The WellRight Blog

Tag! You’re it!

As a kid, those words were the signal to run like the wind, as your friends scattered across the playground, clambering up the monkey bars and dancing just out of your reach.

At no point during this activity did you stop and wonder how many calories you had burned.

Play can be transformative, making almost any activity more enjoyable and helping the time pass much more quickly. And if you want your corporate wellness program (and your wellness challenge ideas) to be more enjoyable for employees, why not incorporate a sense of play into it?

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but what about a good massage? Or maybe some herbal tea? Or perhaps some meditation?

Conventional medicine has long been the dominant source for treatment and advice when it comes to keeping us healthy. In recent decades, however, there is an increased interest in expanding our ideas of healthcare and what it really takes to be well. As a result, people are beginning to integrate other approaches and techniques into their lifestyle.

Read on to learn what integrative medicine is and whether you should make it a part of your employee wellness program.

If one were to believe media depictions, Millennials are lazy, entitled, way-too-sensitive kids, who expect plum management positions straight out of college and have no interest in “paying their dues” at work.

Or (hear us out) maybe they just have different aspirations and priorities?

Millennials—who are definitely not kids, with the very youngest of their generation rapidly approaching their thirties and the eldest now in their forties—have been devalued and misunderstood in the workforce. When engaged with their work and their employer, Millennials are driven, passionate, and eager to take on new challenges.

So … how do you engage them?

Note: This is a special-edition article from WellRight's Vice President of Marketing, Lynn Zimmerman.

Greetings from Camp Denali, located in the heart of Alaska at the literal end of the road in Denali National Park. This is where I spent a week of my summer vacation, and it was amazing; I didn’t want to leave. As we were planning our Alaskan holiday, I have to admit that sleeping in a cabin without electricity and running water was a bit daunting to imagine, but the service, gourmet plated meals, knowledgeable hiking guides, and especially the sense of community made it well worth the slight inconveniences. In fact, I began to enjoy the morning fires to heat up the cabin and the walks to the lodge for a hot cup of tea in the late afternoon.

After the all-too-short weeks home with your new baby, it’s time to go back to work. You head back into the office, say hello to everybody, and check in with your boss to get up to speed. During the conversation, you mention needing a private place to pump milk for your baby, only to hear, “Just go ahead and use the washrooms, nobody will mind.”

At this point, you do a direct stare into the camera like Jim from The Office.

The CEO of the agency welcomes you on your first day and leads you to your workspace. It’s decked out with top-line equipment: a brand-new Mac, an Aeron chair, and a glossy-white desk.

The only thing your new office is missing? Walls.

In the movies, domestic abuse is often obvious, with bruises and broken bones as telltale signs.

In real life, however, domestic violence often manifests not as a show of physical force, but rather a complicated pattern of behaviors used to gain power or control over a spouse, a partner, or family member. These behaviors can include intimidation, verbal abuse, and emotional manipulation. Despite apologies and promises to change, the abuser rarely does, keeping the victim perpetually on edge.

Domestic abuse doesn’t affect just an employee’s personal life. The effects also spill over into the workplace.

You hardly talk to each other anymore. You’re spending more and more time apart, and when he is with you, his heart just doesn’t seem to be in it. He’s being secretive, wearing nicer clothes, and you’re noticing an increased number of unexplained absences.

Finally, he sits you down and says it: He’s leaving you … for another employer.

The Exxon Valdez disaster. Nine Mile Island. The Challenger explosion. Chernobyl.

Sleep deprivation has been linked to each of these disasters, as well as many more.

When lives are on the line, sleep deprivation can result in deadly mistakes. But even if your employees handle reports instead of reactors, sleep deprivation can do a number on their health and their job performance.

The wind whips through your hair as you deploy your parachute. You gaze down at the mountains, the forest, and at the crystal-blue water lapping the beaches. Then … Mom calls you to dinner and you put down your game controller.

Many of us grew up all but living outdoors—riding our bikes to and from friends’ houses and playing outside until the sun went down (and then coming inside only to grab flashlights and head back out for more).

But over the years, something has changed.