How High Job Strain And Low Job Control Essay

In the United States, there has been a substantial increase in obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in every American adult is now considered obese. Obese is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. Obesity can contribute to diabetes, heart disease, stroke or certain kinds of cancer. What effect does obesity have in the workplace and how can we fight it?

Obesity has both direct and indirect effects. Direct effects we will explore are lost time due to increased use of sick days and restrictive work duties. A few of the indirect costs are the cost of medication for diseases directly related to obesity, such as but not limited to, Diabetes, High

Obesity continues as a deadly epidemic that involves people that continually overeat in which causes weight gain that has affected all people around the world. During the last few decade obesity has doubled and threatened people's health in adverse habits of overeating. With the progress of technology, fewer people do manual labor; they work longer hours sitting down and eating too much of unhealthy foods. How obesity affects our community health and economic cost, taking the steps, to prevent obesity, and then the sociology functionalism theory relates to the problem of obesity in the United States and the world.

Obesity has caused our nation an abundant loss in productivity in businesses due to mental or physical issues causing an obstacle to efficiency while active in the work place. The total loss production time is at 11.7 billion dollars per year. According to Shell Oil Company, 11.2 million dollars were lost because of absenteeism related to obesity. Annual productivity loss is between 3.38 and 6.38 billion dollars. When obese, there is a major increase in disability payments and disability insurance premium costs. This produces higher fiscal costs to the federal government. Obesity alone charges our country and businesses billions and billions of dollars each year just from being absent from work or being present, yet not productive

A woman’s figure and weight can be a major cause of stress. Society already places such strong pressure on women to have a certain body type that women do not need additional pressures about watching what they eat. The idea of women’s food intake being controlled by other people is a prominent theme in

When a business hires an employee they are looking for a person to do a job to the best of their ability and poor health could hinder those efforts. When a person is inattentive and lackadaisical during a work day they are wasting that companies time. Employers should be encouraged to set into place requirements for exercise and healthy eating of all their employees to ensure the utmost productivity of that company. Companies with cafeterias could make sure that only or mostly heathy food is served for breakfasts or lunches. They could also have exercise classes available for employees at lunch time, if they have the space. Or they could try to arrange a discount deal for employees at a nearby gym. This way they would be encouraging employees to be healthy and also helping to keep the business

Another study has shown workers who held positions where they lacked job control, and high demanding low reward positions were more likely to gain weight, and live in an unhealthy body weight, including unhealthy body mass index, and waist circumference. The researchers concluded that the effects of the adult workers have a tremendous impact on the children in the household and that addressing income gap could show an increase in the health of the low-income workers.

With new technological advancements and the changing of times, people have become increasingly sedentary in their daily lives (“Pounding Away”). With all of our cars and motorized vehicles, few people are forced into strenuous physical activities that would burn the calories needed for a healthy lifestyle. With the creation of robots and mechanized devices to make working more efficient and cheapen labor costs, less than 20% of jobs in the private sector now require moderate physical activity (“Obesity in America”). What had once required for you to get up and walk to the other side of the room can now be done by writing an email or picking up a phone. This decrease in activity in the workplace would be fine if it were counterbalanced by steady leisure exercise. Sadly, many people in their leisure time do not exercise. What do they do instead? The average American spends “55% of his waking hours sitting down” (“Obesity in America”), whether it’s in front of a TV or a computer. Another outcome of the modern age is the change in eating habits. Serving sizes have steadily increased and many fast food places now offer an option to super-size their meals, e.g. McDonald’s, for just a few cents

Obesity is one of the biggest problems many Americans face today. America is one of the richest nations in the world, but also becoming one of the heaviest (some might disagree). The more money we Americans make, the busier we are, the less likely we are to find time to exercise and take care of our bodies. We fail to understand that exercising is as crucial to an individual’s health, as working is to making money. The more we work, the less time we have to stay fit or get in shape. Instead of working out, many Americans sit in front of the computer, go out to eat, or simply play video games for hours on the television. Technology is advancing, causing Americans to come up with more excuses not exercise.

Work related stress has been emerging as one of the main causes of adverse symptoms of mental health in today’s industrial societies. The direct result of excessive pressures and/or demands placed on individuals at work, work-related stress has caused some people to develop symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other adverse mental health effects. While it might be possible that other co-factors contribute to the development of anxiety and depression in some population groups, evidence suggests that pressure from works is more likely to trigger adverse reactions in some people. In fact, positive correlations have been established between symptoms of work stress and mental health problems. That is, it is not uncommon to witness loss of

Statistical information confirms: obesity and overweight have already turned into an issue of national concern. In 2002, “a National Survey conducted by American Sports Data revealed that 61% of adults in the U.S. felt that they were overweight, 19% admitting that they were ‘considerably’ overweight” (American Sports Data). The major causes of obesity, overweight, and similar nutritional problems included genetics, population trends, hurried lifestyles, high-carbohydrate diets, less demanding workplaces, smoking cessation, and social class aspects (American Sports Data). That hurried lifestyles and a less demanding workplace contribute in the development of obesity trends is clear. But even more importantly, because the number of those who are overweight or obese exceeds one half of the American population, the government must control our diets. The information about the costs of obesity and related diseases is even more compelling.

Wellness in the workplace needs to be taken seriously by all employers, and employees. There has been evidence that making sure employees eat healthier leads to lower call out rates and more savings on health plans. In an article in Employee Benefits magazine it states that “Wellness management does not need to be complicated, or costly. A few simple steps could help to mitigate long-term problems, such as introducing early intervention activities that red flag cases identified via an absence reporting mechanism, the proactive management of musculo-skeletal conditions and stress, introducing a smoking cessation program or running regular health wellbeing days. “Workplace wellness as a concept has been used extensively in recent years by management in business and industry, health professionals, fitness experts, and others. This is a policy that should be implanted in all jobs. Wellness may not

Health and wellness in the workplace is crucial to business success. Increasingly, it is recognized that the workplace itself has a powerful affect on people’s health. When people are satisfied with their job, they are more productive and tend to be healthier. When employees feel that the environment at work is negative, they feel stressed. Stress has a large impact on employee mental and physical health, and in turn, on productivity. Companies that promote healthy lifestyle habits for employees to improve their health, often take the success of the company to heart and are likely to be absent less often for health related reasons.

The everyday routines of life can and will be more difficult if encumbered with obesity.

Having a job you hate results in negative health consequences. According to Stahl, “there’s a strong correlation between weight-gain and work dissatisfaction.” You lose the motivation to work out and eat well when you’re constantly in a bad mood. When people are stressed out, they tend to eat more than normal; this is called stress eating. Somehow indulging yourself in delicious food makes you feel better about the horrible situation you are in. Stress is also a major cause of anxiety and depression (Stahl). Your mental health is just as important as your physical health because it impacts how you communicate and react to the world. Stahl states, “the negative effects of stress on humans are widely