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Archive for the ‘Workplace Wellness’ Category

A Good Guide to Office Chairs From an Ergonomic Office Chair Enthusiast

Posted in Workplace Wellness, tagged , , on August 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Recently James Cannon contacted me to offer me a blog about office chairs. I get a lot of inquiries from advertisers to post links to their sites on this blog. I am cautious about sharing other bloggers posts when they mainly seems to be selling something.  James’ site, comfyofficechair.com is not advertising chairs, but is an attempt by James to help fellow office workers sit more comfortably. His blog is clean and easy to read and he does provide pass through links to great deals on office chairs via Amazon. James may or may not earn a few cents for promoting Amazon and chairs on Amazon, but overall his info seems sound and in line with what I know about office chair ergonomics.

James and I agree that even with the most ergonomic office chairs, it is best if you get up frequently and take breaks from sitting.

Who is James Cannon and Why is He Writing About Office Chairs?

James Cannon of Comfyofficechairs.com

James Cannon

According to his blog, James’  story starts with horrendous low-mid back pain. He had an expensive $200 chair that he THOUGHT was good when he purchased it, but it gave him absolutely no support. James educated myself, bought a new chair and immediately sold the old one on Craigslist for $50. He doesn’t want the same to happen to others, so he created his site, comfyofficechairs.com

 

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What to Say When Someone You Care About Has a Serious Illness

Posted in Health and Wellness, Workplace Wellness, tagged , , , on May 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

People often are at a loss for words when someone they care about has a serious illness, has a miscarriage, or a chronic condition, like fibromyalgia. Well-meaning coworkers may tell a person with a serious illness or loss, “Everything happens for a reason.” This type of comment is not usually helpful to someone with said illness. It implies that there is a reason the person is suffering or that they deserved their illness/pain.

What is helpful then?

Emily McDowell Empathy Cards

Emily McDowell Empathy Cards

Emily McDowell,  a cancer survivor herself, has created empathy cards for people with serious illnesses.  Her cards spell out humorous messages to friends or family with illnesses like cancer. Simply reading the card sayings is a quick What To Say (and Not To Say) primer.

Emily writes about the tendency for people to avoid those with serious illnesses because they don’t know what to say. Unfortunately, this often makes the person with the illness or loss feel even more isolated.Taking the time to think about what may be helpful and then reaching out to your coworker, family member or friend can be a great help to someone with a serious illness.

It may be helpful to put yourself in the other person’s shoes when you think of what you want to say. Think about what you want from friends and coworkers when you are ill. If you are running a fever and having gastrointestinal angst from the flu, do you want someone to say to you, “Everything happens for a reason.” Or, “Have you tried yoga for that?” Probably not. How about if someone tells you, “I’m sorry you are not felling well.  Would you like me to pick up anything for you from the store/take out your trash/cover your projects at work while you are ill?” The latter statements may be more appreciated.

Aside from the empathy cards and offers of help, one of the most helpful things you can do for someone with a serious loss of illness may be the most difficult thing for many people: Just being there. Listening. Caring. Sharing a humorous story about your day. Letting the person be, however they feel without trying to fix them: cranky, low energy, easily fatigued. And lastly, not taking it personally if the person with the illness or loss is too tired to talk or enjoy your company and wants to rest.

Check out Emily’s Empathy Cards here.

What’s Emily’s Story?

Emily McDowell, Greeting Card Great!

Emily McDowell, Empathy Greeting Card Creator and Spot Caller!

Emily McDowell, former advertising art director, writer and creative director, started her greeting card business on a whim in 2013. She put a Valentines Day card on Etsy and from there her work “went viral,” according to her website. Emily tells her own story far better than I, however so check out her story here.

To view and purchase cards from Emily, click here.

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Celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week February 9-15, 2015 With Working Well Massage

Posted in Health and Wellness, Stress Management, Wellness for Parents, Workplace Wellness, tagged , , on February 10, 2015| 1 Comment »

By Susan Shekut, MA, Clinical Professional Psychology, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Random Acts of Kindness Week

Random Acts of Kindness Week

This week is officially International  Random Acts of Kindness Week! And to celebrate, one of our corporate social media clients is treating his staff to 20 minute chair massages! We decided to join in on the fun and we will be randomly giving away free chair massage gift certificates in the Chicago area for use in our two Chicago area chair massage stations this week. We think that giving a massage is always a kind thing to do, but giving away a free massage to someone in need is one great way for WWM to do our part and practice what we are preaching!

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation encourages us all to take this week to step out of our normal routines or comfort zones and try a new random act of kindness each day of this celebratory week.

What are random acts of kindness? Spontaneous acts of generosity, sweetness,  or kindness done without regard to getting anything in return beyond the satisfaction of helping others and doing good. Beware, if you decide to participate, because your acts of kindness can be contagious!

How To Get Involved: The RAK Foundation gives great ideas for random acts of kindness and explains three ways you can get involved.

1. DO: an act of kindness. Follow the motto: “do what you can… with what you have… where you
are.” Simply think through your daily routine and find one opportunity for kindness each day.
Maybe it’s complimenting the first three people you talk to or surprising coworkers with treats!
2. POST: your act of kindness on social media using #RAKWeek2015 – Help us flood social media with kindness and reach our goal of 100,000 acts of kindness documented worldwide by Feb 15!
3. SHARE: spread the word and share #RAKWeek2015 with one other person.

How does being kind help the person being kind?

According to the RAK Foundation website: “Scientific studies show that performing acts of kindness actually improve health and life satisfaction. They increase: energy, optimism, self-worth and our sense of belonging and connection in the world. PLUS they decrease anxiety, depression and blood pressure.” At Working Well Massage, we call that stress relief!

For Idea on random acts of kindness you and your family and friends can do at home, at work, or at school, check out the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation website here.
And keep in mind, you don’t have to wait for Random Acts of Kindness to do something nice for other people–and for yourself! You can make it a habit every day…and make yourself a little more energetic, feel a greater sense of belonging and connection to the world and decrease your anxiety, depression and blood pressure!

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Helping Employees Increase Healthy Movement At Work

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Workplace Wellness, tagged , , , on January 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

By Susan Shekut, MA, Clinical Professional Psychology, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Corporate clients ask us how to help their employees incorporate more movement at work. It’s a tricky issue as most office work is done on a computer which requires the user to sit or stand in front of it for hours. Doing any repetitive movement for hours can lead to pain and muscle soreness. The key is to move frequently in different positions. Simply standing up periodically, stretching, going to the restroom or walking around the office lets your muscles take a break from the repetitive movements and stiffness of prolonged sitting.

Photo by Steelcase

Photo by Steelcase

Desks that allow employees to alternate between sitting and standing are helpful. Steelcase has a few options as well as many other vendors.

Here are some other tips on adding more movement into your work day.  Woman’s Health has this article, Easy Ways to Move More At Work.

For the science-minded, here is a promising pilot study from The Journal of Environmental and Public Health about helping employees remember to move more at work. A Pilot Study of Increasing Nonpurposeful Movement Breaks at Work as a Means of Reducing Prolonged Sitting. The study shows that passive prompts tend to be most encouraging to help people remember to move frequently throughout the day. The passive prompts were computer based  timed prompt that reminded staff s get up and perform some kind of “nonpurposeful movement.”  In the study, the software program used gave staff   a choice of 60 office-appropriate activities (i.e., walking, taking the stairs, and retrieving the photocopies). to complete. Employees were able to select the active, and choose the duration and intensity of each activity or nonpurposeful movement.    To read the full study, click here.

Even the government has gotten on the movement bandwagon and created a program to help federal employees move more at work. Click here for info about the Veteran’s Health Administrations Success With Increasing Movement at Work.

If all else falls, employers can provide push scooters for their staff. If the halls are long enough, people can push their way around the office! Roller skates and Roller blades in the office may be going too far though. Unless your office is the Fantasy Factory  at Dyrdek Enterprises.

 

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Giving is Good for Your Health and Well Being!

Posted in Health and Wellness, Stress Management, Wellness for Parents, Workplace Wellness, tagged , , , on December 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

By Susan Shekut, MA, Clinical Professional Psychology, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Today a dear friend, who has a very generous spirit herself, shared a great resource,  The Paradox of Generosity: Giving We Receive, Grasping We Lose.” This  book that explores the science behind the relationship between giving and well-being. The book is timely in this holiday season with emphasis on giving and gifting.

The Paradox of Generosity Giving We Receive, Grasping We Lose

The Amazon page describes the book as focusing not only on material giving to others, but on the many forms that giving can take. Authors Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson explore and illuminate the impact that giving has on people.  This book explains the The Paradox of Generosity study and uses data from an extensive survey of 2,000 Americans, over sixty in-depth interviews with people across twelve states, and analyzes  over 1,000 photographs and other visual materials. This study shows a consistent correlation between demonstrating generosity and leading a better life. According to the study, the more generous people are happier, suffer fewer illnesses and injuries, live with a greater sense of purpose, and experience less depression than less giving individuals.

I appreciate that the study did not measure giving solely through monetary means. Anyone can benefit from generosity, even if a person has little material wealth. Giving one’s time and energy, sharing a kind thought or simply giving undivided attention to another versus being preoccupied with one’s self, can be a form of generosity.

Working Well Massage has many corporate clients who make generous donations to charities, schools and communities. We value our client’s privacy and so we do not divulge their names nor their giving records, but we are proud to ally with our corporate partners and we celebrate their generous spirits! We at Working Well Massage also give to organizations and individuals who are near and dear to our hearts such as Climate Cycle, massage research related organizations and to our clients, business partners and staff!  Giving helps us stay healthy as people and as an organization. (Being balanced, selective, and private about our giving allows us to remain in business so we can keep on giving.)

Read an in-depth article about the book by the study authors, Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson, in Fast Company here.

Read a really intriguing article from PBS NEWSHOUR about the alleged stinginess of Americans and the reasons why so many of us having difficulty giving.  In the PBS article, Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson state that: “When it comes to generosity with money, time, skills and relationships, we know that relaxing, letting go, and giving away is not often automatic or easy. This is especially true in American culture, which from all sides constantly pounds home messages of scarcity, discontent, insecurity and acquisition. These messages may serve to grow the consumer economy, but they are often not good for the consumers.”

 

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Doing Yoga at Work the HuffPo Way

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Workplace Wellness, Yoga, tagged , , on July 23, 2014| 2 Comments »

By Susan Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Many years ago, I started practicing yoga. Back then, doing yoga at work was seen as “odd” or unusual. Now yoga is so mainstream that apparently working at Huffington Post allows young office workers to balance work and yoga by performing asanas at work. Click this link for a true yoga at work photo series entitled,  “These Photos Prove You Really Can Do Yoga Anywhere.” Check it out!

I am a big believer that seeing is more effective than telling when it comes to body movement. HuffPo, seems to agree. Watch the video, “5 Yoga Poses To Get You Through Your Midday Slump At Work,” to learn how to do some yoga poses at work. The HuffPo Desk Yogi demonstrates Seated Cat Cow, Seated Twist in your chair (Which requires no chair arms or this won’t go well), Mountain Pose (Side stretch), a forward bend with flat back at your desk (L pose), and a standing forward fold (Forward bend). Personally I could do with out the shots of the desk and twigs and flowers in this video, but it is  a quick look at easy poses most anyone can do to improve flexibility and release tension.

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Easy Exercise to Combat Effects of Sitting All Day From Men’s Health–Hip Lift March

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, Workplace Wellness, tagged , , on June 8, 2013| 1 Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Many of my clients sit at desks all day doing paperwork, or more commonly, working on a computer. This puts stress on the low back and can weaken the muscles needed to support the hips and low back.

Men’s Health magazine has an excellent easy to do exercise to help combat the issues that can arise from sitting too much (bad pun intended). it is called the Hip Lift March. Check out their post and video showing exactly how to do the exercise and what muscles and joints it helps strengthen and support!

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Keep Your Skin From Drying Out This Winter with Shea Butter Out of Africa!

Posted in Health and Wellness, Workplace Wellness, tagged , , , , , , on January 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

This past year I was happy to find a new product line that melds skin care with social responsibility: Out of Africa (No, not the movie with Meryl Streep!) Massage therapists wash and dry our hands multiple times  a day between each client. I was so happy to learn about shea butter for my hands to keep them from becoming overly dry, especially in winter. Shea butter in general helps keep skin moist and supple year round in general.

What is Shea Butter? According to Out of Africa, it is nature’s miracle moisturizer and I agree! When I use shea butter on my hands or skin in general, I don’t get a greasy feel. The butter is absorbed into my skin, keeping it moist and supple and smelling good as well! As a massage therapist, I have to wash and dry my hands multiple times each day between clients. Over the years, I’ve found shea butter to be the one type of skin care product that never lets me down! Shea butter is also often used in massage cream products for its moisturizing properties.

whatisshea_image2

Common names: Shea, karité
Scientific name: Vitellaria paradoxa (syn/INCI Butryospermum parkii)

Shea butter is an all-natural product. It is a creamy-colored fatty substance made from the nuts of karite nut trees (Butyrospermum parkii or “butter seed”) that grow wild in the savannah regions of West and East Africa. While shea butter has a wide variety of applications, it is most well-known for its exceptional dermatological and cosmetic healing properties.

Check out the full line of Out of Africa Products here.

How Out of Africa Got Started–the Social Responsibility Aspect


Victor Lulla, a native New Yorker living in Los Angeles, has long nurtured interests in healthy lifestyles, the environment and social responsibility. After briefly considering an early retirement after the sale of his electronics firm in 2002, he instead created California Inside & Out, a manufacturing and distribution company that developed and marketed natural skin and body care products, based in Venice, CA.

Gilles Adamon, owner of Natura Sarl, headquartered in Benin, West Africa, attended the 2005 Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA hoping to find a distributor for his shea butter cosmetic products. As luck would have it, Victor was at the Expo looking for an interesting opportunity to help expand his product line.

The two men found that they shared not only an interest in natural products, but in social responsibility as well. A friendship ensued and Out of Africa was founded later that year as an exclusive joint venture.

The founders agreed that Lulla would purchase state of the art production equipment and raw materials, while Adamon’s team, in collaboration with a West African women’s cooperative, would supply locally-sourced pure unrefined shea butter. The company-owned factory in Benin now produces 200,000 bars of soap a month, along with an expanding array of other shea butter products. The products are shipped to California Inside & Out for distribution under the trademarked brand Out of Africa.

Out of Africa’s “other” mission: Producing premium quality skin care products is only half of our story. Lulla and Adamon’s partnership supports several women’s cooperatives and helps to create jobs in democratic Benin, West Africa. Out of Africa shea butter skin care also sponsors a groundbreaking project in Benin called SCHOOL CHILDREN UNITE. A portion of all sales is being donated to this global leadership initiative.

Purchasing Out of Africa products helps to support education and local enterprise in Benin, West Africa.

Note: Neither I, nor Working Well Massage has any affiliation with Out of Africa beyond buying their products! I do not receive any advertising dollars nor any other incentive to blog about their products or company. I simply like their products and mission!

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Learn About Common Workplace Ergonomic Issues From Your Computer Thursday, January 24, 2013

Posted in Workplace Wellness, tagged , , , , on January 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Humantech, offers a new webinar “Ten Common Workplace issues in Industry and How to Solve Them” from its Ergonomics Hit List©, a qualitative assessment tool used to help you identify awkward postures in the workplace.

ten_issues_webinar_2012

The webinar will describe the most common problems that Humantech’s certified professional ergonomists see while on site, and highlight some of the many effective solutions that clients have implemented over the years. Examples will be shared from heavy manufacturing, distribution centers, pharmaceuticals, and office environments.

This 60-minute online course will provide visual, real-world fixes and will give attendees a chance to see many simple and creative solutions in various environments, some of which may trigger improvement ideas at your facility.

Who Should Attend? Anyone who is responsible for making changes in the workplace, from ergonomics team members, supervisors, and health and safety members, to those involved with continuous improvement should not miss this event!

Event Time: 2pm EST Thursday, January 24, 2013.

Continuing Education: This course meets the criteria for CEUs from a number of professional associations including ABIH. All registrants will receive a certificate of completion upon full attendance of the webinar.

Cost: The cost is $69 per attendee.

To register click here.

Who is Humantech? (from their website)

Humantech Team

Humantech Team

Humantech’s staff are experts in ergonomics—the art and science of reducing problems that might arise from the interaction between, people, equipment, and the environment. Humantech is the largest consulting team of Board Certified Professional Ergonomists in North America. Humantech consultants combine expertise in ergonomics with practical industry experience and the skills of professional services delivery. Their team of highly qualified professionals with skills in financial analysis, adult education, technical writing, industrial and graphic design, and information technology supports our consulting staff. Humantech was founded in 1979 with the single focus of improving the lives of the working population.  Over the past 30 years, their approach has changed how organizations use the science of ergonomics to improve workplace performance.

Note: Neither I nor Working Well Massage is affiliated with Humantech in any way. We do not receive advertising nor any services from Humantech for blogging about their services. We simply want to offer our readers good options for learning more about ergonomics!

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Vending Machines Are Getting Healthier!

Posted in Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Workplace Wellness, tagged , , , , , on July 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Recently a client asked me if I knew anything about healthy vending machines. I looked into it and found that there has actually been a lot of new vending machine companies that now offer healthier foods in vending machines.  I took a look at a few of the more popular vending machines companies and put together some info for other corporate clients, schools and hospitals.

Keep in mind that these vending machine companies are primarily geared toward selling vending machine franchises to vending operators. But two of them  do provide enough information to allow companies looking for healthy vending machines with information about their offerings and a means for client companies to contact them to inquire about adding a vending machine to their company. Companies with a high volume of usage will be more likely to be able to secure a vending machine versus small companies with fewer staff or vending machine usage. My top pick is Sprout!

Sprout Healthy Vending

I really like the Sprout website and company approach. Check out this webpage for detailed specs on the Sprout vending equipment and an excellent video on how the vending machine combines non-refrigerated items with refrigerated items in one machine AND accepts coins, bills and credit cards easily. I really like Sprout’s website and approach to sales. They showcase themselves as a company of people committed to providing healthy products and creating a good working environment for their own staff.

Sprout Healthy Vending Machines


All Sprout Healthy Vending Machines Include:

  • Sprout Healthy Vending Machines
  • Cashless Credit and Debit Card Payment Systems
  • Coin Acceptor/Dispenser
  • Wireless Reporting/Monitoring
  • Shipping / Delivery and Installation to the Vending Locations

To inquire about setting up a Sprout vending healthy vending machine service in your office or school, click here.

Some FAQ’s about Sprout vending services that I thought was useful:

Your location does not have to pay for the machine! Its free! The Sprout Healthy Vending machine is provided at absolutely NO cost to the location. In fact, not only do we provide the machine, we service and stock it on a regular basis and then give you a percentage of the profits each month.

Sprout Healthy Vending has a qualified professional Operator in your area who is responsible to monitor, stock and service the machines as necessary. Each of our Operators goes through extensive training and background checks to ensure that the quality of service provided is far superior to anything you have witnessed before.

Your company can help select the products in each machine in your location. Sprout believes it is important to provide a good variety of healthy products in order to satisfy the taste of everyone. Your local Sprout Operator will meet with you to discuss potential products and you can provide a wish list of requested products from our extensive inventory.

Sprout has licensed Dieticians on staff that create customized Menu Plans for each machines. They will take into account local, state and federal guidelines and build a menu plan that meets or surpasses those standards.

Sprout products are all national Name Brand items. These are the same products you would expect to find on the shelves of your local Whole Foods and Trader Joes.

Fresh Healthy Vending

I also like the Fresh Healthy Vendings website because it makes it easier for client companies to see all the available products they can choose for their vending machines. Fresh Healthy Vending has a clean, easier to navigate website and it’s easy to see exactly what products they offer. Fresh Healthy Vending offers Cliff bar products lines, Luna and Kashi Go Lean bars, Nature’s Path, Barbara and SoyJoy bars as well as dried fruit, vitamin waters, healthy  juices, smoothies and yogurt. Check out the scrollable product options here.

Fresh Vending

To get more information on starting a Fresh Vending Franchise or to order a Fresh Vending machine for your location, click here and fill out the online form.

Healthy Vending Machines by HUMAN

Healthy Vending Machines by HUMAN

Sad to say that Healthy Vending Machines by HUMAN may be a great company, but the website looks like a giant confusing infomercial. When I think of HUMAN, the vending machine company, the phrase that comes to mind is “stressful clutter.” I could not get much information about any of their products, other than they are “customizable” and “healthy”.  I had to go through several web pages to find a general list of the type products they offer (granola bars, juice, etc.), but found no specific product lines mentioned. Thus their website does not list any brand name products to allow me to compare HUMAN’s offerings with the other two healthy vending companies.

I also do not like their video display terminal on the top of some of their vending machines. People at work are already under stress and stopping to grab a healthy snack should be a BREAK from computer monitors. Adding yet another video display with canned advertising content adds MORE stress to office workers. Be kind to human beings, HUMAN, and get rid of the annoying video displays on your machines! We are already bombarded with commercials on television, at air ports and in elevators. Do we really need yet more commercial clutter on our vending machines?

The HUMAN website is also difficult to navigate and cluttered with videos promoting their services. Their sales approach is so cluttered,  confusing and hard sell that I would not recommend them for any of my client sites. Go with Sprout or Fresh Vending instead!

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