Work Environment

America’s Most and Least Stressful Jobs

Think your job is bad? Check out the report of most-stressful occupations as compiled by CareerCast. Is your job on the list? Is the stress on your job comparable to that faced by these professions? 1. Enlisted military personnel 2. Military general 3. Firefighter 4. Commercial airline pilot 5. Public relations executive 6. Senior corporate [...]

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Most Workers Face Job Stress

On-the-job stress is common and increasing, according to a survey by Harris Interactive conducted for Everest College. CNBC reported April 9 that 83 percent of Americans say that at least one thing about work causes them stress, up from 73 percent in 2012. Only 17 percent of workers say nothing about their job stresses them [...]

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Tech Firms Lead Way in Creating Desirable Workplaces

Overshadowed in the controversy over Yahoo!’s new policy prohibiting working at home is the trend among high-tech companies to create workplaces that could make coming to the office more appealing than staying home. The Associated Press reported April 2 that Apple’s new headquarters will feature a relaxing orchard to wander in, while Facebook’s campus will [...]

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Competition May Make Weight Loss Incentive Programs Work Better

Studies have shown that offering cash or prizes can be effective incentives for workplace weight-loss programs, but researchers say that adding a level of competition can make them even more effective, HealthDay News reported April 2. A small study found that weight loss was three times greater in a program that offered participants the opportunity [...]

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CVS Employees Face Big Price for Lack of Wellness

Employees of the CVS/Caremark drugstore chain must take part in their company’s wellness program to avoid a $600 surcharge on their health-insurance premiums, Today reported March 20. Workers who fail to get assessed for their annual WebMD Wellness Review — including tests for blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass and body weight — will be hit [...]

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Study: Workplace Wellness Program Benefits May Not Include Cost Savings

A workplace wellness program that tied healthy behaviors to discounts on health-insurance benefits significantly reduced inpatient hospital stays but not overall health costs, the Associated Press reported March 5. Researchers studied the BJC HealthCare wellness program, launched in 2005. Most of the company’s 28,000 workers and 40,000 total beneficiaries take part in the program, which [...]

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Wellness Scores Highest Among Doctors, Lowest in Transport Workers

When it comes to wellness, doctors know best — or at least feel best — according to data from the Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index. Doctors, teachers, and business owners are the professions with the highest average well-being scores, while workers in the manufacturing and transportation industries have the lowest scores. The average well-being for a [...]

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Feel Burned Out at Work? You Could Be At Risk of Heart Problems

Workers who are physically, emotionally, and cognitively burned out on their job face up to a 79-percent higher risk of heart disease, the Atlantic reported March 13. That would make workplace burnout more dangerous to your heart health than smoking, inactivity, or high cholesterol. Researchers who studied about 9,000 workers in Israel over a 3.5-year [...]

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Maintaining Worker Wellbeing Can Have a Big Impact on Company’s Bottom Line

Managers should lead by example when trying to get workers engaged in company wellness programs, because even small declines in well-being scores can translate into problems that can cut productivity as well as health, according to the Gallup Business Journal. For example, an employee whose score on a wellbeing index falls from 75 to 70 [...]

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Managers Learn Mindfulness to Improve Their Performance

Focus, clarity and calm are all key allies in decision-making and leadership, which is why mindfulness training is becoming increasingly common in U.S. business schools and corporations. The Los Angeles Times reported Feb. 23 that students at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University are among those getting mindfulness-meditation training through the school’s Executive [...]

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