How Organizations and Employees Can Start Focusing on Wellness
(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is brought to you by Cubii, the world’s first smart under-desk elliptical machine. After their successful Kickstarter launch, Cubii is now available on QVC and at BestBuy, in addition to their website. To learn more about Cubii, visit mycubii.com.)
An increasing number of companies are offering employee wellness programs. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 70 percent of U.S. employers offer wellness benefits (up from 58 percent in 2008). That’s because organizations understand that healthy employees perform better. In addition, the company realizes a return on their investment. A RAND Corporation study found that every $1 invested in wellness yields a return on investment (ROI) of $1.50.
But the reality is wellness programs can be hard for both the company and the individual. For organizations, it’s hard to find wellness resources that are budget friendly, ergonomically well made, and usable by a diverse group of people. For employees, it’s hard to incorporate wellness activities into our daily routine. We want to, but our plates are full. And unfortunately, when something must move down on our priority list, often it’s exercise. So, how can organizations and employees start focusing on wellness? The answer is one step at a time. Or in this case, one cycle at a time.
Focus on Wellness One Cycle at a Time
Last year, I introduced you to something that I’m using called Cubii. It’s a smart under-desk elliptical that’s portable, quiet, and ergonomic. Cubii allows users to keep moving throughout the work day.
Cubii is adjustable for all fitness levels and includes eight levels of resistance. Users can connect to the proprietary Cubii app to track distance, revolutions per minute (RPM), strides, and calories. Since I’ve started using Cubii, there have been a couple of updates that you should know about.
Employees could form teams to work out together and encourage each other. They could create a little healthy competition and sign up for challenges. I love their challenges! They recently had one motivating users to work off the hot dogs we ate during the July 4 holiday. The company could consider creating their own challenges and even give out some awards!
Users can track their progress because Cubii integrates with Fitbit. And they just announced their integration with Apple’s Healthkit. These app integrations were one of the reasons I think Cubiis could be perfect addition to a workplace wellness program.
Benchprep Uses Cubii to Help Employees Get Healthy
The Cubii leadership team shared with me the story of one of their clients, Benchprep, which subsidized Cubiis for their employees. The company found that employees love to track their progress and compete during the workday. One of Benchprep’s employees, Tyler, lost 19.9lbs in just 2 months after using Cubii.
Want to introduce a practical wellness solution? Cubii does offers bulk order pricing for organizations that want to consider subsidizing ellipticals for employees.
But I think it’s equally important to talk about science. We are constantly seeing contradictory claims about whether something is good for you. I was happy to hear that Cubii is ergonomically friendly. They’ve received a 2016 GOOD DESIGN Award from The Chicago Anthenaeum and approval from the Mayo Clinic’s NEAT program.
Developed by the Mayo Clinic, NEAT™ stands for the science of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. For the Mayo Clinic study, 30 office workers of varying age and body type were asked to use the Cubii for an extended period. The results found that the subjects’ energy expenditure increased by 84.5 percent after using Cubii from that of sitting. To give you a frame of reference, typically, when people go from sitting to using a standing desk, their energy expenditure only increases by about 16.7 percent. So, 84 percent is a big deal!
Start Small and Make Wellness a Habit
Sometimes the best way to develop a habit is to just do it. Of course, we need to act responsibly. Organizations want to spend their resources on things employees will like and use. That’s one of the reasons I like Cubii. You can start small with something that’s budget friendly and build a wellness program over time. Take one step cycle in the right direction.
To show you how easy it is to get started (and how much you’ll love Cubii), our friends at Cubii are going to raffle two Cubii units to HR Bartender readers. All you have to do is fill out the form on their website.
I’ve been using my Cubii for over a year and I love it. I will admit, it’s not the only thing I do to stay active, but I do feel it makes a difference. And when it comes to employee wellness, that’s what organizations and individuals need to do – make a difference.
The NEAT™ certified mark is a trademark of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research and used under license.
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