Make Worker Health a Habit
BY AsphaltPro Staff with Clarence Richard
Equipment that’s in top shape performs better than equipment we allow to deteriorate. The same is true for our workers. If we allow them to get out of shape, their performance—as well as their health—suffers for it. Each individual’s health habits are that person’s own responsibility, of course, but we are here to encourage one another. Employers have a vested interest in supporting good health habits in the people who work for them when it comes to ensuring safe and productive working environments.
Clarence Richard, the proprietor of Clarence Richard Company, Minnetonka, Minnesota, recently shared a new aspect of his EZ-Training. While he’s known for his contributions to better plant operation and efficiency, the new aspect to training gets into the plant operator’s physical condition. He connected the dots with his own physician and information he’d read over the past couple of years. He recommends the following in his training:
Drink Water
Richard said that we all know we’re supposed to get eight glasses of water a day, but we don’t make it a habit. This might be a little personal, but he said to track your hydration and dehydration together. “After relieving the bladder, get a glass of water. Make it a habit to rehydrate by drinking water immediately after a bathroom break.”
Get Air
Think about what happens to the burner when you add air to the flame by opening the fan damper. This same concept can be applied to our bodies. When employees are encouraged to engage in aerobic exercise, they engage their lungs, giving new energy to muscles with an abundant supply of oxygen. Those employees open up their cardiovascular systems for easier blood flow and “extra zip.”
Challenge Your Brain
Employees who engage in mental workouts give themselves positive mental challenges. It’s no secret that our brains stay active when we learn a new language or a new skill. Encourage employees to take on a project or web-based training to keep healthy minds active.
Get Rewards
For each goal an employee achieves, there can be simple rewards. Whether a company institutes an awards program for steps such as weight loss goals, new project achievements, training accomplishments, or employees have their own system of rewarding themselves for personal achievements, don’t let the little milestones go unnoticed. We often sabotage our efforts by ignoring our smaller successes. Let the small successes build upon one another instead. When you set up a plan and execute it step after step, each of those steps is a reason to celebrate in some small—or large—way.
By setting up a goal, selecting the reward and executing the routine, the employee builds a new habit that will lead toward an end result. For business purposes, you can make that end result be a healthier, safer work environment. Check out the resources at http://charlesduhigg.com/additional-resources/ to see flowcharts that outline how to build—or break—habits.