Work / Life Issues

Brokerage firm lends bikes to fitness-minded employees

09/11/2013

For years, managers at Heffernan Insurance Brokers have organized bike outings for employees who participate in team-building and fitness activities. Now, employees can borrow bicycles from their employer for exercise or running errands.

Real-life examples of simple, low-cost work/life efforts

05/13/2013

Studies show that work/life programs can help improve employee engagement and productivity. You may think effective strategies are expensive and require a big-business budget. Not true.

More than 70% of UHC staffers reap benefits of volunteerism

05/06/2013

UnitedHealthcare execs have an ulterior motive for encouraging their employees to volunteer in the community: It’s good for their health.

Teach the new, critical skill: Managing work/life demands

04/29/2013

There’s only so much an organization can do to help employees with their work/life balance. Some of it has to be up to them. Five simple steps:

Utility fights chronic disease with full-on wellness push

04/15/2013

In 2005, Georgia Power discovered that more than 53% of its 8,500 employees had or were at risk of developing a chronic health condition. Since then, the utility has enrolled thousands of employees in its “Southern LifeStyle” wellness program, helping workers slim down, eat healthier and cut their risk for diseases.

Sheetz opens wellness center for Pennsylvania employees

03/01/2013

Convenience store chain Sheetz has cut the ribbon at a new employee health and wellness center next to its distribution center in Claysburg, Pa. Its “Center for Shwellness” partners with Marathon Health to offer free health and wellness coaching for employees and their families.

Lilly diversity effort includes working parents

01/11/2013

At Eli Lilly and Co. in Indianapolis, a diverse workforce is one that includes working parents. Steve Fry, senior VP of HR and diversity, says, “Family-friendly work schedules and benefits are about having lower stress levels, maintaining better health and enabling a stronger focus when at work––all leading to enhanced engagement, increased innovation and ultimately better results.”

Cleveland financial firm pushes employees to live healthier

10/29/2012

Execs at Cleveland-based KeyBank figure there’s something to be said for keeping the same medical administrator on staff for more than a decade. In fact, they call it part of their “commitment to wellness.” The organization’s aim: to drive down medical costs by helping employees improve their health and become more involved in their own well-being.

‘Flex’ benefits business, not just employees

10/16/2012

Flex is becoming as coveted by businesses as it is by employees. Organizations, it seems, need as much flexibility when it comes to staffing as employees do when it comes to balancing work with personal commitments. Here are seven ways your organization can benefit as much as its employees do from offering time-and-place flexibility.

Family members work side by side at Illinois firm

07/30/2012

At Chicago-based PortionPac, plenty of siblings work side by side, and parents often have their adult children as colleagues. Management at the cleaning-fluids manufacturer makes sure those family members have plenty of time to spend with the ones who don’t work there.