Yoga in the Workplace
At Jey Associates, we've found that happy, contented and healthy employees make productive and loyal employees. We humans are living in the zenith of the "ME" generation. Businesses are faced everyday with unhappy, unhealthy, and often-times disloyal employees. Trends toward alternative work environments, casual dress, and telecommuting - all aimed at instilling employee satisfaction and loyalty have heightened to levels that were once thought of as far too cost prohibitive, or unnecessary at the very least. Large Corporations and small businesses alike have begun to add such "amenities" as providing weekly paid therapeutic massage, yoga and pilates classes on premises, and personal fitness and health training.
It
is nothing new for an employer to provide discounted or even
paid athletic club membership to its employees. What was
once thought to be an incredible benefit, however, misses
the mark in achieving what it set out to do - make happier,
healthier employees. Why? Simply because the benefit, or,
in this case, the membership tends to be significantly
underused. Women over the age of 20 make up roughly 85% of
the work force* (over 56% of all US women are mothers**) ,
and do not have the extra time to get to the gym before or
after work. Men, likewise, if not already on a fixed
exercise routine, tend not to begin one, if it means
encroaching on their already crowded schedules.
To try and get to a gym or club during lunch is unmanageable for most of these hard-working individuals.
HOW TO INCORPORATE
YOGA INTO YOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT
I -
Incorporating and making a
daily Yoga Practice available to employees is something that
is easy for employers to do, and makes good management
sense. Most Yoga instructors work as freelance contractors,
and are available to offer special on-sight classes to your
employees, often at convenient off-peak or before/after work
hours. They can come to your office premises, offering the
class in a conference room or courtyard (if weather permits)
or un-used space. Or, often times, spas and clubs offering
Yoga classes are willing to designate an early morning or
after work class exclusively for your employees. By far,
employees are more apt to attend yoga classes if they do not
have to drive or go out of their way to get there.
II - If you are an
employee that needs to find a way to release the daily
stress of life and work, but you find yourself in a work
environment that cannot facilitate Yoga classes for the
entire organization, you may want to organize something on
your own. This is relatively simple. You will need the
permission or green-light from a supervisor and/or the
Director of Human Resources in your organization, in order
to get a group of people together regularly and utilize an
un-used space or outdoor courtyard, etc... You will find
most employers, corporations, businesses to be open to any
ideas that might improve morale and employee health /
well-being.
III -
New to Yoga, and don't know where to
begin? Tell your group of colleagues and co-workers this,
and make it an adventure for all! You may even want to make
it open to others leading the group, or rotating that part
of it. Be sure to start with some basic relaxation for
about 3 minutes (as pictured above. Be sure everyone is
BREATHING (people tend to stop breathing, or shorten their
breath when they are doing something new), and then move
into a few Sun Salutations. There is a great sample of one
at www.yangsandover.com (which you can repeat 5-10 times, or
as much as you would like) in short video clip form.
Click Here
to go there. Once you have done the decided number of Sun
Salutations, be sure to end in relaxation. I would first
come into sitting posture (as shown above), then move into
"corpse" or "dead body" pose. If the link above does not
work, try incorporating the sample practice offered on each
of our Yoga pages, which can be viewed in part on our
YOGA 4-1-1
page. It can be shared with friends and co-workers alike,
and you can email us for assistance in getting things going,
or with any questions about your yoga practice! Click our
"contact" button at the bottom of any page! Good luck
restoring and maintaining your healthy life!
*
US Dept of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
**
US Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/004109.html
A Little Massage Goes a Loooonnng Way!
In Aspen, Colorado there exists
a little development company. Well, there exists a
very small office, with too few employees to handle the
incredible work load produced by the venture
capitalist/development minds running the business One
saving grace to the employees of this little office:
the massage therapist who arrives once a week to bring a
little relief from the stresses of everyday life, and the
stresses of everyday in front of the computer screen.
This tiny little office, where everyone does the work of 1
1/2 people, could produce the most irritable, disloyal
employees on the planet, but instead, everyone who works
there does so with a smile on their face, and in their
voice. They are the first to tell you of the new
projects their boss has coming down the pike, and they will
convince you it is the best thing since sliced bread.
Why? Well, one only need to ask - and I did. The
executive assistant to the president put it this way: "We
work very hard, but we are always rewarded. We so look
forward to the weekly massages, but it is more than
that...We feel like our boss cares about our well being, and
is doing something about it. It also shows that he
knows we are working very hard. Our work does not go
unnoticed."
Feng Shui in the Workplace
Everyone wants to be comfortable in
their own workspace, right? Though some might carry
the idea of "Feng Shui" a bit far for all businesses to
apply..
EffectiveMeetings.com
maintains that "although this ancient Eastern art was
developed well before the modern office, the principles can
still be applied to your workplace.... for overstressed and
under inspired [employees] at work" somehow incorporating
some of the principles into the workspace can enhance or
even cure the deepest woe. Tips are offered, such as
allowing the creative staff to have more alternative
furnishings - rounded edges to tables and desks, etc. all
this, to help bring the workspace into "harmony."
It is clear that employees enjoy going to work each day
more, if their work environment is eye and mood pleasing.
Fluorescent lighting and corporate cubicles around the
country are giving way to warm lighting, walls painted with
color, and more traditional or super-contemporary
furnishings and finishes. This definitely aids your
employees in their quest to refine their abilities and
skills, and employers benefit as well.