Finding Your Healthy Balance
By Amy Slettedahl, Manager of Professional Services
For a lot of people, the pursuit of a healthy work and life balance seems like an unattainable goal. Torn between juggling heavy workloads, managing relationships and family responsibilities, and squeezing in outside interests (if there is any time), it is not surprising that more than one in four Americans describe themselves as “super stressed.” In the race to “get it all done,” whether that is at the office or at home, it is easy to forget that as our stress levels spike, our productivity plummets!
Among other things, stress can decrease our concentration, make us irritable or depressed, weaken our personal and professional relationships, and overtime can weaken our immune systems. All of this stress can leave us susceptible to a variety of ailments ranging from a simple cold to more severe health problems such as heart disease. Recent research reveals that chronic stress can actually double one’s risk for having a heart attack! While every individual needs a certain amount of stress to stimulate and aid in peek performance, the key to managing stress lies very simply in balance. When balance is achieved employees are happy, more productive, take fewer sick days, and are more likely to stay in their jobs.
According to Mental Health America, there are some practical steps that we all can take to alleviate stress and win back the balance in our lives.
At work:
- Take several small breaks during the work day
- Set manageable goals each day
- Ask for flexibility in your work schedule
- Communicate effectively with co-workers
- Utilize your company’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
At home:
- Treat your body right (eat right, exercise, and get adequate rest)
- Turn off your Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
- Do not over commit to friends and family
- Seek help if you need it
Sources:
1) http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net
Did You Take Your Occupational-Specific Vitamins Today?
By Megan Levi, Investigative Consultant
 The most recent wellness craze to hit organizations is “occupation specific” vitamins. A company entitled, Employee Vita, has created vitamins that are tailored to specific job occupations. Similar to a multi-vitamin, each occupation specific vitamin contains several vitamins for general health and wellness. However, depending on the occupation, each vitamin targets particular health issues. For example, “Teacher Vita” focuses on supporting the immune system, increasing mental clarity, energy stamina, and reducing stress. “Trucker Vita” on the other hand, targets increasing energy and attentiveness, as well as reducing joint pain. Still in development are “Firefighter Vita,” for heart health, energy, and stamina, and “Nurse Vita,” which addresses immunity, stress, and skin care.
The theory behind occupation specific vitamins is that employees now have the option of taking one single vitamin, instead of several, which reduces cost and confusion over which vitamins will be most effective for an individual’s daily stressors. Employee Vita founder, Brett Waslefsky, originally recognized the need for a single vitamin supplement during a discussion with his wife, a teacher, who was taking several vitamins to prevent illness. He then identified specific occupational health issues by consulting a nutritionist, interviewing employees, and conducting surveys of teachers, truckers, firefighters, and nurses.
Will this new wellness craze catch on? Employee Vita is the first vitamin to target specific occupations, but as employers are continually trying to promote employee wellness through creative and preventative means, occupation specific vitamins may soon join the latest wellness trends of subsidized gym memberships, ergonomic furniture, flu shot clinics, and smoking cessation benefits.
Although still in their early stage, research is currently being conducted on occupation specific vitamins for sales professionals and police officers.
Quote of the Month
"In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so."
-Immanuel Kant
The Role of Video Surveillance in Society
By Rachel Searle, Research Specialist
 The idea behind “surveillance” is simple; all you need is something to watch, and someone to watch it. Over the past fifteen years, the world of developing technology has made this process drastically easier to implement. It is no longer uncommon to spot cameras in businesses, on campuses, or attached to street corners; however, it begs the question of how much surveillance is too much?
In theory, installing cameras as a part of a closed-circuit system is a useful tool for monitoring a space, potentially deterring crime, and identifying assailants who do commit crimes. In practice, however, video surveillance is limited in its ability to deter all crime or capture critical details, in addition to issues posed by operator error and technological limitations.
Security cameras have long been a mainstay in England and through 2005, England had approximately 4 million cameras installed in all of its major city centers, and yet, heinous crimes have still taken place. In February of 1993, a two-year old boy was kidnapped from a mall near Liverpool, England and eventually murdered by two boys, while his mother stood in line nearby. Video stills were taken from area cameras of the boy being led away by the hand, and later swung around by the boys. In 2005, photographs were taken from the video surveillance system after the July 7, 2005 bombing of the London Underground Railway System bombing, which contained images of the bombers. These two cases demonstrate the reactive quality of video surveillance. Though in each instance a perpetrator was identified, the fact remains that cameras were installed and active in each location, and yet they were unable to deter or prevent crime.
After the September 11, 2001 attack on New York City, there has been a strong emphasis on safety and security in America, and the floodgate to the private sector has burst open. With the number of cameras in modern society vastly outnumbering the number of people to monitor them, most of the data collected has become essentially useless. In addition to bogging down data systems and endless data match possibilities, the useful data often gets lost in a sea of information. No doubt video surveillance can provide useful information to an investigation, and be a valuable tool; however, the above cases exemplify crimes continue to be committed. The few bits of useful information and images get lost either in the overwhelming amount of data, or because there was no one there to look for it in the first place.
References:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3D71538F93BA25751C0A965958260
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/01/16/bombings.trial/index.html
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_32/b3946001_mz001.htm?chan=search
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_36/c3949025_mz004.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jun/17/surveillance.database
Cool Site: Common Errors in English
This site brings the published book to the web. According to the author “The aim of this site is to help you avoid low grades, lost employment opportunities, lost business, and titters of amusement at the way you write or speak.” The site doesn’t have every misused phrase in the English language but “All in all” it is pretty useful.
Check it out at http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html.
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