Category: Risk Management

The Benefits of Exercise

Health Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity:

  • Reduce the risk of premature death
  • Reduce the risk of developing and/or dying from heart disease
  • Reduce high blood pressure or the risk of developing high blood pressure
  • Reduce high cholesterol or the risk of developing high cholesterol
  • Reduce the risk of developing colon cancer and breast cancer
  • Reduce the risk of developing diabetes
  • Reduce or maintain body weight or body fat
  • Build and maintain healthy muscles, bones, and joints
  • Reduce depression and anxiety
  • Improve psychological well-being
  • Enhanced work, recreation, and sport performance

Our bodies are designed to move. We need to build exercise into our busy schedules to stay healthy.

Move More – Eat Less – Don’t Smoke

Employee Theft: How to Prevent Instead of Apprehend

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that 75% of all employees steal at least once, and that half of these steal again …and again. The Chamber also reports that one of every three business failures are the direct result of employee theft. Loss Prevention executives responding to the University of Florida National Retail Security Survey attribute 42.7% of their annual shrinkage losses to employee theft. So how can a company prevent this type of unwanted activity? Each industry is different but here are some good overall pointers.

  • Pre-screen employees. For as little as $20 you can check criminal records, credit history or other information. Employers can identify theft patterns, workplace violence issues or previous sexual harassment problems and react accordingly. Addressing these issues before employment begins is much easier than attempting to correct a problem uncovered after the start of employment.
  • Conduct frequent physical inventories. Pilferage is one of the most common forms of internal loss. Reconcile sales to inventory on a quarterly basis, or at least annually, with the help of a third party. Conduct surprise inventories.
  • Separate bookkeeping functions. Misapplication of payments can lead to embezzlement. Do not let the same person who processes checks also manage the accounts receivable records.
  • Personally approve bookkeeping adjustments. Approve any adjustments to the books no matter how slight – even adjustments to correct an error.
  • Control check signers. Limit the number of signatories to yourself and one or two highly trusted assistants. Keep blank checks under lock and key.
  • Review monthly bank statements. Instruct your bank to send the monthly statement directly to you. Review the statement before passing it on to your bookkeeper. This review allows you to spot any improperly executed checks.
  • Tighten up on petty cash. Allow only one or two trusted employees to disburse petty cash. Require that a receipt and a signed voucher be submitted for all petty cash disbursements.
  • Separate buying and bookkeeping. To maintain a system of checks and balances, assign ordering and payment responsibilities to different employees.
  • Watch company credit cards. Require all credit cards be signed out and all credit card expenses be authorized by a purchase order.
  • Document all expense reports. Require strict documentation for all reimbursable expenses incurred by employees. Subject every expense account voucher to a pre-audit review procedure before payment.
  • Have a third party refund policy. Issue refunds only upon the approval of a third party, preferably a trusted assistant.By taking a look at these policies and procedures and making adjustments, companies can avoid a myriad of problems and therefore increase productivity and profitability.

Following these pointers will go a long way in preventing employee theft.

Learn the Signs of a Mental Health Problem

In the workplace, mental health problems manifest in a number of ways. Here are some employee behaviors that may be signs of a mental health problem:

  • Working slowly
  • Missing deadlines
  • Calling in sick frequently
  • Increasing absenteeism
  • Expressing irritability and anger
  • Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
  • Appearing numb or emotionless
  • Withdrawing from work activity
  • Overworking
  • Forgetting directives, procedures and requests
  • Having difficulty with work transitions or changes in routines

These symptoms could also result when an employee has a family member suffering from a mental health problem or other serious health issue. Such situations can sometimes disrupt the employee’s working hours, lead to absences, affect concentration and decrease morale as much as it would if the employee had the mental health problem.

via Mental Health America: What to Do When You Think an Employee May Need Mental Health Help.

What Is Total Worker Health?

Total Worker Health™ is a strategy integrating occupational safety and health protection with health promotion to prevent worker injury and illness and to advance health and well-being.

The protection, preservation, and improvement of the health and well-being of all people who work are goals shared by workers, their families, and employers. Today, more than ever, there is increasing evidence that the work environment and the overall health, safety and well-being of the workers within it are strongly connected. Diminished health and injury, whether caused by work or resulting from non-work activities, reduces quality of life, opportunity, and income for workers and those dependent upon them. Conversely, workplaces with low risk of injury and enhanced opportunities for the total health of workers can lead to a vibrant, engaged and highly performing workforce.

via CDC – Total Worker Health What Is Total Worker Health? – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Program.

Skin Cancer – Prevention Guidelines

Since its inception in 1979, The Skin Cancer Foundation has always recommended using a sunscreen with an SPF 15 or higher as one important part of a complete sun protection regimen. Sunscreen alone is not enough, however. Read our full list of skin cancer prevention tips.

  • Seek the shade, especially between 10 AM and 4 PM.
  • Do not burn.Avoid tanning and UV tanning booths.
  • Cover up with clothing, including a broad-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses.
  • Use a broad spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher every day.
  • For extended outdoor activity, use a water-resistant, broad spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher.
  • Apply 1 ounce 2 tablespoons of sunscreen to your entire body 30 minutes before going outside.Reapply every two hours or immediately after swimming or excessive sweating.
  • Keep newborns out of the sun. Sunscreens should be used on babies over the age of six months.Examine your skin head-to-toe every month.
  • See your physician every year for a professional skin exam.

via Prevention Guidelines – SkinCancer.org.

Lifting properly to prevent back injury

Back problems: Proper lifting No one is immune to back injury.

Whether you have a strong back or have hurt your back before, it is well worth it to:

  • Stop yourself before casually picking up a light or heavy load.
  • Plan in your mind for the best way to lift whats in front of you. This could include enlisting help from one or more people.
  • Lift and move slowly and carefully.

The time you take to use the right lifting mechanics is far less than the days, weeks, or months it can take to heal from a back injury.

via Lifting properly to prevent back injury.

Ambulance Down in the Valley – Poetic Case for Prevention

In 1895, Joseph Malins wrote a poem entitled “Ambulance Down in the Valley”, and the following is an excerpt from his poetic case for prevention:

Better guide well the young than reclaim them when old,

For the voice of true wisdom is calling.

“To rescue the fallen is good, but ’tis best

To prevent other people from falling.”

Better close up the source of temptation and crime

Than deliver from dungeon or galley;

Better put a strong fence ’round the top of the cliff

Than an ambulance down in the valley.

Our current medical system is very much like that “ambulance down in the valley”. The current onslaught of people suffering from chronic disease, illnesses and injuries is disturbing. However, even more disheartening is that many, if not most, of those medical conditions could be avoided or significantly delayed – if only  those people could turn back the hands of time and alter the millions of small but significant daily choices that led to those unintended consequences. The harsh reality is that largely, how we live dictates how we die. We would be better served to consider the full value of health rather than the inexorable cost of dying. Let’s continue to build a strong fence ’round the top of the cliff.

Injury: The Leading Cause of Death for Persons 1-44 in U.S.

Injury: The Leading Cause of Death Among Persons 1-44In 2007 in the United States, injuries, including all causes of unintentional and violence-related injuries combined, accounted for 51% of all deaths among persons ages 1-44 years of age – that is more deaths than non-communicable diseases and infectious diseases combined.Injury Deaths Compared to Other Leading Causes of Death for Persons Ages 1-44, United States, 2007Injury FactsMore than 180,000 deaths from injury each year — 1 person every 3 minutes. Leading cause of death for people ages 1-44 in the US.  More than 2.8 million people hospitalized with injury each year. More than 29 million people treated in Emergency Department for injury each year. More than $406 billion annually in medical costs and lost productivity.

via CDC – Injury: The Leading Cause of Death for Persons 1-44 in U.S. – Injury Center.

The 5 keys to a Healthier, Safer, More Productive Workforce

Not all Employers are the same and neither are the results of their risk management efforts. High performing companies follow these 5 key strategies.

  • First is safety intervention, that is, the attempt to prevent injuries from happening at all (measured as Safety Diligence, Ergonomic Solutions, and Safety Training).
  • Second is disability management, the set of strategies to minimize the disability consequences of a given injury or disease arising from the workplace (measured as Disability Case Monitoring and Proactive Return-to-Work Program).
  • Third is health promotion, which represents an attempt to intervene directly with individuals to encourage more healthy lifestyles, in the expectation that this will reduce the likelihood of a workplace accident or disease, or reduce the lost work time resulting from a given injury or disease (measured as Wellness Orientation).
  • Fourth is the general environment of the firm and the orientation of its management in areas measured as People Oriented Culture and Active Safety Leadership.
  • Fifth is the implementation, measurement and adjustment of the first four.

Disability can be managed and those who do it well can expect to be rewarded with lower disability costs, more satisfied workers, higher productivity and, ultimately, higher profits.

The Business Risk of Healthcare Reform

Health-care reform is a business risk, and regardless of whether you believe it will exist in its current form, be modified, or go away altogether, from a prudency standpoint HR, finance, and senior leadership need to be thinking about it from a scenario-planning perspective. In many companies health care decisions are made in silos driven by benefit agents advising HR. This has more to do with shifting health care costs to employees rather than managing risk. We recommend HR work with finance and senior leadership on a 5 year benefit strategy with wellness initiatives designed to get buy-in at the company’s highest levels. This dovetails nicely with health-care reform.