Cancer is a social disease that is preventable. This is my belief and it comes from having been there and done that. My current work also has me dealing with others who have a similar story to me to tell. It’s a story of too much work, too much drinking, not eating properly, and a lack of exercise. Oh by the way I’m talking about business professionals here and not homeless people

So why do we let our bodies get to this stage before we take the necessary actions to maintain optimum health. I believe it’s a combination of stress, pressure, laziness, and complacency. Things change dramatically and quickly once you have an appointment with a Cancer Clinic

So let’s not wait until this happens. Let’s take some steps now to prevent, rather than cure cancer

Here are 5 tips to help you prevent cancer

1.  Learn to breathe. Cancer cells survive and thrive in poorly oxygenated cells. Learn the simple art of “belly” or “meditative” breathing

2.  Exercise physically regularly. This obviously helps with the oxygenation of the cells. It also puts a focus on eating and drinking sensibly because the two don’t mix

3.  Manage your workload. Try to work the hours that you’re paid for. Only one party wins from unpaid overtime and it’s not your health

4.  Manage your stress levels. Learn your personal triggers to know when your body needs stress management. Laughter Yoga is the cheapest and easiest to do

5.  Be mindful. Know how the body mind and spirit works. You are a human “being” remember. Many people spend their time merely trying to “be” human

For the last ten years I’ve been assisting organizations in establishing their strategic business plans. This involves developing a strategy, a vision, and then setting goals. When it comes to your wellbeing, what will be your goals for 2012 and how can you ensure they will be achieved
I have also noticed that there is a gap between goals and success. This is created because there is not enough clarity between the goal and the actions required to achieve these goals
Unfortunately, good intentions are quickly overtaken by falling back into old (and maybe bad) habits unless there is this clarity to remove the gap. The final step is to timeline it. Once again give yourself plenty of time and don’t rush it

Here are 5 tips to help you achieve your wellbeing goals

1. Set realistic goals. When you set your goals always make sure that they are reasonable. Remember that setting low goals could be the difference in being a loser to a winner
2. Write them down. It’s been well researched that 80% of people who achieve their goals have them written down. There is magic that happens when you write them down
3. Have variety. There is never a guarantee that all of the goals will work. By providing variety you have a better chance of succeeding slowly rather that failing quickly
4. Share them with others. The laws of attraction says that if you tell enough people you will eventually come across someone who will say “hey I can help you there”
5. And finally go nuts when you achieve a goal. I’ve never seen a sports person who scored a goal and didn’t go nuts. Better still call a friend. After all that’s what friends are for

Employers of choice recognise that wellbeing programs don’t just payoff in terms of health – they pay good dividends to the business too.

1. 20% of employees have a mental health disorder¹, which can affect productivity in many ways, including;

a. Fatigue
b. Motivational issues
c. Difficulty managing a routine
d. Difficulty performing physical job tasks
e. Difficulty managing their workload²

Helping your staff deal with these has a productivity dividend.

2. One of the most common diseases resulting in serious workers compensation claims is mental disorders⁶.

3. Up to 60% of absenteeism is attributable to stress-related disorders³.  Building the resilience of your team will help them deal with adversity and stress.

4. One in five employees are unhappy at work⁴.  Happy workers spend twice as much time focused on task then unhappy staff.

5. Up to 35% of cardiovascular disease in men and one third of depression in women can be attributed to job stress⁵.

6. The direct cost of workplace injury and disease in Australia has been estimated at over $7 billion per year nationally⁵.  Indirect costs are much higher.  Wellbeing programs reduce these.

7. Healthy employees are three times more productive than unhealthy employees⁸.

8. Happy workers place less emphasis on pay, stay longer in their roles and take less sick leave⁴.

9. Stress is also indicated in dangerous weight gain.  People in poor health perform worse at work⁹.

10. Healthy work programs can generate medical savings of about $3.27 and absenteeism-related savings of about $2.73 for every dollar invested⁷. 

The case for a wellbeing program is clear – keep up the good work.  Contact us if you’d like our free powerpoint to help you make your case to the executive.

References

1.  Australian Bureau of Statistics.  National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results, 2007.

2.  Lerner D, et al. Work performance of employees with depression: the impact of work stressors. Am J Health Promotion 24(3), 2010.

3.  Fletcher B. The epidemiology of occupational stress. In: Cooper C, Payne R, editors. Causes, Coping and Consequences of Stress at Work. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 1988:3-50.

4.  Chiumento.  “Happiness at Work Index Research Report 2007.”

5.  Vic Health.  “Workplace Stress in Victoria – Developing a systems approach”

6.  Safe Work Australia, Compendium 2007/08.

7. Health and Fitness Summit of the American College of Sports Medicine.

8.  Medibank, The Cost of Workplace Stress.

9.  Work Stress and Health: the Whitehall  II Study, 2004.