MCE Employee Wellbeing News

To stay healthy or to improve health, adults need to do two types of physical activity each week: aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity. How much physical activity you need to do each week depends on your age.

For adults aged between 19 and 64 it is recommended that you should try to be active daily and should do at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as cycling or fast walking every week and muscle strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that will work all major muscle groups.
Alternatively, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening activitiues on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups or, alternatively an equivalent mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week plus the muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week.

Many people start off the New Year with good intentions by joining a gym, but statistics show that visiting the gym and membership drops off quite quickly. There are other alternatives to visiting the gym, some of which are included above.

Try and make 2012 a year when you get your body back both fit and in shape.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that has a seasonal pattern. It is characterised by episodes of depression that recur at the same time each year.

SAD also known as ‘winter depression’ because the symptoms are more apparent during the winter.

As with other kinds of depression, two of the main symptoms of SAD are a low mood and a loss of interest in ordinary things. Other symptoms of SAD include:
•being less active •putting on weight •sleeping more

SAD sometimes affects people in the summer, although this is rare.

The symptoms of SAD often start as the days begin to get shorter in the autumn. They are worst during December, January, and February. For most people with SAD, the symptoms start to improve by spring time, then disappear.

Outlook
Like any type of depression, SAD can be a difficult condition to live with. Symptoms can make you feel tired, stressed and unhappy. However, a number of treatments and medications are available, including:

•light therapy: treatment with bright light
•talking therapies: such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
•antidepressants: medication to treat depression

Over recent months the MCE business development manager Michael Cook has been finalising further marketing material for MCE. The idea and knowledge of a chaplaincy service in the UK is perhaps not as well known as in the USA. Our aim is to provide a service to any business that encompasses the need to support their staff. Being in a multi cultural and religious society in the UK, in some instances the term ‘Chaplain’ can be an obstacle in the development of business relationships. Over recent years, the government and various notable research organisations, reporting on staff in the workplace are recommending emphasis is placed on the wellness of staff. This additional material highlights the greater need for participation in a programme such as ours. Although MCE continues very much as it always has, 2010 has brought around a significant change in the way the company presents itself to the business world.

MCE now has a new logo and tagline. Enhancing lives, enhancing business was thought up in order to promote exactly in a nutshell what MCE has done for over 25 years.

There is a much more detailed set of pages now on our website which explain more fully the journey which MCE is undertaking with clients.

Finally there is the new MCE E-newsletter which is being sent out on a monthly basis. May’s edition can be viewed here at http://www.mchap.co.uk/newsletter/may10

Please enjoy,
The MCE Marketing Team

According to figures released by the Scottish government, ill-health costs the British economy 100 billion pounds a year in lost productivity, lost tax and increased health and welfare costs.

Allbeit a grand figure, this does at least demonstrate why many companies are investing in health and wellbeing programmes. Post recession Britain certainly challenges businesses and employers to be proactive with health, wellbeing and employee benefits packages.

In order to encourage employers in this direction, the Scottish government has invested £1.5 million into their revised approach to encouraging healthy working lives, Health Works. This is based on evidence that health and wellbeing packages do deliver significant bottom line results, when committed to seriously by employers and business leaders.

CBI Scotland, one of the UK’s top business lobby organisations state that “…there is a sound evidence base for workplace policies that support the wellbeing of employees. Most of our [CBI Scotland's] top performing organisations have already embraced this…”.

MCHAP