Quarterly Update Spring 2017

Healthiest You …moving forward for a healthier organization

Healthy employees making a

contribution to the organization within a

healthy workplace environment.

Inside this Issue

Bike to Work

Page 2 Inspiring Better

Workplaces

Page 3 Healthy Sleep

Page 4 Professional

Counselling Services

Page 5 Kindness – the gift that

keeps giving

There is no magic to achievement. It's really about hard work, choices, and persistence. Michelle Obama

Spring Tune-up

I love robins; how they burst onto the scene with their feisty red

feathers and vibrant birdsong, trilling out “spring is here!” This year,

they’ve become something more to me.

I have always considered myself a fairly active person during the

workday, with lots of walking, visiting different sites, taking the stairs.

But this winter, I noticed something had changed. I moved to a new

office, and I stopped walking as much at work. I found myself more

and more often hunched over my desk, working on a proposal or

presentation. The printer is so close; I just need to extend my reach a

little. More of my meetings are now over the phone or through a

web-ex. In a matter of months I had become much too sedentary.

And I was feeling the effects – a constant pain in my neck and

shoulder, low energy, and honestly, the more I sat, the more I just

wanted to stay that way. Yikes…time for a shake-up!

I’m a believer in the big impact of small changes. Small things, done

consistently over time can lead to sustainable, positive improvements

and a happier life. I also embrace a holistic view of health and well-

being. Mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing are deeply

interconnected and have different dimensions. Improving one

aspect of wellbeing can also benefit other areas; the key is finding a

balance and making healthy choices.

Page 7

Photo from Pixabay

Continued on Page 6

2

Quarterly Update Spring 2017

inspired workplace Fresh thinking on creating a better work environment

…for champions, by champions

Inspiring BETTER WORKPLACES ideas in action for healthier work environments

CHA

Workplace wellbeing relates to all aspects of your work life from the health

and safety of your physical and psychological environment to work life

balance, to opportunities for professional growth and development.

Essentially it is how you feel about your work and your workplace

environment.

In this edition, we’re

encouraging you and your

team to take your break to

focus on improving mental

and physical health at work.

Taking a break throughout

your workday has many

proven benefits including a

chance to refocus and

unwind. Even when you are

at your busiest, a short

break can make a big

difference to your health!

The following ideas and

many more can be found

at Workplace Strategies for

Mental Health – Take Your

Break.

Post a positive message - put up a whiteboard to encourage

team members to write positive comments and messages of

thanks on the board daily.

Stretch at your desk - Paying attention to our energy levels at

work is important because it impacts our ability to stay

focused, productive and positive.

Mail Walk - Take a break during your workday to personally

deliver interoffice mail to co-workers by walking or wheeling.

This gives you the double benefit of some face-to-face time

with people you might not see every day and an energizing

break in your workday.

Take a walk in nature – leave your tunes behind for a

change and listen to the birdsong, wind, children laughing…

Break Buddies - Some of us need a gentle (or not so gentle)

push to get away from our desks for regular breaks. Work

with a buddy or partner in your office to be accountable for

each other's breaks throughout the week.

To share your team’s inspiring ideas in action

contact Healthy Workplace at

healthyworkplace@saskatoonhelathregion.ca

or call Donna at 655-6228.

Healthy Break Ideas

3

Quarterly Update Spring 2017

Healthy Sleep

“I learned the hard way the value of sleep. Two

and a half years ago, I fainted from exhaustion,

and I hit my head on my desk.”

- Arianna Huffington at TEDWomen in

2010.

A good night’s sleep isn’t just a “nice to have”

experience. It is a main ingredient in good health,

effective functioning and safety. The result of poor

sleep can include impaired performance, decreased

productivity, emotional problems, weight gain,

increased mistakes and accidents.

Suggestions to help ensure a more restful sleep:

- Keep regular hours. Keep a schedule of the same

bedtime and wake time even on weekends

- Exercise regularly. Aim for 30 minutes of physical

activity most days of the week.

- Develop a bedtime ritual. Make the transition from

wakefulness to sleep by doing the same things

each night before going to bed. For example,

take a bath, drink a mug of hot milk or chamomile

tea, or take the dog for a short walk.

- Create a restful sleep environment. Sleep in a cool,

quiet, dark room on a comfortable mattress.

* Sleep problems can sometimes be associated with

physical or mental conditions, or with certain

medications. Consider visiting your doctor for a check-

up as a sensible first step.

Source: Shepell workhealthlife

Fall Asleep Faster

Luc Beaudoin, a professor at Simon Fraser University

suggests using the “cognitive shuffle” to help you fall

asleep faster. The idea is to redirect your focus away

from stressful thoughts that could be keeping you

awake.

To do the shuffle:

1. As you are lying in bed, imagine a word that

doesn’t repeat any letters (e.g. bird).

2. Think up lists of words that start with each

letter of the root word you chose.

Doing this technique keeps your brain busy and may

help shuffle your thoughts to sleep. People in a test

study often started nodding off before finishing the first

letter in their word!

Source: CBC News

Additional Resources:

Strategies for Night Shift Workers

Insomnia in Adults and Children - ebook

TED TALK: Arianna Huffington: How to succeed? Get more sleep.

In this short talk, Arianna Huffington shares a small idea that can awaken much bigger

ones: the power of a good night's sleep. Instead of bragging about our sleep deficits,

she urges us to shut our eyes and see the big picture: we can sleep our way to

increased productivity and happiness — and smarter decision-making.

B-I-R-D

…ball, bat, big,

banana, buffalo...

4

Quarterly Update Spring 2017

Healthiest You Resources Your Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP) is a support service that can

help you take the first step towards change. Check out what’s available to you

and your eligible dependents through your EFAP today!

Professional Counselling The heart of the Employee and Family Assistance

Program (EFAP) is the professional counselling service.

Caring professionals are dedicated to supporting you

through the issues that may be impacting your life.

Counselling services are delivered in a number of

ways to make it as easy as possible for you to connect

with the program to help resolve your issue. During

your first call, you’ll discuss learning preferences, work

schedules and other lifestyle issues in order to create a

plan of action that will work best for you.

EFAP can help with the following issues and concerns:

Relationship

Problems

Life Stages

Family Issues

Communication

Work

Relationships

Workplace Stress

Bullying

Harassment

Abuse

Depression

Addiction

Grief

Anger Issues

Parenting Advice

Conflict Resolution

Personal Growth

Stress & Coping

Techniques

Conflicts

Personal Resiliency

Work/Life Balance

Work Performance

Anxiety

Smoking Cessation

Coping with Illness or

Injury

And More

Microsite now live…. learn more.

To get started with Shepell’s Professional Counselling Services, call 1-844-336-3136 or browse

through their available services online at workhealthlife.com.

5

Quarterly Update Spring 2017

Kindness – the gift that keeps on giving

The science is overwhelming that practicing kindness and its cousins - gratitude, and compassion - offers a

wide assortment of benefits to the giver, the receiver, and often, anyone who is witness to such acts.

KINDNESS IS CONTAGIOUS

The positive effects of kindness are

experienced in the brain of

everyone who witnessed the act,

improving their mood and making

them significantly more likely to

“pay it forward.” This means one

good deed in a crowded area can

create a domino effect and

improve the day of dozens of

people!

Source: www.randomactsofkindness.org

Some Cool Resources:

10 Things Science Says Will Make You Happy – downloadable poster

The Science of Kindness – short video (2 min.) explains how every act of kindness is a healthy one!

Kindness Boomerang – “”One Day” – watch acts of kindness passed from one individual to the next and back

***Bright Idea*** – share one of these resources at your next huddle or staff meeting. Have a discussion about ways to practice

kindness at work.

"Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a

ripple with no logical end." -Scott Adams

Kindness Health Facts

Witnessing acts of kindness produces oxytocin, sometimes

referred to as the ‘love hormone’ which aids in lowering blood

pressure and improving overall heart-health. Oxytocin also

increases self-esteem and optimism.

A 2010 Harvard Business School survey of happiness in 136

countries found that people who are altruistic, such as with

charitable donations were happiest overall.

Engaging in acts of kindness produces endorphins, the brain’s

natural painkiller.

Like most medical antidepressants, kindness stimulates the

production of serotonin. This feel-good chemical heals your

wounds, calms you down, and makes you happy.

Perpetually kind people have 23% less cortisol (the stress

hormone) and age slower than the average population.

Source: https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/facts-about-kindness

6

Quarterly Update Spring 2017

Continued from page 1…

With this in mind, I’ve made a number of small

changes, and they are starting to add up! I was

gifted with a Fitbit recently which has helped to

remind me to get up at least once an hour and

go for a quick walk, outside if possible. I use a

washroom on a different floor to clock in a few

more steps and get away from my chair. Most

days I go for a walk at lunchtime – if it’s raining,

I try to run over to City Hospital and climb a few

stairs. I’m adding in some other things as well –

packing a lunch, drinking more water, regular

yoga, using my massage benefits. I’m feeling

better, have more energy and I’m more

positive too!

So where do the robins come in? I see them

everywhere now as the weather gets warmer

and I’m outside walking more each day. They

remind me of the interconnected nature of all

things, how good it is to move, to be mindful

and appreciative of the moment, and to be

grateful for things such as the budding trees

and beautiful walking paths to explore.

small steps…

BIG changes

Holistic Approach to Wellbeing

Wellness is an active, lifelong process of becoming aware of

our choices and making decisions that will help us to live a

more balanced and fulfilling life.

Many factors have a bearing on how an individual

perceives or experiences their own state of health and well-

being. Our sense of wellbeing at work is affected by each

of these factors, and each of these factors is affected by

our work environment and work relationships.

https://www.samhsa.gov

Interested in stories about creating positive and lasting change? Check out Possibility of

Change, a community blog which publishes stories from people of all ages and backgrounds

from across the globe.

7

Quarterly Update Spring 2017

In motion News

As part of the in motion Healthy Workplace Evaluation (HWE)

free learning sessions were offered at each of the six (6)

participating worksites. All individuals who participated in the

first part of the HWE were invited to attend one of the Healthy

Workplace Learning Sessions. Each Learning Session was

facilitated by a qualified coach who worked with participants to

identify challenges that hinder/stop participation in healthy

behaviours as well as identify what is working and other

solutions to overcome the challenges.

Multiple holistic actions were identified to help promote a

healthy workplace culture within SHR. The summary of

participant feedback from the Learning Sessions suggested that

supporting champions throughout SHR who are helping to

transform the workplace experience by coordinating and

conducting training sessions and advocating for healthy

workspaces is one way to start. Click here to read some of the

other ideas your colleagues came up with during the Learning

Sessions to promote a healthy workplace.

Contact Cora Janzen to learn more about supporting physical

activity in the workplace and/or discuss the SHR in motion

Champions. cora.janzen@saskatoonhealthregion.ca; (306) 655-

4696

May 15-19 is Bike to Work Week!

Pull that bike out of winter

hibernation and tune it up for

spring!

The mission of Bike To Work YXE:

May 15 — 19 is to attract new

cyclists to commuting while

celebrating the efforts of those

who already use their bikes to get

to and from work and other

commitments. This is a great way

to stay active throughout the

year while being more

environmentally friendly.

Saskatoon has events planned all

week, including daily commuter

stations, BBQ and scavenger

hunts. If you’re not in Saskatoon,

you can participate by riding

your bike to work, or taking a

leisurely ride each evening.

For More Information Visit: https://biketoworksaskatoon.com/

“Meet the future; the future mode of transportation for this weary Western world. Now I’m not

gonna make a lot of extravagant claims for this little machine. Sure, it’ll change your whole life for

the better, but that’s all.” Bicycle salesman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969

Quarterly Update Spring 2016

WE WANT YOU! Are you enthusiastic?

Do you enjoy connecting with colleagues?

Are you a positive role model?

Do you want to be part of creating a Better Place to

Work?

Why not become a Healthy

Workplace Champion?

Join the Network! We are looking for champions in all areas of Saskatoon Health

Region. For more information and to register, visit us at

http://shrhealthyworkplace.ca/ or email

healthyworkplace@saskatoonhealthregion.ca.

This is a big place which makes

communication and connection

two very large challenges.

Champions are a key part of

reaching people where they are

and helping to keep us all in the

loop! The commitment is small, the

rewards are big.

Healthiest You Update is published quarterly.

If you would like help planning for a healthier workplace in your area, contact:

Donna Chalifoux, Healthy Workplace Consultant, or Mimi Lodoen, Healthy Workplace Educator

at healthyworkplace@saskatoonhealthregion.ca