Health & Wellbeing

It may still be two months before he is sworn in, but President-elect Barack Obama could prove a transformational leader when it comes to reform of the American workplace.

When it comes to another day at the office, stable is the place to be. No, I'm not talking about working around horses (which might not be such a bad life), but in routine.

I came across an interesting article this morning about alcoholics in the workplace; frankly, it made me re-think the issue and even change my point of view.

These days, it seems that many business meetings take place over lunch. But mixing eating and working can be a risky affair that, at the very least, can destroy your diet.

More and more articles are appearing in newspapers across America focusing on the deterioration of workplace safety. With good reason.

Got a pretty unpleasant surprise in the mail the other day; this is one that I'm sure that many people in the US receive on a daily basis. Let me explain...

There are pretty sound business reasons for employers to help staff get cigarettes out of their lives. But in many organizations, the attitude seems to be, "don't smoke here, do what you like afterwards".

Let's ponder for a moment about what exactly constitutes a workplace, shall we? Before you start to wax poetically for too long, it seems that perhaps the Welsh authorities have come up with a rather far reaching answer.

One of Toyota's senior car engineers died from working too many hours, a Japanese labour bureau has found.

It's official. Endless meetings and the constant deluge of emails really do drain most of us of the will to live, let alone work effectively.

Would it surprise you to know that Scotland has an obesity problem second only to the United States?

Working in a safe, healthy environment is hardly a luxury - it's a right. And when our health and well-being are not being looked after, it's time to let the company know.

India is set to become the anti-party people in the workplace state, and that's not cool. Yep, it seems that the government is asking big business to help establish a policy of a drug and alcohol free workplace.

If you spend eight hour a day or more chained to your desk, beware. Because a study has found that people who sit at their desks for more than three hours at a time without stretching double their risk of developing potentially-fatal deep vein thrombosis.

Now, I've done some crazy stuff in my day, but apparently I'm pretty lame because something I cannot lay claim to doing is going to work high on drugs.

The key to a good night's sleep is leaving the office at the office. As a recent study from the University of Michigan has found, problems in the workplace can have a big impact on how you sleep.

Obesity rates have doubled in the U.S in the past 30 years, with overweight workers now costing a staggering $45bn a year in extra healthcare spending and lost working days.

It seems that it never takes long to find the bad in a good idea; just ask the Washington Post who in a recent article seemingly went on an expedition to find negatives with respect to workplace gyms.

I never thought I'd see the day where sleeping on the job was not only a non-firing offense, but also actually encouraged.

One thing everyone seems to agree on is the fact that the world has gotten more hectic and that surviving in the world of modern business is getting more and more difficult.

Thinking back to childhood, I would safely bet that most of us can recall a time when a frustrated parent told us to "do as I say, not as I do". If so, you'll appreciate the parallel between that memory and British managers

A single large U.S. employer dropping healthcare benefits for its employees could create a domino effect that brings the entire system to its knees.

Feeling overwhelmed? Running just to stand still? What you need is not more hours in the day, it's just 15 minutes of contemplative down time that's reserved for you and you alone.

It isn't only older people who are at risk of heart attacks. Academics have found that those under 50 in highly stressful jobs may be two thirds more likely to suffer from heart disease.

As China claims its stake in the modern world and tries to improve its standing on the world business stage, it has one tiny problem that it's going to need to correct before anyone takes it seriously.

They've been accused of taking more time off, crippling the healthcare system and being less likely to land a decent job. Now overweight Americans are being told they work too slowly.

For most people the word meditation conjures up images of shaven-headed monks and nuns sitting in mountain retreats high in the Himalayas. Very few people would associate it with their office or place of work.

Any idea how much anguish and mental distress is costing the UK economy? Probably not, but if you did, you'd likely start to feel anguished, too.

Burnout is a slow burn – a process, not an event. That's why it can be so difficult to acknowledge that it is affecting you. But when people are viewed simply as functions, burnout can be built into the very structure of an organization.

A billboard erected as part of the WorkSafe campaign in Australia resulted in a number of phone calls reporting unsafe work practices with respect to the billboard itself.

Rising rates of heart disease, cancer and stress are making the promotion of good health a core priority, not just a nice-to-have, for American managers.

Your life, even your life at work, is like a piece of music. Any passer-by or co-worker can quickly gauge whether you're in harmony or not ­ even if you aren't sure yourself.

The next time you think you're having a bad day and hate your job, take a look at some sobering statistics about work-related depression.

Let it never be said that life in these United States is boring. Take, for example, that almost uniquely American phenomenon – guns and the workplace.

Workers who feel chronically stressed and fail to get support from their managers are at much greater risk of being tipped into a bout of depression.

As the incidence of work-related disease rises in India, Isn't it time to admit that human beings are not meant to work 12-16 hour days 6-7 days a week just to boost the bottom lines of companies thousands of miles away?

The next time a trans-continental business trip beckons, you might want to keep your feet on the ground. Because new research has revealed that long-haul flights treble the risk of deep vein thrombosis.

It's not stress, flu or bad backs that make most workers call in sick, it's because they've been drinking too heavily the night before, say British managers.

The latest addition to the HQ of biotech company Genzyme is an indoor garden complete with a tropical waterfall in the reception area. And guess what? Nine out of 10 Genzyme employees believe that the gardens improved their general well-being.

HR Manager Suzanne has been tasked with finding a yoga teacher to run a relaxation class for staff at her head office. But with no real idea where to start or what sort of teacher to look for, she needs some advice.

The voice box is as crucial to us as a gear box is to the smooth running of a car. But we shouldn't take our voices for granted. Just like a car, it needs regular maintenance.

For most of us, the idea of "workplace violence" conjures up images of physical harm. But there is another form of workplace violence that is just as dangerous and insidious - and that is gossip.

A new study has found that asthma is on the rise in Europe, with 10-25 per cent of new cases in adults due to impurities in the workplace.

Earlier this week, I followed with great interest a thread on a mailing list where someone posted a job announcement where one of the job requirements was that the candidate be a non-smoker.

Earlier this week, I followed with great interest a thread on a mailing list where someone posted a job announcement where one of the job requirements was that the candidate be a non-smoker.

If you haven't received it yourself yet, don't be surprised if an email lands in your inbox purporting to warn you that working with idiots can cause fatal stress-related problems.

The European Union recognizes - quite rightly - that eating healthily is something that ought to be promoted not just at home, or at your yearly doctor's appointment, but also in the workplace.

Most organisations, be they large or small, haven't got the slightest interest in the wellbeing of their workforce. And issuing yet more bureaucratic edicts about working practices and stress management policies isn't going to do a thing to change this.

The average American sleeps an hour less each night than they did 40 years ago. But if you think that catching up on sleep at the weekend will make up for the sleep you didn't get during the week, dream on.

More and more Americans are keeping their fingers crossed that they don't fall sick, as spiralling insurance costs and slower wage growth forces even the relatively affluent to cut back on prescriptions and visits to the doctor.

The cost of funding their retirees' health coverage is leading to further pressure from employers for people who smoke, have poor diet or don't take enough exercise to pay more.

A growing proportion of small businesses in America are no longer offering health care benefits to their staff because the rising cost of insurance is pricing them out of the market.

Obese Americans are more likely to get injured at work, take more time off and are twice as likely to cost their organisations in injury claims than their thinner colleagues.

When I first wrote about the importance of HR managers – and all managers – helping their employees stay healthy, I never imagined that I'd read about the tragedy that befell Virginia Tech the following week.

Over a quarter of European employers are using inducements such as vouchers and bonuses to encourage staff to take fewer days off sick, while half have also adopted health promotion initiatives in a further bid to cut down on the cost of absence.

Let's talk about something you're not likely to read about too often in business papers, yet is something that your fellow co-workers are likely to discuss among themselves at the water cooler - the quality of their insurance coverage.

The nature of work is changing far quicker than the economic world around us. But this means that a lot of things that organisations and managers used to take for granted are just no longer delivering or sustainable - whether they like it or not.

Almost half of Canadians so worried about being left behind by younger rivals that they would consider cosmetic surgery to keep their careers on track.

We can all agree keeping workers healthy is a good idea, but making even just small inroads into tackling diseases such as cancer could give European economies a big financial boost, too.

American workers are much more likely to struggle into work when they are ill than a decade ago, with many dragging themselves into the office even when they are in chronic pain.