PLANNING FOR CORPORATE HEALTH AND FITNESS

We believe that corporate health and fitness programs have the potential to make a significant impact on corporate culture.

We assist organisations to develop a corporate plan for occupational health and fitness in such a way that it is widely embraced and supported.

Once developed we provide advice on ways of successfully implementing the plan, in particular maintaining momentum over an extended period.

Our research shows that:

SEARCH CONFERENCES

We conduct search conferences, the aim of which is to involve a broad spectrum of people in the process of expressing ideas about the health and fitness needs of the organisation and then incorporating those ideas into a decision-making process.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

We believe that one week wonder, flash in the pan health management programs fail to address the long term issues involved in the process of continuous improvement in occupational health and fitness.

We believe occupational health and fitness needs a year-round focus which stems from sound corporate goals and strategies.

MANAGEMENT INVOLVEMENT

We work with managers and their staff in implementing the programs recommended in the corporate Occupational Health & Fitness strategy.

CORPORATE HEALTH SPIN-OFF

Corporate health and fitness programs work best when they involve people doing things with their work colleagues. The spin off is better morale, better communication, better teamwork.

STRATEGY

1.	Put every staff member through a musculo-skeletal awareness training program. Staff must be aware of their own responsibility for keeping themselves strong and flexible enough to sit in a chair for 30 years without becoming dysfunctional.
2.	Show those who are already experiencing mild dysfunction (but who haven't entered the compensation loop) what the cause of their dysfunction is and how they can treat it themselves.
3.	Put all staff through a strength and flexibility training program where they learn how to do the exercises which will  stave off musculo-skeletal dysfunction.
4.	As part of the awareness and training program, audit the risk for each employee. Many staff don't have sufficient trunk, shoulder and arm strength to sit in a chair, push a pen, tap a key board or roll a mouse without becoming dysfunctional. When they do become dysfunctional the organisation gets the blame, and currently the organisation pays for the cost of treatment (with the help of its insurer. Most insurers don't care about the cost because they pass it back to the organisation. In the strict sense of the word they are not an insurer. They don't charge premiums on the basis of risk, only on the size of last year’s claims.)
5.	As a result of the seminar(s) each staff member will have a risk profile. OH&S staff can then be charged with the responsibility of managing the risk. Those with a high risk of musculo-skeletal dysfunction need to be provided with strength and flexibility programs, preferably in-house. It would be a condition of their employment that they attend.
6.	Ongoing programs would include, yoga, Pilates, Crookback Clinic, Tai chi and general fitness training. Some of these programs are already conducted at some worksites. As usual though, the people who most need these programs are generally the ones who don't attend.
7.	Rewards for low risk employees The fit and healthy in this country and in our workplaces continue to carry a disproportionate share of the cost when it comes to workers compensation and medical insurance. In fact they even have to pay for the GST when they pay their gym membership, unlike the unwell who can go to a surgery and purchase their next lot of pills for next to nothing, tax free. I recommend that organisations provide fit and healthy staff members with a bonus that at least helps them pay for the gym memberships, sand shoes, shorts, tee-shirts and heart rate monitors. The bonus could apply to all round health and fitness, or to musculo-skeletal fitness. The audit reports that Miller Health provides to corporate organisations are designed with a bonus payment in mind.
8.	Staff need to know that there is an expectation that they will keep themselves fitter and healthier, not only because of the cost to the organisation - but because they'll feel better. They need to know that any initiatives in this area are being promoted for their benefit.

TRAINING MANAGERS, OH&S STAFF AND CASE MANAGERS

Most organisations would benefit by training their OH&S and case-management staff so they can carry out much of this work. In this day and age I would expect anyone working in the OH&S and case management field to have a fitness leader qualification on top of what else they might have.

For those people who are dysfunctional (they're not injured) I believe there needs to be an expectation that they attend organisation-sponsored strength and flexibility classes every day. They can't be allowed to loll around at home, going to someone for a rub down twice a week. That's an expensive nonsense.

MEDICAL SUPERVISION

Medical supervision of people with musculo-skeletal conditions in this country is, generally speaking, not good. Do your best to steer clear of it. Most GP's know little about strength and flexibility. They have trouble diagnosing the cause of dysfunctions and as a result are poorly prepared to hand out a prescription that fixes the problem. On the other hand they are good at sending them down to the chemist for a tablet which will mask the pain.

General practitioners are likely to encourage people to have time off and to spend organisation money on physiotherapists, rather than having them do something for themselves. In fact it's a very big ask expecting the body to get better by having someone do something to it: sooner or later people have to do something to themselves - like strengthening and stretching weak and tight muscles.

You'd be much better off at a fitness centre.

I would recommend to some organisations that they have written into their agreement with staff that any musculo-skeletal dysfunctions that they feel are attributable to work, must be seen by the 'company' musculo-skeletal 'specialist' and not by their own doctor. This means organisations having someone outside the medical loop who is proficient in diagnosing the cause of musculo-skeletal dysfunction. Musculo-skeletal dysfunction is a fitness problem not a medical problem.

Most doctors are not aware of the causes of musculo-skeletal dysfunction; they’re just good at taking a person’s word that they have it. Like their colleagues in general practice they will probably just tell people to pull their knees up to their chest, then send them off to the radiologist, physio and pharmacist, tell them to spend the rest of their time lolling around in front of TV and leave it at that.

Rehab providers need some education in this respect as well and need to know what the organisation’s expectations are. I don't think you can presume that all rehab programs, particularly those that are medically supervised are providing staff with what they need to fix themselves up.

A comparison with what athletes do to fix themselves up and what rehab providers recommend to dysfunctional staff in corporate organisations will provide you with clues about the sort of policy guidelines your organisation needs to lay down for its own OH&S staff and external rehab providers. There's no comparison between what athletes do and what your average mug punter does. The treatment for mug punters in the workforce is dreadful in comparison. The return to work rates abysmal. The costs horrendous.

SECOND OPINION

I also believe any one with musculo-skeletal dysfunction needs to have someone make an assessment of the cause of the dysfunction.

You can’t determine the cause of a dysfunction by looking at an X-Ray. Whilst an X-Ray can tell you which bones have been drawn out of alignment, it won’t tell you which muscles are responsible. You'd be better off sending a person to a photographer than a radiologist.

We have reached the point where we can no longer rely on the medical profession to tell us the cause of most musculo-skeletal dysfunctions

If you want a second opinion as to the likely cause of a crook back or a stiff neck, drop me a line.