According to Bloomberg’s Businessweek, computer giant Intel is one of four companies trialing the use of online personal health records to help employees monitor their own health.

A consortium of companies including Intel, Wal-Mart and Pitney Bowes are involved in the project that hosts the records of employees so they have a good way of getting their entire medical [history] in one place.

According to the report about 7 percent of Americans have now used personal health records, nearly double the percentage a year ago. In theory, by giving employees an online tool to monitor their health, companies can cut health-care costs without raising concerns about data privacy. Plus doctors have better information with which to recommend treatments.

Personal-health-record software from companies like Dossia, as well as from Google’s (GOOG) Health system and Microsoft’s (MSFT) HealthVault, takes the place of pen-and-clipboard medical histories that patients fill out before doctor visits.

The information is different from that kept in electronic medical records, which can be difficult for patients to transfer among heath care providers. In addition to patients’ medical histories, personal health records also contain information about drug prescriptions and lab results.

The systems typically work by collecting health information from doctors’ offices, health plans, pharmacies, and labs — plus data that employees enter themselves — into a secure Website. The information is private to employees; employers can’t see it. And when employees leave a company, they take their personal health records with them.

Personal health records aren’t a cure-all: Employees must do the hard work of living healthfully. Yet the software can encourage positive changes.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average hours worked by full time employees in Australia is 42 hours per week. which provides a significant amount of time for the worksite environment and surrounds to impact on employee’s physical and mental health. 

CHEW (Checklist of Health Environments at Worksites) is a questionnaire devised by Sallis and available for download from Dr Sallis’ website.  It assesses the physical environment of the worksite and its surrounds together with the social and policy factors of the organisation.  It allows investigators to observe and detail factors that encourage or discourage physical activity and healthy eating in the workplace. Factors such as whether there is an onsite fitness centre, organized physical activity programs or sports teams, the number of bulletin boards with health related information around the worksite and the type of food served in any onsite cafeteria are examples of the types of data that CHEW gathers in relation to the worksite environment. 

CHEW can be used to undertake an initial audit of the worksite environment prior to developing a workplace health promotion program and has also been found to have promise as a tool to measure the effectiveness of workplace health promotion programs (Oldenburg, Sallis, Harris and Owen, 2002). 

Following an initial audit based on the CHEW or similar questionnaires and as part of a widespread workplace health promotion program, indirect health promotion activities can be undertaken throughout the entirety of the working week through measures such as poster and brochure displays, access to health information via company intranets and newsletters and modifying the work environment to improve health outcomes (such as investing in quieter equipment or encouraging employees to use the stairs to visit colleagues on other floors rather than sending emails or picking up the phone). Development of policies and procedures to address sun and noise exposure may also be included in the workplace health promotion program. Such measures may encourage employees to change behaviours or to seek further information or assistance about changing behaviours. Behaviour change decisions are dependent upon where the employee currently sits on the Stages of Change spectrum. 

Participation by employees in workplace health promotion programs may have a positive impact on absenteeism and may also result in decreased healthcare costs for employers. The potential benefits to individuals in participating in workplace health promotion programs are almost endless and include improved fitness, weight loss, improved mood and ability to deal with stress, improved nutrition and a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and some cancers.

Organisations that provide free or low cost health information brochures, posters and talks:

Heart Foundation

Cancer Council

Beyond Blue

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland

Assistance with workplace health promotion programs can be obtained from:

WA Healthy Business

Bringing Health to Work – Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

If you find yourself sitting in front of a computer for most of your work day – or even home hours, and feel fatigue, back ache, neck ache, eye strain, headaches or discomfort, then it’s possible that:

• your chair needs to be adjusted so that your feet are flat on the floor or comfortably positioned on a footrest.
• your thighs may not be parallel to the floor, placing you in a cramped position, or being too stretched out, removing the support of your legs and causing your back to hunch. 
• your keyboard is not directly in front of you, requiring you to turn or twist slightly.
• you are tensing your shoulders rather than keeping your upper arms relaxed and close to your body. 
• your forearms are either raised or dropped low to access the keyboard, when in fact they should be parallel to the ground when your fingertips are touching the middle row of the keyboard.
• the screen of your computer is too high or low.
• you aren’t taking enough breaks to rest from one position.

Here are some simple exercises that you could incorporate into your day (or night) to alleviate strain.

But first, I must add: slowly and gently is the key. Fast and jerky movements will only exacerbate the situation, and possibly lead to an injury – exactly what we wished to avoid in the first place!

Eyes

• Every 10 minutes or so look away from your computer screen into the distance.
• Gently move your eyes to the left and then the right, keeping your head still. Make sure you relax your face, neck and jaw when you do this. Repeat this exercise five times.
• Gently move your eyes up and down, keeping your head still. Again relax your face, neck and jaw as you do this. Repeat five times.

If you’re serious about improving the health and functionality (sight) of your eyes, a great place for eye exercises is Your Eye Exercises.

Face

• Raise your eyebrows as if surprised and then relax. Repeat five times.
• Slowly and gently tense and then totally relax your jaw. Repeat two times. (be careful not to dribble when you totally relax – I’ve done this a few times myself – not the best look at the office!)

Just as each part of the body affects another part, jaw tightness can create a number of challenges, including eye strain, neck ache and headaches. Look at relaxing and loosening your jaw when you can.

Neck

• As you breath in, slowly turn your head to the left. Pause for a moment. As you breath out turn you head back to centre. Repeat this turning your head to the right. Repeat entire exercise five times.
• As you breathe in slowly tilt your neck so you look at the ceiling. Pause for a moment. As you breath out slowly tilt your head to look at your chest. Repeat entire exercise five times.

Shoulders

• Gently and slowly tilt your head to the side as if you are going to rest your left ear on your left shoulder. Only go as far as is comfortable. Bring your head back to centre. Repeat with your right ear to your right shoulder. Repeat entire exercise five times.
• Hang arms relaxed at sides and gently and slowly roll your shoulders forward. Repeat five times.
• Hang arms relaxed at sides and gently and slowly roll your shoulders backwards. Repeat five times.

Back

• With arms relaxed at your sides, breath in as you gently and slowly stretch your shoulders back, bringing your shoulder blades closer together. Relax, breathing out. Repeat five times.

Hands

• Stretch both arms straight out in front of you with relaxed hands. Rotate both hands at the wrists around in a circle (clockwise) five times. Repeat, rotating hands at the wrists in an anticlockwise circle five times.
• Stretch both arms out to the sides with the palms of your hands straight up perpendicular. Make small circles with the palms in a clockwise direction. Repeat ten times. Repeat exercise making small circles with the palms in an anticlockwise direction. Repeat ten times.

Incorporate exercise into your daily routine as this will help to strengthen support muscles and alleviate tension.

Get up and move away! Get some blood flow happening through your lower back and limbs. If you are physically challenged and use a wheelchair, please still move away from that computer screen. 

I take stretch breaks and jump around like a bunny rabbit that’s had too much caffeine during my short breaks. At first I did receive the occasional odd look, but now everyone seems to have accepted the behaviour. And I’ve noticed that some are timing their own break sessions by me (althought I must admit they do tend to partake in their break in a somewhat more dignified manner).

Your ‘break’ may still be work-related – simply moving onto another part of your job, leaving keyboard entry for a few minutes (or more) to perhaps photocopy something, file, make that phone call that needs to be made, find that particular topic you’re researching in a manual, or simply tidy up your desk or workspace. Remember, housekeeping is another very important aspect to maintaining a safe work environment.

Or, you may simply have a break – go out and take a deep breath of fresh air or maybe chat with another worker and have a good laugh. The purpose of the break is to not only give your body some ‘time-out’, but also your mind. A healthy mind supports a healthy body. A healthy body and mind supports a healthy work attitude. A healthy work attitude means better production, less down-time, and less work related accidents.

During your break you may even benefit from a drink and something to nibble on. I keep a bottle of water at the end of my work station and a bottle of muesli slices, which I snack on during the day. I don’t seem to suffer from fatigue or tension in my back or shoulders – or bottom (and I believe that not only the stretch breaks, good nourishment and correct setup in my seat are responsible, but also the cushion I have on my workseat – and I’ll tell you about that in a future article).

Now, I’m not suggesting you rush out every five minutes and have a cup of coffee and a cookie… when would we ever get any work done?

Check your own relevant state or territory for details of the recommended break times, but in our office I incorporate a conscious, mandatory break in my own schedule every hour. The truth is I ‘break’ much more often than that as I carry out other work related activities, be it filing, taking a phone call, jotting something on our whiteboard or helping a colleague.

Do a little research on stretching exercises that you might benefit from that will help to alleviate any tension in muscles or tendons that your job may be causing, and incorporate them in your daily work schedule.

Remember to break up activities – not only will your body benefit, you’ll feel rejuvenated and able to concentrate on each aspect of your job, helping you to keep safety a primary focus.

I recently had someone ask me about yoga at work.  She mentioned the potential for injuries on the job, asked about where the liability falls if an employee is injured and requested tips on how to ensure a safe workplace when offering an at work wellness program such as yoga.

Pro versus Con
Every physical activity poses some risk, to be sure; however, in a well implemented at work fitness or wellness program the potential benefit to employees and the employer (through increased productivity, heightened mood, less sick time and absenteeism) far outweigh the risks. A study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly half of large US employers (100+ lives) offer health promotion programs.  I like to point out that Recess has several large clients in traditionally risk averse industries (law and insurance) who contract with Recess to provide fitness classes, personal trainers and other fitness and wellness services onsite for their employees.  Given these industries’ first-hand knowledge of the potential for liability, their understanding of wellness’ upside speaks volumes about what a positive impact wellness programs can have on work culture and employees’ lives.

Limiting Risk
That being said, no employer should be sloppy or negligent when implementing workplace wellness programs that could impact worker safety.  Smart employers will:

1. Look under the hood.  Evaluate the credentials and check references of their wellness contractor. Check to ensure your teacher has had a minimum of 200 hours of hands on training and experience along with some modicum of education on anatomy, physiology and kinesiology.  All instructors should have a valid CPR certification.  At Recess, we also require that instructors pursue continuing education and have had at least three years of teaching experience in the field with a variety of different client populations.
2. Try before you buy.  Negotiate a free or discounted class or classes in order to evaluate the contractor’s customer service skills and attention to safety of instruction.  See if you can observe or try a class and invite a couple of people you trust.  Ask those who attend about their experience.  Are people hurting, sore or exhausted after the class?  Or do they feel relaxed?  Did the teacher respect their level by giving modifications or did the teacher just forge ahead?  Did anyone feel the teacher pushes students to do things that make them feel physically or emotionally unsafe?  Does the teacher seem like a quack or just plain old dippy?  Trust your gut.  Look around until you find someone who you can trust and you can relate to and who places her students’ safety and growth in a place of obvious and high esteem. 
3. Take precautions.  Ensure that students complete emergency medical information sheets and waivers before class (your contractor can provide these) and that completed forms are kept in a place that the instructor can reference easily in case of emergency.
4. Keep your eye on the road.  Be forthright with employees about the tremendous benefits of exercise and don’t overhype the risk.  That being said, while extolling the virtues of exercise, also help people prepare to be safe.  Good risk prevention includes: encouraging employees to wear appropriate footwear and attire; make water and good ventilation key to avoid overheating; select a contractor who can provide proper instruction with exercise equipment and instruction on safe, active recovery when employees with injuries or medical conditions wish to become more active.

Liability- The Contractor’s Perspective
Reputable contractors can easily obtain general liability insurance and there are many such carriers who specialize in insuring contractors and studios in the fitness and wellness industry.  The policies cover suits brought by you or your employees (any students of the contractor) for any number of reasons including injury and sexual harassment. 

It is completely acceptable for you to ask a contractor to provide proof of such insurance including policy limits and expiration dates and for you to require in your contract that the contractor maintains and submits to you current insurance at specified levels of coverage.  You may also wish to specify that the contractor provide proof of workers compensation insurance in case one of their employees or subcontractors is injured while teaching the class.  Additionally adding a clause that requires the contractor to maintain appropriate levels of certification or training (such as teacher certification or CPR) would be a good idea.

Liability- The Employer’s Perspective
If the contractor is performing the services on your premises it is also your responsibility to maintain a clean and safe environment free from harassment in which the contractor can provide the services. 

Do you plan on providing equipment or will the contractor?  Most employers provide the exercise equipment used in classes (though this can be minimal for most at work programs).  Create a check list and periodically ensure that the equipment is clean, structurally sound and not in a place where it poses a tripping hazard.  Keep hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes in an obvious place to prevent the spread of germs. 

Take note of any non-complete clauses in your contract.  While not related to employee safety, soliciting a contractor’s employees or subcontractors is an area of potential liability.

The Bottom Line
This list should not instill fear in anyone looking to implement a wellness or fitness program on-site.  Such programs can be easily managed by reputable contractors or in-house staff given proper planning and attention prior to actually starting the program.  Most people spend the majority of their waking hours at work.  Offering means for employees to engage in healthy behavior and manage stress at work is a meaningful and practical way for people to enrich their lives.  When something as simple as walking three hours a week cuts the risk of dying from breast cancer in half, how can you not choose to help employees get serious about transforming their health?