Well, the old bloke has moved on for another year.

 

So have I.

 

I'VE CHANGED MY EMAIL ADDRESS   Sick of all the spam I've been receiving I've decided to change my email address. It is now   john.miller@millerhealth.com.au   Would you be kind enough to make a note of the change in your records?

 

I've had a break, but I can tell you, if we hadn't left Coff's harbour when we did on Saturday morning we'd probably still be in a traffic jam somewhere on the Pacific Highway. If you want a lesson on how not to manage a project, take a drive between Raymond Terrace and Byron Bay.

 

THE BAD NEWS

As I move around the workplaces of Australia I'm becoming more and more convinced that it is poor health, not poor safety that is sucking the life out of workplaces.

 

People are becoming unfitter and unhealthier by the week.

 

The great tragedy for organisations is that unless they are extremely vigilant they are going to be lumbered with the cost of the privately generated body system dysfunctions as well as the work-related injuries.
 

Here's a list of the top 13 symptoms, issues and concerns that people are putting up with.

 

	Symptoms/issues/concerns	% of people
	Musculo-skeletal dysfunction	55
	Aerobic Fitness	48
	Lack of energy	45
	Poor sleep	43
	Overweight	42
	Anxious	31
	Wrong job	30
	Under appreciated at work	29
	Snoring	28
	Insecure	27
	Headaches	24
	Crook gut	23
	Under appreciated at home	20

 

As you can see, musculo-skeletal dysfunction heads the list of the 956 people I surveyed. Most of the issues are fitness related.

 

One that's not is the number of people who are in the wrong job; and it is invariably the case that if people are in the wrong job they'll complain about being under-appreciated at work.

 

I see a lot of people who don't know what they want to do when they grow up - and they're already 35!

 

It's time to tackle musculo-skeletal dysfunction head on

I designated last year as the year to tackle musculo-skeletal dysfunction. A lot of organisations did just that. The savings from a focused program are enormous.

 

Regrettably, I'm going to have to dedicate this year to the same cause. In most organisations things are getting worse.

 

What I do is take your staff through a two hour, interactive seminar program designed to let them know the cause of the common musculo-skeletal dysfunctions and what they can do to either fix themselves up or avoid becoming dysfunctional in the first place.

 

I provide you with an audit report of the risk and teach your staff the exercises they need to do on a regular basis.

 

Then it's up to managers and supervisors to make sure it happens.

 

You can read all about the Crookback Clinic on this link.

 

The obligation

I can tell you one thing though; unless everyone everyone takes part in the program you could be wasting some of your money. There is a strong likelihood that those most at risk won't attend unless they're obligated.

 

When I point this out people often tell me they can't 'force' their staff to attend one of these programs. Technically speaking, of course you can't 'force' people, but you can always let them know that if they don't want to attend they can start paying their own wages and their own workers compensation premium! 

 

If they can be obligated to attend safety training and technical training they can be obligated to attend health, fitness and wellbeing  training, the risk to productivity and your workers compensation arrangements are so high.

 

More health, fitness and wellbeing programs

Of course that's not the only program I run. You can click on this link you can view the full list.

 

Programs include

•     The First Law of Management

•     The Seven Habits of Fit and Healthy People

•     Models of Good Health

•     The CrookBack Clinic

•     Relaxation - Better Sleep

•     Fewer Headaches - More Energy

•     Hourglass Diet

•     Complete Fitness program

•     Work / Life Balance

•     Career Satisfaction

•     Getting the most out of your job

•     Healthy People, Healthy Workplace

 

Ideally the one day Seven Habits of Fit and Healthy People program, is the one that I most highly recommend as a way of getting your staff focused on their health, fitness and wellbeing.

 

THE GOOD NEWS

What I have also found is that an increasing number of people have a desire to be healthier, particularly after they've attended one of my programs. Who wouldn't?

 

Who wouldn't be appreciative of a workplace initiative that led to a reduction in pain and suffering and an increased feeling of wellbeing?

 

So, here's to a fit and healthy 2009