Sustainability Committee Report Seminar on Work Place Wellness held on September 14, 2012 Dr. Shyam Pingle,

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1 Sustainability Committee Report Seminar on Work Place Wellness held on September 14, 2012 Workplace has a powerful effect on employee's health and it has acquired vast importance in fast moving corporate world today. Employers know that workers are looking for jobs that pay well, have good benefits, are interesting, and include excellent health and safety programs. So in today s competitive hiring market, it s become more important than ever for companies to enhance job satisfaction and ensure that workers enjoy being on the job. To discuss the various aspects of workplace wellness, the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, under the aegis of its Sustainability Committee has organized a Seminar on Workplace Wellness on September 14, Dr. Shyam Pingle, Occupational Health Specialist delivered the Keynote Address and presented an overview of the important factors which ensures the wellness at work place. He also conducted the session on Life Style Management: Key to Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases. Modern lifestyles have become quite stressful due to variety of factors and added to this the work place could also induce stress means it affects the individual in a corporate and corporate as a whole over a period of time. The highlight of his presentation was the human body is not evolving commensurate with the evolving of lifestyle, namely, the modern fast pace of lifestyle. He covered risk factors, Stress, nutrition facts, exercise tips, Work life balance and workplace strategies in his address. According to him India is undergoing an epidemiological transition. The chronic diseases are now the leading cause of death. For executives in urban areas, heart disease is the leading cause of

2 death in men and women. High risks for today s executives are heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, cancer, osteoporosis and stress. At least 80% of premature deaths are due to chronic diseases which can be prevented by life style modifications. He suggested few tips for remaining healthy i.e. regular walking for one hour, drinking adequate quantity of water, 6-7 hrs of good sleep every day and exposure to sunlight. He concluded his presentation with a note Life Style Management aims at looking into oneself and Moderation is the basic concept. Br. E.V. Gireesh, Trainer and Counselor from Brahma Kumari s Business & Industries Wing spoke about Stress at Work Place which needs to be understood in its proper perspective and in a comprehensive manner. In simple terms avoidance of stress at work place include physical, mental and psychological well being. His address was interactive shared many short stories and stressed the need to keep oneself cheerful throughout the day. According to him, smile is the best way to keep away stress. He also spoke about the illeffects of smoking and obesity. Mr. Gireesh also spoke about Spirituality and Corporate Executives. He explained how to control the anger and take things on positive note. He has suggested exercises for mental relaxation and fitness, and proper sleep to remain cheerful.. He advocated the adoption of balanced diet and a positive outlook in life which would help in managing even extremely stressful situations. He mentioned that in current scenario, tension is built up from childhood itself. A particular stressful situation at work place could produce different reactions in a given group of people. He mentioned that the behavioural pattern of the member in

3 a group should be studied and remedial actions like counseling could be attempted to develop positive outlook. The emphasis was on self management using concepts and traits like listening, tolerance, flexibility and availability. The nuances of these terms were explained and the importance of inner organization as distinct from the outer organization was stressed. While all corporate would be spending time and energy in the work organization analogous effort is needed for inner organization. This would be helpful in developing leadership traits and for working in a team. He explained the essential powers to be developed, namely, power to withdraw, power to co-operate, power to judge, power to adjust, power to tolerate and power to discriminate. Dr. (Mrs.) Anjali Anil Godse, Medical Officer of BARC talked about Medical Check Up - Business Gimmick or Necessity. She explained the meaning of the term health as the State of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity. She explained about the seven major ingredients for good health which are exercises, balanced diet, nutrition, weight control, no smoking, alcohol in moderation (abstinence is ideal), avoidance of injury and disease prevention. She explained various types of medical examination and the purposes for which they are carried out. Medical examination could be for arriving at proper diagnosis, for fulfilling statutory requirements under the relevant Work Place Act and for determination of age, fitness etc. Dr. Godse explained in detail why and when medical check-up is required as: to warn about risks, to diagnose disease early and to prevent/ postpone complications, to objectively determine the efficacy of treatment, before

4 traveling abroad, to determine fitness for work and for purpose of insurance. She also explained about the types of medical examinations and screening. She stressed the need for carrying out tailor made medical check-ups instead of conducting full body check-up. Mr. Sandeep Mukherkee, Assistant Vice President, Environmental Management Centre addressed the participants on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). IAQ affects health if there are acute and chronic exposures. In the case of IAQ there is low probability but very high exposure and consequence is quite bad itself. Thus resulting into a risk that is far higher than the risk of probably getting killed in a car crash. He has mentioned about the sources of IAQ Pollutants as Sources External to the Building (nearby factory, vehicles, plants plants generate spores), Equipment (HVAC, photocopier toner), Human Activities (smoking, incense sticks, dusting), Building Components and Furnishings (carpets, draperies, wood polish, alcohol based cleaning agent etc.), Pet animals (animal dander, ticks/mites). He also talked about Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) and mentioned that the Condition of a building in which more than 20% of the occupants are suffering from adverse health effects but with no clinically diagnosable disease present. It is a condition of a building; not of the occupants and It takes place due to long term exposure to low levels of pollutants. Dr. Apla A. Shah, Practitioner, spoke on Optimal Nutrition and Exercises. She started by explaining the term nutrition and discussed the seven major food groups which are carbohydrates, starch, minerals, fat, Vitamins, protein and

5 water. Explaining the food pyramid she recommended the typical eating pattern and diet plan for executives. Explaining the ill effects of crash diets she briefed the importance of proteins and fibers. Providing the details of must eat food for corporate executives, she cleared some myths about the food. According to her, one should increase the intake of seven items such as: sprouts, vegetable, fruits, whole grains, water, butter milk, curd, few dry fruits, (including ginger, turmeric, green chilies) and reduce the intake of seven items such as : sugar, salt, white flour, butter, ghee & oil, coffee and tea, cold drinks. Dr. Shah mentioned about the miracles of exercises in reducing High Blood pressure and Bad Cholesterol (LDL), increasing Low blood pressure and Good Cholesterol (HDL). She also mentioned about the types of exercises such as walking, breathing, yogic postures, exercise of thought and dancing. At the end of the session Dr. Shah taught the participants how to do meditation and also conducted few exercises session for the benefits of the participants. Ms. Usha Maheshwari, Joint Director, Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposed a hearty Vote of thanks to the speakers, participants and their organizations for nominating them to the seminar. The seminar generated a lot of relevant discussions about the workplace wellness and proper lifestyle for corporate executives.