While on the treadmill the other morning, I was flipping channels and ran across an infomercial for an exercise program called the Brazilian Butt Lift. Not surprising given the run up to New Year’s Day and the typical hype and sometimes hysteria surrounding resolutions. As I slugged along on my fast paced walk at a 12% incline, it was fascinating to watch the program with all the before and after stories. The promised results were amazing! I actually began to wonder if my daily morning 30 minute walk was as strenuous as it needs to be.

For most employees, vending machines represent eating based on necessity or impulse. Employees may turn to vending machines when they skip breakfast, miss lunch, have afternoon hunger pains or have to stay late at work – or just have a craving for something sweet. The snacks offered in vending machines are generally unhealthy, but in many situations these snacks are the only food available.

The Problem

Snacking on soft drinks, candy bars and chips several times a week can detract from an overall healthy diet and lead to weight gain. Plus, many of the typical vending machine choices offer little nutritional value or substance, and could leave the employee hungry again soon after – leading to more unhealthy eating. This can drastically affect your health care costs, as obesity is a catalyst for many other illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Even employees who are health-conscious often forget to bring healthy snacks to work, leaving the vending machine as the only option.

With winter fast approaching, and now is the time to properly safeguard your home from the harsh elements of this season. These steps can lessen your chances of a loss due to inclement weather.

In his blog Mindful Matters, consultant George Altman writes that the Gallup organization found only 30% of U.S. workers are truly engaged in their work. As he points out, that means 70% of the workforce are not meeting their full potential. Gallup estimates this lack of engagement costs U.S. businesses about $500 billion per year.

Workers’ compensation fraud can be a major expense and therefore a significant risk to any employer. However, it is easier to prevent than you think. With a few easy steps, you can help prevent fraud from happening within your company.

Monitor The Trends Of Workers’ Comp Claims

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel to China. We spent time in Beijing, Qingdao, and Shanghai. Specifically the incredible history in and around Beijing, the entrepreneurial spirit in Qingdao, and the electricity of Shanghai were really amazing.

Effective communication plays a central role in every successful corporate initiative. When we first created the GESOP in late 2010, we intended to do a great job of communicating its benefits with all our employee-owners. Unfortunately, we got busy running the business, and frankly didn’t work on the communication of our GESOP. We got serious about communication in late 2012, and established our GESOP Communication Committee.

As the Trustee, I work directly with the committee to establish a plan for increasing everyone’s interest in the GESOP and their knowledge of the plan and how it works. When we established the committee, we strategically planned representation from the various areas of our business. We started meeting in early 2013, with our first task to establish a game plan for the year, culminating in a lot of activity in October -National ESOP Month.

When constructing a wellness program within your organization, creating a solid wellness team is critical to your program’s success. Teams lead the way for other employees to transform their lives and make positive, healthy choices. Consider the following suggestions for developing a wellness team and getting your wellness program off to a good start.

Formally Appoint Team Members And A Leader

My friend and coach, Larry Linne, was in town recently. Larry spoke to a group of area employers about brand and reputation risk. We were fortunate enough to get him to spend a few hours with our sales team after the event.

A company’s success or failure is often determined by the quality of its employees. Offering an attractive benefits package can be a key to attracting and retaining the highest quality employees. Long-term care insurance is a growing trend in the employee benefits arena. According to research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 22 percent* of companies now offer long-term care insurance to their employees as a voluntary benefit.

What Is Long-Term Care?