Every job has its ups and downs. This year, to take the pulse of the workforce and hear a little more about people’s experiences at work, we went out and talked with six people from very different professions. Part 1 of the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program's video series "Six Degrees of Bringing Home the Bacon" follows Ellie, a dog walker.
What's your average stress level on the job? What motivates you to do your best work? What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your job? Stay tuned as we continue the series each month, with new videos that feature a neurosurgeon, a florist, a television news reporter, a Pilates instructor and an entrepreneur.
If you missed the introduction to our series, you can check it out here.
Last week, we announced some featured sessions for the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program’s 2012 Work & Well-Being Conference. We've added more outstanding programs to the line-up, including sessions on workplace wellness, employee engagement, what neuroscience has to say about leadership, and how employers can promote healthy behaviors that enhance job performance.
Take a peek at the session descriptions, below, then click the button to hop over to our registration page and grab your seat at the conference. See you there!
Work & Well-Being 2012
June 28, 2012 • Chicago, IL • The Westin O’Hare
Presented by the American Psychological Association's Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program
Featured Sessions
Identifying the Triggers and Barriers to Engaging Employees in their Health Benefits and Wellness Programs
Cheryl Larson, Midwest Business Group on Health
To assist employers in their efforts to improve the health of employees and families, the Midwest Business Group on Health released a series of recommendations to better structure the design, communication and delivery of benefits, wellness incentives and health management activities. Based on the findings of a five-year project focused on understanding employer and employee perspectives on health care and health benefits, this research provides key recommendations for supporting employee engagement and health improvement efforts. This session will also highlight employer priorities for 2013 and beyond and provide guidance on how employers can support a culture of health that promotes well-being and performance.
Leadership and Workplace Wellness: Emerging Insights from Neuroscience
John J. Randolph, PhD, ABPP, executive coach, consultant and board-certified clinical neuropsychologist
While the study of the brain has informed many aspects of society, only recently has neuroscience been applied to the workplace. This session will describe how cutting-edge social and affective neuroscience is reshaping how we think about leadership, workplace wellness and productivity. Topics will include the link between the brain and social and emotional behavior, the importance of emotional intelligence in becoming a successful leader, and how to optimize brain functioning and wellness in the workplace.
Leveraging Organizational Identity to Drive Employee Engagement
Bey-Ling Sha, PhD, APR, San Diego State University
Organizational identity can be a powerful tool for companies trying to engage their employees and other stakeholders. This session distinguishes between the action and communication components of strategic public relations, emphasizing the importance of “doing,” not just “saying.” This connection between “what is done” and “what is said” is critical to the coherent avowal of organizational identity, which in turn is necessary for employee identification and engagement. This session will help participants link organizational identity to the company’s mission and leverage the concept to promote employee engagement.
No Longer a Five O’Clock World: The Importance of Recovery Activities for Employee Health and Productivity
Larissa K. Barber, PhD, Northern Illinois University
With the changing nature of work and prevalence of technology linking employees to work at all hours, the notion of leaving work behind at 5:00 p.m. is becoming outdated. Moreover, this shift may lead to employees struggling to take sufficient time for rest and recovery. Recovery activities such as sleep and leisure have a vital role in re-energizing employees for optimal productivity and improving their physical and psychological health. This program will focus on the various types of work recovery activities and processes, how to select effective strategies, and individual and organizational interventions that facilitate recovery and performance.
Continuing Education Credit
Psychologists can earn up to 8 CE credits for the conference. The APA Practice Organization (APAPO) is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. APAPO maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Sponsors and Cooperating Organizations
Special thanks to the following organizations for their support:
Midwest Business Group on Health
Health Enhancement Research Organization
International Association for Worksite Health Promotion
Illinois Psychological Association
Register now for our 2012 Work & Well-Being Conference: June 28th in Chicago.
With the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program’s 2012 Work & Well-Being Conference just under two months away, we’re putting the final touches in place for an outstanding learning experience.
Organizations are looking for ways to position themselves for success in the changing world of work and we want to make sure that attendees come away with practical, concrete tips for helping their employees and organizations thrive.
We’ve assembled a collection of top experts to discuss timely, relevant topics that are designed to help you enhance performance and well-being in the workplace. Representatives from some of our award-winning companies will also share real-world examples of how they have created healthy, high-performing organizations, including successes, challenges and lessons learned in the process.
Here are some highlights from the program.
Work & Well-Being 2012
June 28, 2012 • Chicago, IL • The Westin O’Hare
Presented by the American Psychological Association's Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program
Featured Sessions
In Search Of… Organizational Excellence
Matthew J. Grawitch, PhD, Saint Louis University
David W. Ballard, PsyD, MBA, American Psychological Association
The concept of workplace wellness is firmly established, yet in many organizations, it remains the “Wild West,” with employers touting incentives, engagement, metrics, gamification and other buzzwords as the silver bullet that will save them from skyrocketing health care costs and lead them to peak performance. This session will focus on the latest trends and new horizons in work and well-being, with a focus on developing and implementing sustainable business practices and taking a strategic approach to enhancing employee and organizational outcomes.
From Incivility to Bullying: Addressing and Preventing Counterproductive Workplace Behaviors
Michael P. Leiter, PhD, Acadia University
David Yamada, JD, Suffolk University Law School
An increasing focus over the previous decade on workplace civility has expanded opportunities to understand and improve workplace health. The first part of this session will review initiatives designed to improve workgroup climate, such as the Veterans Health Administration’s CREW (Civility, Respect, & Engagement at Work) program, and how organizations can promote a positive work environment.
The second part of this session will examine how preventive and responsive measures toward workplace bullying fit into contemporary American employment relations practices and policies. It will consider, among other things, institutional cultures, potential liability exposure, and the relationship of workplace bullying to addressing other forms of aggression and mistreatment at work.
The session will conclude with a facilitated question and answer period and a discussion of strategies for addressing problematic workplace behaviors and how employers can create a healthy organizational culture.
Employer Experiences: Lessons from Award-Winning Organizations
Any type of organization, large or small, for-profit or not-for-profit, can create a workplace that fosters employee well-being while enhancing organizational performance. This session will use case examples from award-winning organizations to demonstrate the application of psychologically healthy workplace principles in real-world settings. Special attention will be given to the importance of custom tailoring workplace practices to meet the unique needs of an organization and its workforce, employee and organizational outcomes, practical considerations for employers and practitioners and lessons learned.
...and more!
Continuing Education Credit
Psychologists can earn up to 8 CE credits for the conference. The APA Practice Organization (APAPO) is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. APAPO maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Sponsors and Cooperating Organizations
Special thanks to the following organizations for their support:
Midwest Business Group on Health
Health Enhancement Research Organization
International Association for Worksite Health Promotion
Illinois Psychological Association
Working together, psychology and business can create healthy organizational cultures that support employee well-being and organizational performance. Registration is now open for our 2012 Work & Well-Being Conference: June 28th in Chicago. I hope you’ll be able to join us.
With all the recent stories of downsizing and cutbacks because of the still-sluggish economy, consider my surprise when I learned about Netflix’s new vacation policy! Reviewing the number of days of vacation employees were actually taking (which was less, on average, than they were receiving), Netflix management has decided to do away with vacation altogether.
But, it’s not what you may think. The company has decreed that salaried employees will be allowed to take vacation days (paid time off) whenever they want. No longer do employees need to worry about how many days they have accrued. No longer do they need to worry about saving days up for family vacations. When employees need a break, they can simply take the day off.
But isn’t the company afraid employees would abuse such a privilege? According to Netflix, “We should focus on what people get done, not how many hours or days worked. Just as we don't have a nine to five workday policy, we don't need a vacation policy.”
What a novel idea! The company recognized that employees were working on weekends and in the evenings, and senior leaders decided that forcing employees to manage a certain number of official days off (which, for many workers, still entails checking email and completing work-related tasks) was just plain silly.
And I wholeheartedly agree! At first, I thought that perhaps some employees would abuse the system, and I’m sure there will be a small number who do. However, these employees are likely the ones who are not performing up to expectations anyway. These are likely the employees who do the bare minimum to get by, and under this system, employees are still expected to achieve results. If you don’t achieve results, don’t plan to be around very long.
As such, Netflix has created – at least on paper – a work environment that not only tolerates flexibility, but also embraces it. We’ll have to wait and see if it’s effective in the long run, but I, for one, hope that it is. Adding more high-profile success stories (like what Best Buy achieved with its ROWE intervention) will only add more evidence that greater flexibility in the workplace creates a win-win scenario for workers and the organization. And it also saves money, because now the human resources department doesn’t have to worry about tracking vacation days for workers. Instead, the hours and money spent on that process can be applied elsewhere.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/merfam / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Are you a student who’s interested in helping out with the 2012 Work & Well-Being conference, presented by APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program? Do you like to network and want to make some great connections? We could use your help, and in exchange, we will waive your conference registration fee so you can attend sessions for free.
As a volunteer, you would be expected to work approximately 3-5 hours on June 28th at the Westin O’Hare hotel in Chicago, IL. The work you would be expected to do ranges from handing out name tags, to setting up registration tables, passing out handouts, answering questions from participants about the schedule and sitting in on sessions to make sure they run smoothly. We also have a special session planned for students to present their research, so we hope you will submit a proposal.
You can learn more about the conference, including topics and presenters here: http://www.phwa.org/conference2012.
Please email phwa@apa.org with your cell phone number, email address and name of your school if you are interested in volunteering.
For information about presenting your student research at our conference, click here.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley / CC BY 2.0
We invite students with research on psychologically healthy workplace topics to submit proposals for presentations at the 2012 Work & Well-Being Conference, presented by APA's Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program.
These will be brief (ten minute) presentations that will take place Thursday, June 28, 2012 at the Westin O’Hare Hotel in Chicago, IL as part of a special conference session.
Topics can include, but are not limited to: workplace wellness and health promotion, employee involvement, work-life balance and flexibility, employee learning and development, occupational health and safety, job stress, diversity, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Occupational Health Psychology, management and employee recognition.
Guidelines for Presentation Proposals
- Proposal must be submitted via email to phwa@apa.org no later than May 18, 2012
- Proposal must be in Microsoft Word, follow APA format and be no longer than 300 words
- Please include the presentation title, statement of problem, study design, sample size and composition, measures used, analysis method, results and conclusions
- Also include a one-page bio with the presenter’s credentials, academic affiliation, education, research and work experience, statement of career goals, mailing address, email and phone number
Presentations will be selected and students will be notified by May 25, 2012.
The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program (PHWP) is a collaborative effort between the American Psychological Association and the APA Practice Organization designed to help employers optimize employee well-being and organizational performance. To learn more about the program, please visit: www.phwa.org.
Additional information about the conference is available online at www.phwa.org/conference2012.
Photo Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/julianlim / CC BY 2.0
By this time of year, New Year’s resolutions tend to fall by the wayside. But if stopping smoking is on your current list of resolutions, it may be a perfect match with the priorities of your employer. According to the results of an employer survey published by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), organizations are increasingly providing smoking cessation support and services to their employees.
Nearly 60% of participating organizations have smoking policies. And for those with smoking policies, nearly half of these employers offer smoking cessation programs for their employees. Some of these programs include individual counseling, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), other cessation medications, and group counseling, among others.
Some employers even offer financial incentives to stop smoking. These incentives can include health and life insurance discounts for non-smokers and/or participants in smoking cessations programs.
By providing a range of resources and support to help employees kick the habit, employers not only demonstrate their commitment to a healthy workplace, they also promote well-being in all aspects of their employees' lives.
Together, psychology and business can create healthy workplace cultures that support employee well-being and promote organizational performance. Register now for Work & Well-Being 2012: June 28th in Chicago.
Come away with knowledge and insights to enhance productivity and well-being in the workplace. Click here to save on early registration.
Explore
High-impact health promotion and wellness efforts … Workplace flexibility as a business strategy … Incentives and recognition … Preventing and addressing bullying and other counterproductive workplace behaviors … Lessons learned from award-winning companies … and more.
Learn
Speakers include:
- Michael P. Leiter, PhD - Director of the Centre for Organizational Research & Development at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. With more than two decades of research on organizational behavior, Dr. Leiter is an internationally known expert on work engagement, burnout and civility in the workplace.
- David Yamada, JD - Professor of Law and Director of the New Workplace Institute at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. An internationally recognized authority on the legal aspects of workplace bullying and author of model anti-bullying legislation that has become the template for law reform efforts across the country.
- Bey-Ling Sha, PhD, APR - Associate Professor in the School of Journalism & Media Studies at San Diego State University. Dr. Sha is an award-winning public relations researcher, teacher and practitioner. Her research areas include cultural identity, international public relations, activism and gender.
- John Randolph, PhD, ABPP - Executive coach, consultant and board-certified clinical neuropsychologist in private practice in Lebanon, NH. A nationally recognized speaker on topics such as executive functioning, positive neuropsychology and leadership development.
- David W. Ballard, PsyD, MBA - Assistant Executive Director for Marketing and Business Development, American Psychological Association, head of APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program.
- Matthew J. Grawitch, PhD - Chair of the Organizational Studies Program in the School for Professional Studies at Saint Louis University, an expert on healthy workplace practices.
- Larissa Barber, PhD - Assistant Professor of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, an expert on workplace flexibility and work-home boundary management, as well as work stress and health behaviors.
...and other outstanding presenters.
Connect
The conference is designed especially for human resource professionals, benefits managers, health and wellness professionals, business consultants, occupational health professionals, health plan executives, corporate medical directors, business owners, managers and psychologists who work with organizations.
Register Early and Save
Advance Registration: $395
Continuing Education Credit
Psychologists can earn up to 8 CE credits for the conference. The APA Practice Organization (APAPO) is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. APAPO maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Hotel Reservations
The Westin O’Hare
6100 North River Road
Rosemont, IL 60018
Phone: (847) 698-6000
Group rate of $169 + tax (for single, double, triple or quad occupancy) available through June 4th.
Click here for hotel reservation information.
For More Information
To learn more about the 2012 Work & Well-Being Conference, including sponsorship and student volunteer opportunities, please visit phwa.org/conference2012, call (202) 336-5900 or email phwa@apa.org.
In the past, we've hit the streets of Washington, DC for a video segment about work and stress, hired a cab and interviewed passengers about the recession, and visited a college campus and New York City to talk to students and working Americans about work, life and job expectations.
Every job has its ups and downs. This year, to take the pulse of the workforce and hear a little more about people’s experiences at work, we went out and talked with six people from very different professions. Find out what they had to say in the introduction to our video series "Six Degrees of Bringing Home the Bacon."
What's your average stress level on the job? What motivates you to do your best work? What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your job? Stay tuned as we continue the series each month, with new videos that feature a dog walker, a neurosurgeon, a florist, a television news reporter, a Pilates instructor and an entrepreneur.
Want a productivity boost? Try exercise. Don’t have time? Make time, while you’re at the office. And if you think your boss won’t approve, share this latest research.
A recent study showed that employees can use work time for exercise or other health promoting measures and maintain the same level of productivity, or higher at work. Employees who spent 2.5 hours a week being physically active were more satisfied with the quantity and quality of their work, reported increased work ability and took less sick time than employees who did not engage in physical activity.
By using work time for exercise, employees can also improve their work-life balance because their workout time isn’t squeezed into already busy personal/family time. Also in a recent study, for employees who were more physically active, job burnout was less likely to develop into depression. In this study, the best benefits were achieved by people who exercised 4 hours a week.
Some exercise is better than none though, so don’t beat yourself up if you can only fit in 20 minute workouts three days a week. It’s better to have a little regular exercise than to crash and burn on a workout routine you can’t maintain, or avoid it completely. Schedule your exercise breaks on your calendar so you have the time in your day reserved and can schedule work meetings around it. If you plan to exercise mid-day, try taking a class like Pilates where you are less likely to work up an intense sweat. This way you can just change your clothes and get back to work, fitting in more intense cardio or sweat sessions over the weekend.
There are many shortcuts you can take to fit a good workout into a 30-minute break. What works best for you will depend on your personal preferences, commute and what’s available at your workplace. The physical activity you are able to fit in can be shaped around whether you have an onsite gym (or one close by), a safe place to jog or if your organization offers fitness classes onsite.
You could try fitting your workouts in first thing in the morning, either before commuting to work, or after your get to the office. Not only would you avoid the crowded locker room during lunchtime, but you could also accomplish your exercise goals first thing in the morning, which is a huge morale boost. Or, you could leave the office 30 minutes early to fit your workout in before you go home – but this is harder to stick with because of those inevitable things that come up. Whatever you decide, here are a few tips for how to get the most out of those 30 minutes.
Timesaving Tips
- Pack a well-organized gym bag the night before
- Keep an easy snack and filled water bottle in your gym bag so you can munch on the go and stay hydrated
- Do everything you can to get ready to exercise while you are walking to your gym/workout class. Example: Take off and store your watch in your gym bag, put your hair up, grab your ID badge and prime your iPod
- Try dry shampoo instead of washing your hair, or try washing your face and slathering on deodorant instead of taking a full shower to save time
- Pack a healthy lunch the night before so you know you have a nutritious lunch waiting for you when you’re done with your workout
If your manager is still not supportive of employees taking time out of the workday to exercise, you may want to suggest that s/he make time for it themselves – in another recent study, exercise was shown to buffer the negative effects of supervisor stress on their relationship with subordinates, and weaken the link between stress and abusive behavior toward employees. Not only can physical activity improve employees’ health and reduce the organization’s healthcare costs, but it can also empower employees to be more productive and improve manager-subordinate dynamics.
Devoting time during regular work hours to exercise can lead to higher productivity – even without adding extra time at the end of the day. This is because exercise fuels your brain and helps you be more productive. Employees who make the time for regular physical activity in a way that makes the most impact for their personal fitness level will reap the benefits. Managers who encourage employees to be healthy while at work and allow those who are interested to slip away for a jog or weight lifting class will likely find employees return to work energized, focused and more productive overall.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sashawolff / CC BY 2.0
