This Week's Herman Trend Alert Purpose Emerging as Important Driver of Engagement

The Herman Trend Alert September 7, 2011 Increasing Workplace Stress is Hazardous to Health Employees are working longer hours and enjoying it less. This increased stress is leading to more grey hair and bad eating habits, even when the company offers healthy food options. Good news for hair color companies, bad news for insurance companies. Experiments, conducted in the United Kingdom published in science journal "Nature", found that chronic pressure can produce chemicals that damage DNA, causing humans to look older over time. The researchers discovered a molecular mechanism through which adrenaline acted to destroy a p53 protein that is useful in preventing cancer. "This could give us a plausible explanation of how chronic stress may lead to a variety of human conditions and disorders, like greying hair, to life-threatening disorders like malignancies," said prize-winning Professor Robert Lefkowitz of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Another soon to be released research report on workplace health by Aviva UK Health also noted that increased workloads and longer hours have prevented staff from taking adequate breaks. About a third of the employees said they were "unlikely to take a lunch break". Another quarter of respondents will only take a lunch break, "if they feel their workload allows it" and 13 percent will skip meals in the office altogether. Do you wonder why there’s so much obesity around? Another 19 percent said they tend to "overeat at work" when they are under stress. Precipitated by longer working hours and their unhealthy eating habits at work, 15 percent of employees felt their health has suffered. Yet 43 percent of those surveyed said their managers encouraged them to take breaks. Even though 45 percent of companies surveyed offer food in their workplaces, over one-third (38 percent) do not provide healthy options. In spite of these employers, 35 percent of staff try to eat healthy food and 30 percent usually bring their own lunches to work. Our forecast is that when employers realize the real effects on health insurance utilization, more will take real steps to reduce stress for their employees; unfortunately, they will look for Band-Aids®, instead of addressing the real issues of understaffing and the stress that causes. ### Special thanks to Lee Xieli, Editor for Human Resources Magazine in Singapore for bringing this important issue to light. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." WHO SENDS OUT YOUR NEWSLETTERS? We are convinced there is no better choice than ours! We have happily used DataBack Systems to deliver The Herman Trend Alert for over 10 years and. Visit their website (http://www.databack.com) or call Byron directly at 503.941.0427. You'll be glad you did. IS YOUR EMPLOYER AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE®? Our effective, onsite seminars, workshops, and consulting can help you get there. We offer 1-, 2-, 3-hour, and full-day programs to help you communicate what it takes to become an Employer of Choice® and inspire your folks to get it done. In the future, being an Employer of Choice® will not be optional. Call Carol at 336-210-3547 to arrange a no-obligation conference call. Or order the electronic version of the Employer of Choice book on your desktop for only $17.80 @ http://hermangroup.com/store/books_all.html#2. STRUGGLING TO FIND THE PEOPLE YOU NEED? VETJOBS CAN HELP! Recently, hundreds of thousands of jobs remain unfilled due to a lack of capable people. If you are looking for qualified candidates, you need to hire a veteran using VFW-sponsored VetJobs, the largest military employment site on the Internet. Thousands of returning veterans are looking for good jobs now. Mention this ad in The Herman Trend Alert and receive a 10% discount on job postings. Call Ted Daywalt at 877-838-5627 or inquire at info@VetJobs.com. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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