Solution Leader Ezine August 1, 2004




	August 1, 2004 A free Ezine sent to you monthly by Glen Rediehs, Ph.D.: Personal Coach, Corporate Coach, Organization Development Consultant Web site: www.SolutionLeader.com E-mail: Glen@SolutionLeader.com Solution Leader Ezine will give you solutions for your personal life and the people side of your business. Every issue is filled with practical strategies plus a little humor. If you received this Solution Leader Ezine from someone else and would like your own free subscription, click on www.SolutionLeader.com. Subscribe -- it's free! Try it! TO UNSUBSCRIBE To unsubscribe from this Ezine, just click reply to this email, place Unsubscribe on the subject line and your email address will be removed. Please note that this procedure helps us to determine the e-mail address that you used to subscribe to Solution Leader Ezine. That's the only way we will recognize that it is you. Thank you. IN THIS ISSUE: How to Simplify Your Life A Little Humor Thought for the Day Presenteeism: How Much Is It Costing Your Company? HOW TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE Do you often feel overwhelmed? Is your appointment book or calendar running your life? Do you have more debt than you are comfortable with? Do your job and household chores leave you exhausted. It's easy to let life get too complicated. Advertisers tell us we must have the latest, the biggest, and the best. Our culture teaches us to admire the super-busy person. If you are overscheduled and constantly on the go, you must be important! Do you sometimes yearn to simplify your life? Today can be the first day of that process for you. Here's how. What Really Matters To You? The basic principle: Your lifestyle should enhance your life rather than spending your life enhancing your lifestyle. Start by identifying what really matters to you. What gives you joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment? Learning new ideas? Spending time with your family? Adventure and travel? Accumulating wealth? Being engaged in work you love? Playing with children? Enjoying nature and the outdoors? What matters to you? Write these things down. What Are Your Dominant Values? Next, examine your dominant values. What do you stand for? What guides your choices in life? Honesty? Competence? Friendship? Security? Pleasure? Religious faith? Integrity? What values mean the most to you? Write them down. What To Keep, What To Dump The point of this is to see if your lifestyle is enhancing your life (what matters to you and what you value) or if you are spending your life in the service of your lifestyle (what advertisers and culture tell you to buy and do). You can check this out by taking two pieces of paper. Title one "Enhances My Life." Title the other "Serves My Lifestyle." Think through three categories: my stuff, my activities, and my friends/social contacts. When you think through your stuff, consider your car, your house or apartment, each of your furnishings, your appliances, your clothes, your communications and entertainment equipment, and all the rest of your things. Judge each item - whether it enhances your life (is consistent with what matters to you and what you value) or whether it simply serves your lifestyle (what advertisers and culture say you should have). As you judge each item, list it on the appropriate sheet. Do the same process with all your activities and with all your friends/social contacts. Start Simplifying Your Life Now you can simplify your life. Look at the sheet titled "Serves My Lifestyle." Notice all the things, activities and friends/social contacts that you decided mostly serve your life style instead of enhancing your life. Decide today which things you will sell or give away, which activities you will quit, and which friends/social contacts don't support what's important to you. Look at the sheet titled "Enhances My Life." Which things will you keep? Which activities will you do more of? Which select friends/social contacts will you spend more time with? Complexity in life is likely to separate you from the things that are really important to you. Simplicity will help you to focus on what matters. Ideas From People Who Have Simplified Their Lives Your Stuff Unclutter and organize your home and office. If you haven't used something in six months (except for seasonal items and financial records) - trash it or give it away. Carry the smallest wallet or purse possible. Cancel subscriptions to magazines and newspapers that you don't read. Make communication devices serve your needs. Turn off your cell phone, pager, etc. and protect personal time. Let voice mail or e-mail collect communications until you are ready for them. Your Activities Quit organizations that don't add to what you want out of life. Only watch select television programs. Otherwise, leave the television off. Outsource, delegate and automate all the errands and chores that you possibly can. Don't try to do it all. Ask for help. Get a virtual assistant. Shop by phone or on the internet. Say "No" to requests that seem unnecessary or stressful. Say "Yes" to what brings you satisfaction and fulfillment - not just to please others. Schedule at least 10 - 15 minutes that are sacred and just for you. Reflect or meditate. Luxuriate in the peace and quiet. Schedule time that is just for you and your children or just for you and your spouse or partner. Take a moment each day to be grateful. Make a list of all your activities and personal projects, in order of priority, top to bottom. Draw a line through the middle of the list. Quit everything you can below that line. People Nurture relationships that support you. Identify a handful of people and intentionally deepen those friendships. Avoid people who drain your energy. Other Ideas Save time by living near your work or working near your home. Reduce or pay off debt that creates stress in your life. Track your expenses. Spend money on what enhances your life. Find work that you love, work that uses your talents and engages you fully. Eat less. Start Now! Simplicity is not about poverty or deprivation. It is about maximizing what enhances your life and minimizing the rest. Free yourself for the essentials. Take the first step today and patiently persist until a simpler life is your new way of life! ©2004 Glen Rediehs, Ph.D. *What's the next step in your life? In your business?* What do you want to achieve? What do you want to change? Coaching will help you reach your goals! Let's work on your future together. You can make it happen! PLEASE CALL ME at 704-788-9184 or Email me at Glen@SolutionLeader.com A Little Humor The Confession Box A drunken man staggers in to a Catholic church and sits down in a confession box and says nothing. The bewildered priest coughs to attract his attention, but still the man says nothing. The priest then knocks on the wall three times in a final attempt to get the man to speak. Finally, the drunk replies, "No use knocking, there's no paper in this one either." _______________ Small Town Cops A police officer in a small town stopped a motorist who was speeding down Main Street. "But officer," the man began, "I can explain." "Quiet!" snapped the officer. "I'm going to let you spend the night in jail until the chief gets back." "But, officer, I just wanted to say," "And I said be quiet! You're going to jail!" A few hours later the officer looked in on his prisoner and said, "Lucky for you, the chief's at his daughter's wedding. He'll be in a good mood when he gets back." "Don't count on it," answered the guy in the cell. "I'm the groom." _______________ Cosmetics and Age John's wife bought a new line of expensive cosmetics guaranteed to make her look years younger. After a lengthy sitting before the mirror applying the "miracle" products she asked, "Darling, honestly what age would you say I am?" Looking her over carefully, John replied, "Judging from your skin, twenty; your hair, eighteen; and your figure, twenty-five." "Oh, you flatterer!" she gushed. "Wait a minute!" John interrupted. "I haven't added them up yet." Thought for the Day God's Blessings The man whispered "God, speak to me" And a meadowlark sang. But the man did not hear. So the man yelled "God speak to me!" And the thunder rolled across the sky. But the man did not listen. The man looked around and said "God let me see you" And a star shone brightly. But the man did not notice. And the man shouted "God show me a miracle" And a life was born. But the man did not know. So, the man cried out in despair. "Touch me God and let me know that you are here!" Whereupon God reached down and touched the man. But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on. The message of the story: Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way you expect. (Author unknown) PRESENTEEISM: HOW MUCH IS IT COSTING YOUR COMPANY? Employees who come to work despite being sick, injured or distracted by personal problems may hurt your bottom line more than if they just stayed home. People who put in excess overtime to demonstrate their high level of commitment and loyalty may be adding more to your health care costs than what you gain from their extra effort. A new word, presenteeism, has been coined for an old issue - employees who show up for work ill, preoccupied with non-work concerns, or focused on increasing job security by logging excessive hours at work. The problem with such behavior is that it is likely to cost your company more than if the employees had stayed home or worked regular hours. Presenteeism results in reduced productivity and the slow erosion of employees' health and well-being. This will cost your organization - now and in the future. Businesses have long sought to control the cost of absenteeism and disability. Recent research has indicated an expensive culprit that has always been there - but has not been fully recognized - presenteeism. What Does Presenteeism Cost? The Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies studied 375,000 employees over three years. This research showed that presenteeism costs exceed the costs of absenteeism and medical and disability benefits. Dr. Wayne Burton, senior vice president of BankOne, concluded that presenteeism accounted for 75% of that company's total direct and indirect costs for health care, absenteeism, short-term disability, long-term disability and presenteeism combined. AdvancePCS, a health care consultant firm, has estimated the cost of presenteeism at $250 billion per year. $180 billion of that is attributable to reduced productivity caused by five problems: headache/pain, cold/flu, fatigue/depression, digestive problems and arthritis. In addition to the financial cost to business, presenteeism often contributes to high levels of stress, unhappiness, depression, and other undesirable consequences for employees. What Causes Presenteeism? Organizational causes Perfect attendance is traditionally admired by managers and has long been viewed as a measure of an employee's commitment and loyalty. Many individuals work in organizations with a "long hours" culture. Downsizing, mergers, and other organizational changes create perceived threat and a survival mentality among employees. Being seen working excessive hours gives some employees a sense of increased job security. Unsupportive supervision, increased workloads, rigid hierarchal organizations and other organizational factors increase the prevalence of presenteeism. Medical causes A wide range of medical problems are reported by those who show up for work when they are ill. These include: migraine headache, colds or flu, depression, digestive problems, arthritis, allergies, menstrual-related problems, asthma, diabetes, obesity, injuries, and others. Psychosocial causes Elder care, child care, financial troubles, addiction, divorce, illness in the family, relationship issues, and other factors distract employees. What Can You Do About Presenteeism? The goal is to help employees be as productive as possible. To be successful, you must address the health, psychological and personal issues that distract employees and reduce their productivity. This suggests an integrated approach that provides services for acute and chronic medical problems, wellness and prevention, and personal, family, financial or legal problems. Here are some suggestions you may find helpful: Expand your cost control focus beyond absenteeism and disability to include presenteeism. Broaden your view of health care costs beyond the cost of patient care. Foster an organizational culture that values work-life balance. Honor sick leave and vacation time provisions. Maintain regular work hours and respect off-hours privacy of your employees as much as possible. Offer access to adequate health care and health promotion programs. Provide an employee assistance program to help your people with personal, non-workplace problems. Keep your workforce well-informed of the benefits you are providing. Educate workers about good health practices. If you are uncertain how much of a factor presenteeism is in your organization, hire a consultant that specializes in this area and find out. Experts suggest that presenteeism is a bigger and more costly issue than absenteeism and disability. For the sake of your employees, as well as your organization's profitability, check it out. ©2004 Glen Rediehs What is the best example of managing presenteeism that you know about? How has that company managed to accomplish a high level of workforce health and productivity? Send your stories, quotes, and thoughts. As space permits, I will try to publish them. Send them to Glen@SolutionLeader.com. *What's the next step in your life? In your business?* What do you want to achieve? What do you want to change? Coaching will help you reach your goals! Let's work on your future together. You can make it happen! PLEASE CALL ME at 704-788-9184 or Email me at Glen@SolutionLeader.com. FORWARD THIS EZINE Please forward this Ezine to anyone you think might enjoy it! It's free! GET YOUR OWN SUBSCRIPTION If you received this Solution Leader Ezine from someone else and would like your own free subscription, click on www.SolutionLeader.com. Subscribe -- it's free! Try it! TO UNSUBSCRIBE To unsubscribe from this Ezine, just click reply to this email, place Unsubscribe on the subject line and your email address will be removed. Please note that this procedure helps us to determine the e-mail address that you used to subscribe to Solution Leader Ezine. That's the only way we will recognize that it is you. Thank you. PRIVACY POLICY AND DISCLAIMER Click here for Privacy Policy and Disclaimer COPYRIGHT You may share, replicate or forward this Ezine or sections of it as long as the attribution, copyright notice and contact information are included. PAST ISSUES Past issues of the Solution Leader Ezine are available at my web site: www.SolutionLeader.com. CONTACT ME Contact me at Glen@SolutionLeader.com. Got a suggestion for a future topic? Thoughts about the Solution Leader Ezine? Want to submit an article? Other questions or comments? I'd love to hear from you. CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE Find out more about me and my services at: www.SolutionLeader.com. ©2004 Glen Rediehs. All rights reserved.