Health & Wellbeing

Soon you might get fired eating too many Krispy Kreme donuts. Why? To save on health care costs, your company has instituted a policy that allows them to fire overweight people. OK, so this is fictional for now - but for how much longer?

Even in the mainstream business environment, dealing with the challenges of the working day actually offers a great playground and outlet for developing our spiritual selves and for sharing our light with others.

Flexible workplace initiatives aren't just window-dressing. Flexibility brings with it improvements in employees' health and well-being, reduces absenteeism rates and boosts employee commitment.

Insomnia is costing the US economy some $63 billion a year in lost productivity, with every unfortunate sufferer costing their employer between $2,280 and $3,274 annually.

Violence – be it in the workplace or elsewhere - is about one issue, and one issue only: power. And only when we understand this and understand the disconnection that leads up to violence can we start to learn how to cope with situations without resorting to violent behaviour.

New research that has found taking time out of your working work week to do some exercise may lead to increased productivity - despite the reduction in work hours this entails.

Daily commuting is more stressful for women than for men, a new study by researchers in the UK suggests.

When two people spend an inordinate amount of time pursuing their careers, is there also time to pursue their relationship? The answer, of course, is "it depends". Here are some signs that a dual-professional relationship might be in trouble – and some ideas about how to fix it.

If the goings-on in your workplace sometimes leave with an overwhelming desire to emulate an ostrich and bury your head in the sand, we have just the thing to help you.

The dividing line between work and leisure is becoming more blurred than ever – and most of those who do go away on vacation will remain electronically tethered to their work. But as Peter Vajda reminds us, that's not a spiritually, emotionally, physically or psychologically healthy place to be.

A new study has confirmed that workers who feel empowered by their employers have higher morale and are more productive, regardless of their industry, job role or even their culture.

A study by researchers from University College London has found that working more than 11 hours a day increases the risk of heart disease by 67 per cent.

What is it about work that leads so many to be so dissatisfied? It's easy to blame external factors - "it," "him," "her" or "them" – but the real reason lies far closer to home. It's about the inner person, not about the externals.

In the current economy, it seems obvious that having a job - any job - is better than having no job at all. But as far as your mental and psychological well-being is concerned, that isn't necessarily true.

Almost all new year resolutions are about change. But change is challenging and demands you face some tough truths. Without this, you will never start your journey towards meaningful transformation. So if you make only one resolution for 2011, consider this. Tell the truth - to yourself.

Want to do something nice for your team this Holiday season? How about helping them do nothing at all - or at the very least, a bit less. Seriously. Maybe the next couple of weeks you could give them the gift of a little peace and quiet, even if you have to enforce it strenuously.

Do you want to experience 2011 in a different, less stressful way than 2010? It's a sad fact that far more of us fantasize about inner peace than actually get to experience it. Most of us seem to live our lives caught up in conflict, agitation, upset or stress. But it doesn't have to be that way.

This week many of us are gathering with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving. And although many of us are struggling both emotionally and financially, we need to remember that there are some very good reasons to be thankful about life, regardless of what our personal circumstances may be.

Spending long periods of time in a noisy workplace can more than double the risk of contracting heart disease, according to a study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Today's workplaces are full of growing numbers of disengaged, unproductive, underperforming, exhausted, unhappy, depressed and electronically-addicted employees. Blurring work and vacation is one reason for this. Taking time for one's self is a non-negotiable "must" to maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit.

Management at Chinese manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology, the world's biggest contract maker of electronics, have invited monks from the Sacred Buddist Shrine of Wutai Mountain,to pray for a positive working environment after two workers committed suicide within days of each other earlier this month.

If work worries regularly give you sleepless nights, you might not want to hear that new research has found an unequivocal link between a lack of sleep and early death.

Good news for all you daydreamers out there. Researchers from Harvard Medical School have found that sleeping on the job could be enormously beneficial to your learning capacity.

A new report from the UK-based Work Foundation suggests that the the cost of staff turing up to work when sick - so-called 'presenteeism', could actually exceed the annual bill for sickness absence.

Some US employers don't just want to dictate what their employees can or cannot do in their own time, they want to dictate what family members of those employees do, too.

For many people, the holiday season is a mental, physical and emotional ordeal, not a time of joy and happiness. So I'd like to share some perspectives to support you to create a nurturing holiday experience resulting in peace in body, mind, and spirit.

I came across a study recently stating that the people most likely to smoke are those who work in the food-service industry. What's amazing to me is how anyone can either afford to smoke or find a place to legally enjoy a cigarette in that sort of environment.

The story of a woman who was fired from her job from for refusing a flu vaccination raises some important issues about individual freedom and employment rights.

People lacking stable long-term employment and engaged only on a series of temporary, contract, casual or fixed-term positions are more likely to suffer mental health issues, new research suggests.

Managers should get a good rest over the summer because, if swine flu really takes hold from the autumn, it could extend the recession by a further two years.

What is the most disgusting place in your office? Or, rather, what part of your office most reminds you of home? If I had to answer either question, the answer would be the same - the kitchen.

I've been following the healthcare reform debate in the United States from afar with great interest. Of all the arguments for and against, one voice has been particularly silent: that of management, such as CEOs, HR, CFOs, etc.

In the US, where health care access is tied to your ability to stay employed in troubles times, life for many people is looking more and more like the TV show Survivor.

"Weisure" is a term coined by sociologists to describe the blurring the line between work and leisure. What a con! Taking real time out from work a non-negotiable necessity if we're to to maintain a healthy mind, body and soul.

American companies are realizing the importance of keeping the brain running by working with wellness institutes and technology to introduce brain games in the workplace.

Managing too many redundancies can leave managers emotionally numb and distanced from their teams. So it is vital that organisations do more to ensure that managers don't lose their humanity.

You can always count on Fox News to argue the inarguable or to make unreasonable extrapolations. For instance, last week they tried to compare the link between obesity and global warming to a rampage against fat people in the workplace.

One of the things that I find more common in European offices than in the United States is the concept of a canteen. Not to mention canteens that actually offer decent food.

People who work in offices with low morale or high tension much more likely to be diagnosed with a depressive disorder than those who work in open, laidback office environments.

Here's a thought. Could the economy and how it affects your job actually be killing you? There's considerable evidence to suggest that it could.

As the crumbling economy piles pressure on the bottom line, more and more US employers are considering scrapping their employee healthcare and insurance programmes.

According to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rise in workplace homicides is directly proportionate to spikes in unemployment.

Designers of office materials in Australia are taking notice that what is currently being produced today for the realities of today's workplace is not at all adapted to the rapidly increasingly problem of obesity.

When things get tough, people tend to show up more than usual. Not wanting to be perceived as the weak link, people take fewer days off, work longer hours and put up the strong silent type image. This is not good.

Here's a radical suggestion. If you're sick, don't struggle into work so that you can pass whatever you've got onto everybody else. Just stay at home.

Smokers, it seems, feel like they're once again getting the short end of the stick. And Massachusetts is one place where it is fine to not hire people who smoke.

Growing up in the US, there are many, many aspects of the American workplace that I assumed to be normal.But when I started to travel abroad, I realized that my countrymen are all too often getting screwed at work.

Some naïve part of me wants to believe that some things – such as workplace safety – are never subject to economic trends. Job safety is always priority #1.But not in North Carolina.

Spousal abuse - I mean husbands tracking their wives down at their place of business - is now rearing its ugly head at the office.

A recent health conference in New Zealand revealed that methamphetamine is becoming a real problem in Kiwi workplaces.

Have you ever been to Philadelphia? If you're thinking about going there to work, you may want to think again when you learn that a third of workplace deaths in the city in 2007 were actually homicides.

If you're like me, you spend far too much time sitting in front of a screen, ask yourself whether spending 8-10+ hours per day in an uncomfortable chair is really such a good idea.

It may still be two months before he is sworn in, but President-elect Barack Obama could prove a transformational leader when it comes to reform of the American workplace.

When it comes to another day at the office, stable is the place to be. No, I'm not talking about working around horses (which might not be such a bad life), but in routine.

I came across an interesting article this morning about alcoholics in the workplace; frankly, it made me re-think the issue and even change my point of view.

These days, it seems that many business meetings take place over lunch. But mixing eating and working can be a risky affair that, at the very least, can destroy your diet.

More and more articles are appearing in newspapers across America focusing on the deterioration of workplace safety. With good reason.

Got a pretty unpleasant surprise in the mail the other day; this is one that I'm sure that many people in the US receive on a daily basis. Let me explain...

There are pretty sound business reasons for employers to help staff get cigarettes out of their lives. But in many organizations, the attitude seems to be, "don't smoke here, do what you like afterwards".

Let's ponder for a moment about what exactly constitutes a workplace, shall we? Before you start to wax poetically for too long, it seems that perhaps the Welsh authorities have come up with a rather far reaching answer.