Invest in employee health with Randox Health EveryBusiness
Invest in employee health with Randox Health EveryBusiness
Invest in Prevention with Randox Health EveryBusiness
Employee Health and welling strategies are being increasingly introduced by companies. Research in Right Management’s The flux report: Building a resilient workforce in the face of flux, published in February 2014, found that 60% of HR directors recognise that employee health and wellness are key attributes to enabling businesses to achieve their strategic objectives. However, a key problem in the area of health and wellness is that it is often misunderstood. Companies view health and wellness strategies as a firefighting measure; something that is introduced when things go wrong in the company and performance slides.
This view is narrow and to a certain extent wrong. The old saying “Prevention rather than cure” is extremely fitting within these situations. Health and wellbeing should not be about reactive illness management and employers shouldn’t wait until their employees become stressed or ill then seek to cure. Instead they should look at a prevention strategy.
Proactive Health and Wellbeing
Early intervention really does matter. Businesses that spend more time promoting wellbeing and resilience see an upturn in performance, engagement and productivity. If they also use specific data gathering and measurement throughout the year, they can demonstrate the effect of the wellbeing programmes that they’ve implemented and learn what works for them. Health and wellbeing programmes can see an 80% improvement in organisational performance, which is a huge benefit to any business.
In addition, businesses that make a commitment to employee wellbeing can also expect a return in areas such as psychological contract, improved sense of wellbeing, resilience and enhanced positive regard for the employer. Everyone has potential to be healthy, efficient, productive and happy at work. People just need the right support. With an ageing population, it is important that organisations start to recognise this. Read our blog on why to invest in employee health and the benefits.
Randox Health EveryBusiness
Our EveryBusiness corporate service aims to provide a unique health and wellbeing service for your business. EveryBusiness will benefit you and your employees and improve the productivity of your business. Our EveryBusiness service is for employers trying to improve the health and wellbeing of their employees and by doing so benefit from the results of creating a unique health and wellbeing environment.
Contact a member of our team today for more information.
Visit www.randoxhealth.com or phone 0800 2545 130
Randox launches Mental Health & Wellbeing Month
Randox Health Holywood is this week hosting a fundraising event for mental health charities AWARE NI and Ulster University’s Mind Your Mood to launch Randox’s Mental Health & Wellbeing Month throughout October.
Held on Saturday 6th October 2018, 10am – 12noon, the health check company’s coffee morning event will offer customers, visitors and the residents of Holywood the opportunity to call in, grab a tea or coffee, and sample some scones and sweet treats, all while helping to raise money for those who need it most.
By shining a light on mental health issues, Randox hopes to educate its staff on how to look after their mental health while also raising funds for its two official charity partners. The fundraising coffee morning launches a month of staff initiatives including a Wear Yellow for World Mental Health Day on Wednesday 10th October, a company-wide Bake Sale on Friday 26th October, and a freefall abseil from the dome of Victoria Square Belfast on Sunday 21st October.
Randox Founder and Managing Director, Dr Peter FitzGerald, commented;
“Every one of us has been touched either directly or indirectly by these issues and it’s something we at Randox wish to help to address. We have for example invested significantly in research that will determine how problems with the digestive system can affect your mood, sleep and stress levels. We hope that our partnerships not only help those affected by mental ill-health across Northern Ireland, but also empower our Randox staff to take care of their own mental well-being.”
AWARE NI is the depression charity for Northern Ireland with an established network of 23 support groups in rural and urban areas across the country, all run by trained volunteers. AWARE deliver mental health and wellbeing programmes in to communities, schools, colleges, universities and workplaces while also running a 24hr email help service.
Mind Your Mood, managed by Ulster University, is designed and delivered by students who have life experience of mental health illness to help other students avoid mental illness, provide support at the earliest point, build awareness of mental illness and provide support to students who are already diagnosed with mental illness.
Donations for the Randox Team Abseil can be made here: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/RANDOXAWARE
For more information about Randox Mental Health & Wellbeing Month, please contact RandoxPR@randox.com.
Introducing the EveryBusiness Offering from Randox Health
Absenteeism has long been a problem in business. There are a variety of reasons why employees may be absent but one of the most common is illness. Employees lose an average of 30.4 working days a year due to sickness or underperforming at work due to ill health, according to research by VitalityHealth.
Its 2017 Britain’s Healthiest Workplace report, which surveyed 31,950 employees, found that productive working days lost due to physical and mental health issues cost the UK economy approximately £77.5 billion a year.
At Randox Health, we’re aiming to change the statistics and help employees to live healthier for longer. Our innovative health checks can detect disease and irregularity at the earliest stage, allowing lifestyle changes to be made now when potential illness can still be reversed.
Having a healthier workforce, conscious of how their lifestyle choices are affecting them, has been proven to encourage productivity and decrease absenteeism. Poor employee productivity is just as damaging to the workplace economy as absenteeism. One of the main causes of low productivity is poor health.
Take care of your staff with an Everybusiness programme at Randox Health. The gift of health is invaluable and will not only allow employees to enjoy the benefits of the world’s most comprehensive health programme available, but will also save your business time and money.
Our health checks are the most advanced blood screening packages available in the world as we use our patented Biochip Array Technology. Using this technology, hundreds of individual blood tests can be carried out on a single sample, allowing you to have truly unrivalled knowledge about your health both now and in the future.
We specialise in wellbeing, assessing up to 350 elements of your body and allowing early identification of illness before problems develop.
For more information on the EveryBusiness offering from Randox Health, please contact info@randoxhealth.com or phone 0800 2545 130.
We Are Randox | Randox Rugby Team Promote Healthy Work-Life Balance at Randox
As a global healthcare diagnostics company, we know a thing or two about health. And we know that taking time out from our busy lives to relax and unwind is important to stay healthy. Whether that’s taking your dog for a walk, meeting up with friends, getting lost in a good book, or playing your favourite sport.
Playing a competitive sport brings a wealth of benefits – it’s the perfect way to socialise and look after your health at the same time! Not only is it good for your physical health, but can go a long way in maintaining your mental wellbeing too.
There is great value in exercise and fresh air. However, it’s an unfortunate fact of life that most 9-5ers just don’t have the opportunity to indulge in this pleasure very often.
Randox, being a company serious about health and wellbeing, like to know we’re giving our employees the best opportunities to be as healthy as they can, and live their lives as fulfilled as possible.
Amongst many sports in which Randox encourages employees to take part, we encourage our employees to regularly take the time to engage in some friendly competition of 5-a-side rugby against each other. The County Antrim countryside, in which our Randox headquarters are located, is the perfect setting for an informal game of rugby – our rugby players can let off some steam and take in the scenery at the same time!
The team was banded together by Randox Founder and Managing Director, Dr. Peter FitzGerald, who occasionally joins in on the games himself! Dr. FitzGerald is a strong advocate of teamwork and camaraderie in the workplace.
Jonathan Acheson, Randox Health Sales Executive, who plays for our Randox Rugby Team, commented;
“At Randox we work hard but we play hard too! Our work can often be very fast-paced and Randox is expanding phenomenally – for example we’re all working towards our 5 year sponsorship of the Randox Health Grand National, beginning in 2017, which is keeping us all very busy. So it’s important that we take time to unwind and recharge our batteries. We’re lucky that we’re able to take advantage of being in such a lovely area of Northern Ireland – right beside Lough Neagh – and so we can get outside after work and have a good run-about!”
Follow Randox Careers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with the hashtag #WeAreRandox
Careers Tips | Have More Happy Mondays
Do you feel like you lack a little motivation? Fall back in love with your work this Monday with Randox Careers!
Even if you’re in love with your day job, we all get a little deflated sometimes! Staying positive is one of the most imperative keys to success. As Will Henry once said, “The wishbone will never replace the backbone.” Success means staying strong and working hard, and here’s Randox Careers’ top tips to staying motivated on the path to achieving your goals, even on Mondays!
1. Make Lists
Start the day by making a list of everything you want to achieve in your day ahead. Add to the list as the day goes on, and carry over anything you don’t finish. This will help you organise your thoughts, which can often make multitasking look less daunting. With lists, you can visualise your workload and feel satisfied as you tick tasks off as they’re completed!
2. Bounce Ideas
Don’t be afraid to share your ideas! Bouncing ideas off of other colleagues, have meetings, get lunch together to discuss the topic, don’t be afraid of constructive criticism. Other colleagues may be able to use their expertise to help guide you in the right direction, and add fresh perspectives to your creative thinking process
3. Breaking Your Tasks Up
Breaking your tasks up into smaller, bite-sized fragments can make your goals seem more achievable, and make you feel that little bit closer to success. Switching between these smaller tasks can also help lift a feeling of monotony and give you more variety in your work. Keeping it fresh means you might have new, creative ideas on how to approach things after you’ve stepped back. Often we see things a little bit differently from a new perspective!
4. Exercise Before Work
Wake up an hour early, and go for a jog or practice some yoga before work. Getting your blood pumping can give you a morning release of happy endorphins and get you mentally ready for the day ahead! Yoga is also notorious for mind-cleansing, helping you to clear your thoughts of all negative worries. Don’t fancy exercising before dawn? Try giving yourself more time to get ready in the morning. By doing this, you can ensure you eat a full, wholesome breakfast. Giving yourself some me-time can help prepare you for the day ahead just as well!
5. Set Your 3, 5, and 10 Year Goals
Set your goals and work towards them! Write these goals in e-mails and schedule them to be sent to yourself in 3, 5 and 10 year’s time! These can be little things, like learning another language, or bigger things like buying your first car. Make sure these goals are achievable though, as unobtainable goals can demotivate anyone.
6. Happy Positive Reinforcements!
Have you got a favourite motivational quote? Maybe it’s Theodore Roosevelt’s “Believe you can and you’re halfway there” or George Addair’s “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” Whatever your favourite motivational quote is, embrace it! Set is as your wallpaper on your phone or laptop, write it on a sticky note and place it on the wall, you could even buy a professional print online and frame it! Don’t forget to congratulate yourself, and take pride in your work. Use your mantra to keep you going and don’t forget to look back and admire your own tenacity!
7. Take a Break!
Lastly, don’t forget to rest! Let yourself relax for 5 minutes, take a walk and stretch your legs, or sit in the sun for a little while to clear your mind. You could, alternatively, clear your mind by de-cluttering your desk. Take 10 minutes to reorganise your feng-shui. Often, resetting your mind and clearing your work area can help you see answers and solutions more easily.
Follow these 7 simple steps, and you’ll be sure to have a skip in your step every Monday morning. Best of luck with the week ahead, and happy Monday!
For more, follow Randox Careers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Gestational Diabetes: The Third Kind
Year upon year, WHO (World Health Organisation) have set a date to raise awareness of various health issues from Food Safety, to Hypertension to Vector-Borne diseases. This year, WHO are setting their goals in raising awareness on Diabetes; those with family and friends affected and those diagnosed. The RX series take a closer look at a type of Diabetes we don’t often talk about to raise awareness for the #BeatDiabetes campaign by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Diabetes is a life-long condition, featuring in the top 10 causes of death globally, responsible for approximately 1,497,371 deaths worldwide and 6,088 in the UK alone yearly. As a major non-communicable disease, diabetes claims on average around 8% of total health budgets in developed countries.
As many know, diabetes can come in 2 common forms: Types I Diabetes; where the pancreas does not produce insulin and Type II Diabetes; where the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin/the body’s cells do not react to insulin. Not very often, however, do we hear the term Gestational Diabetes.
Gestational Diabetes is a type of diabetes that affects pregnant women, usually in their third trimester. The good news is, the condition usually disappears soon after the baby is born, but what are the risks, how serious is it really and what are the chances you may find yourself dealing with the condition?
Pregnancy puts extra demands on the body, as it demands higher level of nutrition, and energy. Gestational Diabetes (GDM) occurs when the body can’t produce enough extra insulin to meet these demands.
The condition is surprisingly common, with 15% of all pregnancies resulting in the mother suffering from GDM. Whilst it only occurs in pregnancy; it is estimated that over 50% of women who have had gestational diabetes will go on to develop type II diabetes within 5-10 years of delivery which is a startling statistic.
A study carried out at JSS Medical College aimed to investigate the biochemical parameters that could be used to diagnose GDM. Levels of serum creatinine, uric acid and the albumin were studied in GDM patients and unaffected pregnant women to consider any correlation between these biochemical markers and certain clinical parameters. The RX daytona, a clinical chemistry analyser from Randox’s RX series range was used to analyse the samples. The conclusion was that biochemical parameters such as serum creatinine, uric acid and albumin, can help in predicting the early onset and progression of GDM.
The study also stated that early diagnosis was paramount as it could help in the proper treatment of gestational diabetes and its associated complications for mother and baby, thus helping to improve the quality of life of the GDM patients and their offspring.
There are measures women can take before and during pregnancy to prevent the likelihood of Gestational Diabetes occurring. One study shows that increasing fibre intake to 10g per day reduces the risk by 26%. Also, women who exercise before pregnancy have a lower risk of gestational diabetes, the more intense the exercise, the lower the risk. However, this doesn’t have to mean extremely strenuous exercise, anything as simple as walking at a brisk pace, rather than at a leisurely pace will reduce your risks.
This year on World Health Day, we urge you to share your stories and give support for those affected by diabetes and use the hashtag #BeatDiabetes to get involved with the conversation.
Randox offers high quality tests for the diagnosis of diabetes and the monitoring of its complications.
To find out more about the RX series range of clinical chemistry analysers and how we tackle Diabetes with accurate and early diagnosis, take a look at our brochures below.
Questions? Speak to the RX team: theRXseries@Randox.com
