"To stress or not to stress — that is the question" that Hamlet might have pondered if he were alive and working today.
There are limitless stressors in the modern working world: traffic, long hours, deadlines, changing markets, shifting jobs, difficult co-workers, unreasonable bosses and new technologies — just to name a few.
"We definitely see stress in the workplace. Company environments where communication is poor, there is little direction, [and] people don't feel like their voices are heard or that their talents are used appropriately are more stressful than others," said Eric Plasker, CEO of The Family Practice and author of "The 100-Year Lifestyle" (Adams Media Corp., 2007).
John Chambers (from left), Ann Paryl and Sue Gentes take part in a tai chi/qigong class at a Kaiser Permanente office. The health care company offers the class to the public as well as to its employees.
It's not the situation but one's perception of it that causes stress. "How you think about things can cause you to be stressed or not," he said. "A new client who brings a lot of potential income might be considered an exciting opportunity by one manager. Another perceives it as extra work and having to change his routine, and he feels stressed."
Regardless of its causes, stress impacts the quality and length of our lives. Researchers tell us that stress lowers the body's immune system and is a contributing factor for many diseases and chronic conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, hypertension, osteoporosis, headaches, ulcers, obesity, insomnia and depression.
In response, many people are seeking to better manage their stress and lead healthier lifestyles — and they are finding the support and encouragement they need in the workplace. More companies are working with their health care providers or fitness and lifestyle consultants to start wellness programs.
Staycee Benjamin-Stone, programs manager of employee consulting and work-site wellness at Kaiser Permanente Georgia, helps corporations create healthier cultures.
"I tell managers that when they tell employees they care about their health, they are really saying they care about them, and when workers hear 'I care about you,' that changes morale and corporate bottom lines," she said.
As insurance and health care costs continue to rise, more companies are investing in prevention, disease-management and wellness programs to make a difference in benefits expenditures. According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report, the average return on investment for work-based health-promotion and disease-management programs is $3.14 for every dollar spent.
"Work-site wellness initiatives reduce employee absenteeism and 'present-eeism,' when workers are on the job but too tired or stressed to be operating at their top potential," Benjamin-Stone said. "In the last two years, I've seen a major shift. Before, I was reaching out to companies and telling them about our programs. Now, they're calling me.
"Wellness is a positive movement, and we're pushing for it to stay strong, because it can make an important difference in the health of Georgians."
Ounce of prevention
Kaiser Permanente tailors its programs to meet companies' needs. Offerings include health fairs and screenings, lunch-and-learn seminars on health topics, and classes on diet, healthy cooking, weight loss, exercise or smoking cessation. A favorite is the "Balance Home, Work and Life" class.
"We recently taught a meditation class to 27 employees and provided them each with a free CD. Eight women who had been going through menopause thanked their human resource manager, saying that they had never considered practicing meditation, but they had been using the tape and felt better," Benjamin-Stone said.
Dawnya Lindsey (foreground) takes part in a tai chi/qigong class at a Kaiser Permanente office. Other participants include Pat Chambers (in background, from left), Kay Sanders, Betty Jean Jula and Mary Lou Deak. Staycee Benjamin-Stone, programs manager of employee consulting and work-site wellness at Kaiser Permanente Georgia, says that more companies are offering wellness programs, including those aimed at reducing stress, to their employees.
Another hit is "Acting on Stress," presented to corporations by the Kaiser Educational Theatre group. Actors combine education with vignettes of common stressful situations, and the audience gets to interact and make suggestions.
"There's so much in this that people can relate to. You laugh and learn at the same time," Benjamin-Stone said.
One company has created a stress-reduction room with a CD player and low lighting. Once a week, a masseuse is available, and employees can sign up for massages. Another company made fresh fruit available in the break room, instead of doughnuts.
Some companies have brought in fitness experts to teach simple exercises people can do at work.
Large employers, such as the city of Atlanta government, have created wellness centers with gyms and nurses who can listen and educate employees about health issues.
"The workplace is an excellent place to learn and practice better lifestyle habits," Benjamin-Stone said, "because it's where people spend their days, and the support and camaraderie of colleagues can get them over the hump of starting a weight-loss or smoking-cessation program. We all need motivation."
Group support can reinforce good choices, but, ultimately, the individual has to make them.
Personal responsibility
"Managing stress is about self-care," Plasker said. "There are some things that you have to do for yourself — things that no one else can do for you, like sweat, exercise and eat the right foods."
He helps people all over the world make lifestyle changes based on his "100-Year Lifestyle" ideas. Plasker, a chiropractor, was inspired to write the book because of a 98-year-old patient who was crippled, alone and broke.
"It broke my heart, and I began to wonder, if he had known at 30 or 40 that he would live to be 100, how would he have lived his life differently?" Plasker said. "People in his generation were blindsided by their longevity."
Centenarians are the fastest-growing segment of the population in the United States. The 2001 U.S. census reported 50,454. By 2050, there are predicted to be 4.2 million people older than 100 and 60 million older than 80.
More people will live longer, but what will the quality of that life be? According to a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation study, only 30 percent of aging is based on genetic heritage, while 70 percent is attributed to lifestyle choices.
"If someone retires at 65, that's a long time to sit with the clicker watching TV or even playing golf," Plasker said. He's seeing more workers and companies rethink retirement and find ways to re-energize older talent.
"If you want to live to be 100, you have to do one thing: not die. And there are so many ways we are slowly killing ourselves — ways that take years off our lives and life off our years," he said. "You can change that by making one choice at a time."
He makes good food choices, exercises, enjoys quality time with his family, stays connected with friends and works in a field about which he is passionate.
He makes choices for a better lifestyle based on three life-changing principles:
1. Change is easy; thinking about change is hard.
2. Change comes one choice at a time. Think progress, not perfection.
3. If you make a change, do it with the vision of living to be 100. "Make that vision for life compelling enough to keep you motivated to stay in the game," he said.
He suggests that patients and clients do a simple exercise to become aware of how they use their energy each day. They make a side-by-side list of the energy drainers (not exercising, arguing, overscheduling the day, worrying, slouching, eating sweets) and the energy enhancers (being honest, spending quality time with the children, eating healthy foods, letting go of what they can't control, having faith, exercising) that were part of their day.
"By substituting enhancers for drainers, they see their energy go up and their stress go down," Plasker said. "Stress is a horrible misuse of energy."