.
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Type 2 diabetes 14%, (6 people) were on diabetes medication. By and large type 2 diabetes is a fitness problem caused by a lack of regular, vigorous physical activity, a high flour and sugar diet and obesity.
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Poor work/life balance 12% of people indicated they had a poor work/life balance. This is a low score to that which we see in other organisations.
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Being in the wrong job 7% of people said they were in the wrong job. There is usually a high and positive correlation between people being in the wrong job and people saying they are under-appreciated at work. In this case this rule did not applied. By far and away these people are in the right job. This is a real asset.
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Depression and anxiety 7% of people indicated they were anxious.
7% indicated gave themselves a score of 5 or more in answer to the question 'Are you depressed'.
2 were on anti-depressant medication.
These are low scores compared with what we normally see.
Having said that, there is an epidemic of depression in our community and we encourage all organisations to target depression.
There is a significant core of depression that relates to poor health generally.
All body systems are connected. The epidemic of depression will continue to escalate at the same rate as the epidemic of all other body system dysfunctions. People need to be given encouragement to exercise regularly and vigorous, eat less flour and sugar and imbibe less of the culturally chemicals - particularly nicotine, caffeine and alcohol.
Because of the relationship of depression to fitness and diet there is a chance that some people have been misdiagnosed.
Some aspects of depression relate to psychologically generated issues. It is important that these people be encouraged to have regular counselling - through the EAP or other counsellors -
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.
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Family life 5% indicated they had an un happy family life. |
MUSCULO-SKELETAL RISK FACTOR
Our musculo-skeletal risk factor profile looked at a range of parameters including mobility, strength and flexibility and whether people are training to keep themselves strong and flexible.
The musculo-skeletal risk factor profile is comprised of a mix of 7 objective and 3 subjective assessments.
Current musculo-skeletal condition
Closeness to ideal weight
Leg strength
Abdominal strength test
Upper body strength test
Flexibility
Functional mobility the ability to sit down and stand up with ease.
Shoulder function
Flexibility training behaviour
Strength training behaviour
A score of 70% is attainable by those who have a regular and systematic training program.
Those scoring less than 70 are not doing sufficient in the way of strength and flexibility exercises. They are therefore exposing themselves to a high risk of musculo-skeletal dysfunction. (It would be bizarre for a workplace to offer to pay the rehabilitation costs of people who were not keeping themselves strong enough or flexible enough to do their job without succumbing to musculo-skeletal dysfunction, wouldn't it?)
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Not a particularly good result. Nearly 50% of people have some serious musculo-skeletal issues. They are experiencing some pain and discomfort, 5 people a lot. Those scoring less the 6 need to be required attend a prehab/rehab program, for their own benefit and that of the organisation. We rate the organisation's risk as HIGH. |
As a group this is a patchy result. However, on this estimation 60% were 10 or more kilos over their ideal weight. Being overweight greatly compromises mobility. |
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Good result. Two people were unable to complete the test. |
A poor result. 60% of participants failed the test by being unable to complete 17 situps in 30 seconds. |
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A poor result. 70% of people failed the test. They were unable to do 17 pressups.
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11 people couldn't touch their toes. A poor result which leads to back, neck and shoulder dysfunction. |
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A poor result. 40% of people had difficulty sitting on the floor and standing up again. 11 were unable to do the test. |
40% of participants had some sort of shoulder dysfunction. The good news is that's it's redeemable. |
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Its always the case, few people have a regular strength and flexibility program. The organisation needs to put in train a regular and systematic training program, on site, that includes
1. specialist prehab and rehab sessions for those at serious risk and those already dysfunctional.
2. daily 10 minute strength and flexibility sessions for all staff. |
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Average score: 49. Not good. The risk of musculo-skeletal dysfunction is high due to low levels of strength and flexibility. There is a strong case for the organisation to implement an obligatory strength and flexibility program for those who scored less than 60 in this profile. |
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Lack of strength and flexibility is something that the Organisation needs to take seriously and monitor carefully and put in place an organisation-wide strategy to improve musculo-skeletal function. By far and away a high proportion of people do not have a strength and flexibility program. As a result they are getting weaker and tighter by the week, thereby exposing themselves and the organisation to risk.
When push comes to shove and people become dysfunctional, it will be The Organisation that ends up paying the high cost of an avoidable musculo-skeletal complaint. Click here to read the article from injury to dysfunction. Click here to read about swifties and fallacies.
In our opinion musculo-skeletal dysfunction caused by the lack of a regular and systematic strength and flexibility program cannot be classified as an injury. Responsibility for musculo-skeletal dysfunction needs to be sheeted home to individual employees, though its unlikely to happen without the establishment of a culture within the organisation that supports, values and understands strength and flexibility.
We recommend a range of strength and flexibility classes that are readily available Australia-wide: -
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Posture and Flexibility |
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Yoga |
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Crookback Clinic |
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Tai Chi |
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Pontius Pilates |
The Organisation would place itself in the forefront of OH&S practice if it took the musculo-skeletal risk seriously and moved heaven and earth to educate all staff about this risk and encourage them to take part in a regular strength and flexibility program. Maybe The Organisation and its worker's compensation insurer could invest in a pilot program to increase staff strength and flexibility!
The lack of strength and flexibility training coupled with poor abdominal strength, upper body strength, flexibility and shoulder function is a cause for concern and needs the attention of individual staff and managers.
Recommendation
We strongly recommend that the people who are in current poor musculo-skeletal condition, and who lack abdominal strength, upper body strength, flexibility, shoulder function and functional mobility, in particular those who scored less than 60 on the profile, be obligated to attend regular, in-house strength and flexibility classes.
The pressure on the organisation's workers' compensation costs is such that to do otherwise would, in our opinion be to abrogate a responsibility for the prudent management of the organisation's finances.
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 youd 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?
Whats 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 theyre 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.
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This is a very good score. Most of these people are in the right job. 3 people didn't know what they wanted to do when they grew up! |
With a couple exceptions this is an excellent result. Now to find the people who are not happy and assist them to get the job they'd love to be doing. | ||
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A good result. A few people find their work stressful. Work is probably about as stressful as you want it to be. Walk away. Make appointments for your Self that allow you to get on with your work unhindered by interruptions. Find the job you'd love to do. |
An excellent result. For those who scored 7/10 it didn't matter. |
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This is a poor result. Too many people, 65%, gave their manager a score of less than 7. That's not good. Of all our profile questions, this one is usually the worst answered. In this organisation there's some extra work for managers. |
With a few exceptions, these people are pretty satisfied with what they sell themselves for. |
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This is a patchy result. Nearly half the people believe their work could be better valued and appreciated. |
Patchy. The aim is to have all staff recording a score of 7 or more. |
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| This is a good score. In the main, people like working with each other. There is a small tail of discontent. | Generally speaking morale is high, though again there is a dissatisfied tail. | ||
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Average score: 70. Generally speaking this is a patchy result. The 'pass mark' is 70. With good management those in the 60's will soon find themselves in the satisfied sector. However, for those scoring less than 60, there is a strong suggestion they're not in the right job. The organisation needs to work with these people to assist them to find a job and a career where they are highly satisfied and richly rewarded. |
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The Buddha and Confucius both said 'Find the job you'd love to do and you don't have to do another days work in your life.'
RECOMMENDATIONS
See the generic list of recommendations that cover all our profiles.