Corporate Wellness Blog

What have sickness, recuperation, rest, mindset, humour, energy and diet got to do with
companies? These are terms applicable in physical wellness but they are equally relevant
in the context of corporate wellness.

Turnaround has become increasingly important, given the financial crisis that hit Asia in
1997, the financial scandals plaguing the Western corporate giants and the emergence of
the economies in China and India. In some instances, the businesses appear relatively
healthy, though they are experiencing declining market share, increasing costs, losing
competitiveness and plummeting revenues. Hence, a major crisis is brewing and will hit
any time when the interest rate increases or the economy goes into recession.

Unfortunately, most troubled companies do not survive the turbulence in the marketplace.
The average life expectancy of a multinational company is about 40 to 50 years. Many
companies die prematurely. Some companies experience poor health with office politics,
egos and bureaucracy stifling human creativity, enthusiasm and commitment. Many of
these ailing companies suffer from a toxic corporate climate which urgently need to be
detoxified, while others are genetically flawed and are thus unable to handle changes in
the marketplace.

For centuries, we have been searching for the elixir of longevity. Today, the wellness and
health industry worldwide is the one of the fastest growing businesses, and it is expected
to grow exponentially to one trillion dollars in a few years’ time. Essentially, the role of
the doctor should be one of promoting wellness instead of merely concentrating on curing
the patient after he is inflicted with an ailment.

In a similar vein, companies are also seeking the same goal, that is corporate wellness.
Corporate wellness is becoming one of the greatest and most powerful terms of the
corporate dictionary. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most misunderstood. “Corporate
wellness” is not merely referring to physical and mental health programs for the
corporate executives.

The term “corporate wellness” depicts the desired state of excellent corporate physical and mental health. And it should be an actively sought-after goal.

“Corporate wellness” is the total well being and complete integration of body, mind and spirit – the realization that everything the corporate does, its strategy, leadership, mindset, culture, values has an effect on its well being. The term “corporate wellness” is used in this context to include the use of modern and alternative medicine.

Modern or Western medicine seeks to treat the symptoms such as poor productivity. The
remedy is surgery or downsizing. Alternative or Eastern medicine treats the root cause of
the corporate woes. The cause of the poor productivity is perhaps due to its dysfunctional
corporate culture. Beyond disease-free medicines, Corporate wellness also seeks for new excellent levels of corporate health such as how to improve the attitude, mindset and soul of the company.

There is nothing new about the idea of a group retreat. The family vacation may be the original of all retreats. This vacation was an opportunity to get away from distractions of a hectic life and enjoy the group time for bonding and experiential activities. Today, these same principles that directed the family vacation retreat, can and are utilized for many different corporate and recreational groups. An opportunity to bring a core group together, outside of the standard setting, having time for team building and to focus on an individual or group of challenges can be very powerful.

If heading up a team building retreat, you will want to do all you can to ensure every bit of scheduled activity provides for the utmost ability for all participants to focus and accomplish their goals. To do this there is more to be done than the simple scheduling of space and ensuring meals are available for retreat group participants. What activities will you provide to give them mental downtime? How will they workout the kinks from the days activities, sitting through presentations and brainstorming meetings? You will want to assist them in staying mentally and physically fresh. This is best done when utilizing the skills of a fitness professional.

5 Reasons for Adding Wellness to Your Group Retreat

1. Physical activity has been shown to increase brain function. A fitness professional, depending upon their specialty, may be able to provide cardiovascular activities, resistance training opportunities, yoga for flexibility sessions, boot camps, tai chi, or a combination of fitness formats to keep the blood flowing to all parts of the body including the brain.
2. Providing morning and afternoon classes for the corporate retreat group will offer an excellent opening and closing to daily activities. To start the day with a little physical activity is not only good for the body but it will also mentally prepare the mind for the upcoming business activities. Closing the day with a bit more physical or mind/body activity allows for a separation of the days activities and initiates the mental relaxation that is beneficial for being ready and capable of quality focused activity the next day.
3. You will show the retreat participants you care about them as much as you do about the targeted retreat business activities. You can even go as far as a dual purpose and offer multiple educational classes as part of a wellness retreat or yoga retreat in addition to your designed corporate retreat. Multiple studies have shown the positive link of a healthy workforce and reduced employee absenteeism.
4. You may choose to utilize the intensity of the incorporated workout sessions as team building opportunities. Yoga and boot camp programs are well suited for taxing not only the body, but also the mind. Encourage your team to work together to meet a common health & fitness goal.
5. Finally, various forms of wellness retreats are occurring every day. Your group will have an excitement leading up to their event as they look forward to the somewhat exotic wellness schedule. This alone will not only increase likely participation, but it will also increase the overall moral of the group.

Take your corporate, recreational, family reunion, or whatever the reason, retreat to the next level. Keep participants refreshed, enlightened, and appreciative with the assistance of a fitness professional. Personal Trainers, Yoga Instructors, Group Fitness Instructors, or those with combinations of skills are available throughout North America. Utilizing a single source company can easily assist you in finding a fitness professional that will best fit your needs. The Fit Pro will be a valuable piece of your retreat meeting and exceeding all the business goals your retreat was designed to meet.

Businesses across America are discovering something that athletes have known for many years–massage improves performance. Not just athletic performance, but performance in general.

Most people have a pretty good idea about the health benefits of a massage on a massage table in a spa. But you may not know about chair massage.

Seated chair massages can reduce stress, fatigue and pain. They also can improve function of the immune system, improves a depressive state, and increase a person’s ability to concentrate. Seated chair massage has been shown to reduce anxiety and promote relaxation while simultaneously enhancing employee alertness.

Physicians and health care providers have now come to the conclusion that there is a correlation between stress and disease and stress related ailments are the main cause of productivity decline in the workplace. More than half of all employee absence can be attributed to stress induced high blood pressure, headache, and even chronic pain. Massage as a stress management tool fits well into the corporate world’s business leaders.

Major corporations including the Ford Motor Company, American Airlines, and Bank of America are enjoying the benefits of on-site seated, fully-clothed chair massage. They are finding that massage optimizes employee performance and mental alterness. But you don’t have to be a major corporation to benefit from a seated chair massage. If you have one employee or many, all will benefit from a seated chair massage.

HandsOn-Site.com is a Virginia Beach, Virginia company that specializes in seated chair massage. HandsOn comes to you!