Using Surveys In The Workplace
It doesn’t matter if you have hundred of thousands of employees, or just three, employee surveys are still necessary to ensure a smooth running organization. However, conducting surveys is more than just handing out forms and getting your employees to answer. To ensure the accuracy of survey data, you, as an employer must observe proper guidelines.
First, be clear about the goals of the employee surveys. Are the surveys to be utilized as gauges for salary increase or for amendments of company policies? It is also important to explain these objectives to the employees. It is advisable to discuss with them the rationale behind the need for a survey and why is it necessary. Another important aspect to discuss is how they will be informed of survey results. These people would want to see results. Second, contact an impartial third-party organization to facilitate and conduct the survey. This will assure employees that their answers and results will not be tampered with to the advantage of the management. Third, be clear about the time constraints. Conduct the survey within a specific time frame so that the process would be more efficient and the results would be achieved as quickly as possible. Fourth, emphasize the value of survey response. Aim for a hundred percent response rate to ensure that all employees have had their say. This will pave the way for a democratic compromise between you as the employer, and the employees. Let your employees in on discussions about these matters and you can be almost be assured of optimum survey results.
However, employee surveys are much more effective if there is a guarantee from the management. Guarantee your employees that your actions and the changes in the company will be based on the survey results. Inform them how you intend to act on these results. It is a good idea to suggest that the final move regarding the survey results would be based upon employer-employee compromise. Provide the means to conduct the survey. It is important that the means you choose should be based on the skills of your employees. An online survey program can process data faster but if most of your employees don’t know how to use computers or aren’t comfortable using one, a paper questionnaire survey is your best bet. In any survey, it is important to assure your subjects that their anonymity will be protected. Confidentiality of personal information is important to encourage employees to be honest in answering surveys.
Lastly, remind your employees that the employee surveys are done for the protection of their rights within the company. It is a good idea to remind them during the course of data collection about survey goals. Publish survey results to encourage your employees to participate in discussions of company plans.
Make Your Goal Living the Simple Life
A recent article in the New York Times “the Island where People Forget to Die” by Dan Buettner really got my attention. I am a registered dietitian and yes it is a good goal to lose weight if you need to, and to lower your cholesterol, blood sugar and triglycerides if you are on medications for these conditions. I suggest a full examination not of your body, or weight but your total lifestyle. Coincidentally I am writing this article during the recent “Franken storm”. My “normal lifestyle” has changed to a much simpler one. This situation has given me reason to pause.
This article is a must read. It identifies a man in his mid-60’s diagnosed with lung cancer and given nine months to live. He chooses to return to his ancestral roots in Ikaria Greece. What occurred was astonishing. He adopted the local ways of living and his strength started returning. The years passed and his health continued to improve. Today, at 97 years old, three decades later he is cancer-free! He never received chemo therapy, took drugs or sought therapy of any sort.
So what happens on this island that improved this man’s health? Geographically the air and water have been identified as being responsible for extending life. There have been other communities with centenarians. There are similarities within all these communities that can be helpful for all of us to heed.
The residents of this island choose to have a simple life. Their day starts late morning with a breakfast of goat’s milk, wine, sage tea or coffee with bread and honey. Lunch includes beans, potatoes, greens and whatever home grown seasonal vegetables are available. Often dinner is small with bread and honey. Meals and social times extend late into the evening sharing stories, wine and or teas. The Ikarians farm their own vegetables, raise their own animals, and enjoy drinks made from locally grown herbs. Their focus is not on monetary success, multitasking and watching the clock; instead they choose to enjoy an enormous sense of community and time for daily naps.
As an RD I counsel patients and together we create goals. My initial assessment includes information for genetics, lab values, as well as diet and exercise habits. Very often it comes to light that my patients are under stress or don’t have a social network, in addition to other weight and health issues. The Ikarians don’t seem to have these stressors and they certainly seem to enjoy socializing with a close community of friends. Could these differences make so much difference with health? Research has indicated that dementia, cardiovascular disease in addition to cancer have been delayed or totally avoided.
The Times article has brought more of my attention to the importance of “way of life”. So let’s examine this way of life that seems to be so beneficial. Our cultural ways of multitasking, rushing and watching the clock are not included in Ikarian residents thought processes. Focus on taking naps, enjoying the social aspect of eating and having a lifestyle that naturally includes being active as opposed to gym time seem to reap impressive health advantages. Everyday life includes daily walking, gardening, and heavy manual labor. Another topic that I found extremely relevant was not particularly what these residents eat but what they do not eat such as sugar and soda. Their diets are based on the Mediterrean diet, a plant based format for Ikarians consisting of goats milk, wine, teas, coffee, whole grains, honey, beans, and home grown vegetables. The Mediterrean diet emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. This diet includes moderate amounts of alcohol but limited dairy and meat products.
Low intake of saturated fat is associated with lower risk of heart disease and olive oil has been found to reduce bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. Tryptophan found in nuts, seeds, legumes, soybeans and other soy products, tuna, shellfish and turkey is one of ten essential amino acids. The body uses tryptophan to synthesize serotonin which is helpful in regulating appetite, as well as elevating moods and increasing the ability to enjoy beneficial sleep. Coffee, also included in Ikarian diets, has been controversial but of late research credits it with lower rates of diabetes, and heart disease. Basically to summarize, the additional benefits of the Ikarian diet include fewer pesticides, more foods in their natural form and choices that are loaded with beneficial vitamins and minerals. There is no mention of packaged and processed foods or beverages.
This wonderful article really got my attention. It ended by the cancer victim showing no further signs of cancer, and returning to the US to ask his doctors if they could explain what happened. When the interviewer asked “What happened?”this former cancer victim replied “My doctors were all dead.”
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