Office Exercise

If you have trouble staying fit at work, these office exercises are a great way to keep your body moving right at your desk. The moves here involving stretching and strengthening your body, all within the comfort of your office chair. This workout doesn't take the place of traditional strength training, but offers you a way to keep your moving if you can't get away from your desk.

Precautions

See your doctor before trying this workout if you have any injuries, illnesses or other conditions. Make sure the chair you use is stable. If you have wheels, push it against a wall to make sure it won't roll away.

Equipment Needed

A chair and a water bottle or light-medium dumbbell.

Stretches for Your Wrists and Arms

Wrist Stretch: Extend arm in front, palm up and grab the fingers with other hand. Gently pull the fingers towards you to stretch the forearm, holding for 20-30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Wrist & Forearm: Press hands together in front of chest, elbows bent and parallel to the floor. Gently bend wrists to the right and left for 10 reps.

Lower Back Stretch: Sit tall and place the left arm behind left hip. Gently twist to the left, using the right hand to deepen the stretch, holding for 20-30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Lower Body Exercises

Hip Flexion: Sit tall with the abs in and lift the left foot off the floor a few inches, knee bent. Hold for 2 seconds, lower and repeat for 16 reps. Repeat on the other side.

Leg Extension: Sit tall with the abs in and extend the left leg until it's level with hip, squeezing the quadriceps. Hold for 2 seconds, lower and repeat for 16 reps. Repeat on the other side.

Inner Thigh: Place towel, firm water bottle or an empty coffee cup between the knees as you sit up tall with the abs in. Squeeze the bottle or cup, release halfway and squeeze again, completing 16 reps of slow pulses.

Chair Exercises

Chair Squat: While sitting, lift up until your hips are just hovering over the chair, arms out for balance. Hold for 2-3 seconds, stand all the way up and repeat for 16 reps.

Dips: Make sure chair is stable and place hands next to hips. Move hips in front of chair and bend the elbows, lowering the body until the elbows are at 90 degrees. Push back up and repeat for 16 reps.

One-Leg Squat: Make sure the chair is stable and take one foot slightly in front of the other. Use the hands for leverage as you push up into a one-legged squat, hovering just over the chair and keeping the other leg on the floor for balance. Lower and repeat, only coming a few inches off the chair for 12 reps. Repeat on the other side.

Upper Body Exercises

Front Raise to Triceps Press: Sit tall with the abs in and hold a full water bottle in the left hand. Lift the bottle up to shoulder level, pause, and then continue lifting all the way up over the head. When the arm is next to the ear, bend the elbow, taking the water bottle behind you and contracting the triceps. Straighten the arm and lower down, repeating for 12 reps on each arm. Bicep Curl: Hold water bottle in right hand and, with abs in and spine straight, curl bottle towards shoulder for 16 reps. Repeat other side.

Ab Exercises

Side Bends: Hold a water bottle with both hands and stretch it up over the head, arms straight. Gentley bend towards the left as far as you can, contracting the abs. Come back to center and repeat to the right. Complete 10 reps (bending to the right and left is one rep).

Ab Twists: Hold the water bottle at chest level and, keeping the knees and hips forward, gently twist to the left as far as you comfortably can, feeling the abs contract. Twist back to center and move to the left for a total of 10 reps. Don't force it or you may end up with a back injury.

Posted by Joseph

Prescription Drugs in Utah County

The abuse of prescription drugs has increased concerns in the United States of America. In the state of Utah, drugs addiction is a significant dilemma for parents, schools, physicians, law enforcers, and the community. The use of potential addictive drugs like depressant, stimulant, and medication are often prescribed by physicians and refill too easily. An estimated of 20% of people in USA used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.

Many people use prescriptions drugs because they are pure, controlled by the FDA, present less danger and legally, in Utah, the penalty to illicit drugs use is a felony while the penalty for prescription drugs is a misdemeanor

A government report release in March 17, 2009 shows admission for treatment of prescription pain killer abuse in the USA have risen dramatically over the past decade from 1% for all substances abuse admission in 1997 to 5% in 2007.

According to death certificates data, the number of unintentional drugs poisoning deaths has jumped from 167 in 1999 to 448 in 2007.The majority of these deaths were related to narcotic drugs.

Health care professionals, pharmacists, and physicians have the role in preventing misuse and addiction to prescription medications. They should screen for any type of substances abuse during routine history and note any rapid increase in the amount of a medication needed which may indicate the development of tolerance or frequent requests for refills before the quantity prescribed should have been used.

Parental influences in substances use are the major preoccupation in search of a solution on drugs use among teenagers.of America. In the state of Utah, addiction is a significant dilemma for parents, schools, physicians, law enforcers, and the community. The use of potential addictive like depressant, stimulant, and medication are often prescribed by physicians and refill too easily. An estimated of 20% of people in USA used prescription for non-medical reasons.

Posted by Joseph

Obesity among Teenagers in Utah

Over weight and obesity are often associated with excessive body fat storage. Risks related to being overweight increase under some conditions. A variety of methods can be used to monitoring body fat content such: underwater weighing, air displacement, skin fold thickness. It appears eating habits and nutrition which varies between twins who are raised apart are less to do with obesity than nature does. In fact, research suggests that genes account for up to 70% of weight difference between people.

According to Utah Department of Health, more than half of Utah (59.5%) are obese and nearly one in four elementary school students (21.5%) are overweight or obese. The number of obese or overweight people in Utah is greater than the entire population of Montana (957, 861)

Utah Department of Health have surveyed from January to May 2oo8 4,123 first, third, and fifth grade students of 69 randomly selected public elementary schools throughout the State were weighed and measured to assess childhood overweight and obesity. This study shows boys in the 3 different grades were overweight but increase dramatically between the 3rd and 5th grades. 21.5 percent of elementary school students were at an unhealthy weight.

Some adult diseases are found now in children who are obese such as: hardening of arteries, high pressure, high cholesterol, sleep-associated breathing disorder, and non alcoholic fatty liver.

Social and Psychological Impacts of Childhood overweight

Students of elementary schools overweight suffer social isolation, tend to attempt associated with weight based teasing by their peers. Students in this category are at greater rate of anxiety disorder and depression. Family, schools, media, government, church, health care, can impact these children live in order to change.

Posted by Joseph

Sexual Harassment Prevention

Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to the federal government.

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:
The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome.

It is helpful for the victim to inform the harasser directly that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. The victim should use any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system available.

When investigating allegations of sexual harassment, EEOC looks at the whole record: the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination on the allegations is made from the facts on a case-by-case basis.

Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to take steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. They should clearly communicate to employees that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. They can do so by providing sexual harassment training to their employees and by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process and taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee complains.

It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on sex or for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under Title VII.

Statistics
In Fiscal Year 2008, EEOC received 13,867 charges of sexual harassment. 15.9% of those charges were filed by males. EEOC resolved 11,731 sexual harassment charges in FY 2008 and recovered $47.4 million in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals (not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation).

What to do when foul language is present

Foul Language at Work: What Should HR Do?
Curse words, "swear" words, whatever you call them, the use of foul language seems to be on the increase. Words once thought to be unspeakable now make a regular appearance in music, videos, and television (think The Sopranos ). But what do HR professionals do when foul language enters the workplace in a pervasive and offensive way?
People Are Talking
Participants in BLR's HR Forum had some ideas about how to curb potty-mouthed employees. Participants had this to say:
There's no law against swearing in the workplace, but it can create harassment problems if the swearing is directed at a particular group (like women). I think it depends on the words used and the context. In some workplaces, there's a lot of swearing by a lot of employees and no one thinks anything about it, but since you said some employees have complained, either an existing policy should be enforced, or one should be created. If there's a policy about professionalism and respect for co-workers it would probably apply. Or someone can ask the offending employee to clean up his/her act.
Another participant suggested the fiscally responsible approach:
We had that problem here--with a woman. Our vice president, an ex-military officer, brought over a big mason jar. He told her, good-naturedly rather than confrontationally, that every time someone heard her swear, she had to put a quarter into the jar. It worked--eventually. The money in the jar went to charity.
Why Do People Swear?
According to HowStuffWorks.com, swearing is used in social interactions to:
Establish a group identity
Establish membership in a group and maintain the group's boundaries
Express solidarity with other people
Express trust and intimacy (mostly when women swear in the presence of other women)
Add humor, emphasis or "shock value"
Attempt to camouflage a person's fear or insecurity
"People also swear because they feel they are expected to or because swearing has become a habit," the site notes. "But just because swearing plays all these roles doesn't mean it's socially acceptable, or even legal."
In fact, in the workplace it often leads to claims of a hostile work environment, harassment, , ism, or other types of illegal discrimination. As such, it is up to employers to set the boundaries by using policies for professional conduct and harassment prevention, and up to supervisors to enforce those policies and good behavior for employees.

Safe Lifting

How To Prevent Back Injuries on the Job
Healthy Back Guidelines
Safe Lifting
Four out of five adults will experience significant low back pain in their lifetime. In many cases, this back pain is caused by injuries, and often these injuries are workplace-related.
Back injuries account for nearly 20% of all injuries and illnesses that occur in the workplace. They are common in a variety of fields, from construction work to health care and child care. Many of these injuries can be prevented, however.
Healthy Back Guidelines
Here are some of the most important steps you can take to avoid back injuries — at work or at home:
Use the correct techniques for bending, lifting and moving loads (see list below).
Exercise your back and abdominal muscles regularly to provide stronger support for the back.
Wear comfortable, low-heeled, nonslip shoes.
Do not smoke. Research shows that smoking reduces blood flow to the spine.
Maintain proper posture to put the least strain on your back.
If you are overweight, lose weight. Excess pounds, especially in the middle, throw your body out of alignment and increase the burden on your back.
If you are able, sleep on your side, on a firm mattress.
Make sure that the work surface is at a comfortable height and that your chair offers good back support; sit as far back in the chair as you can to keep your lower back supported. If you work at a computer, adjust your equipment so you can sit properly.
Follow proper techniques for doing your specific job. Employers and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration have developed such guidelines for many occupations.
Safe Lifting
A large proportion of back injuries are related to lifting, and people whose jobs involve frequent bending or lifting face the greatest risk of back injuries.
These guidelines can help you to bend and lift safely:
Plan your lift. Test the weight of what you are preparing to lift by pushing it with your hands or feet. Make sure you have enough room to lift safely.
If the load is awkwardly shaped or too heavy, don't try to lift it alone. Get help, use a dolly, or split it into smaller loads.
Take your time. Don't hurry or use jerky movements.
Position yourself close to the load you plan to lift. Reaching increases the strain on your back. Keep the load close to your body as you lift.
Plant your feet shoulder-width apart to provide a firm base of support.
Grip the object tightly.
Bend at the knees, not at the waist.
Tighten your stomach muscles. (Don't stop breathing!) Keep your back straight and your chin up, and lift with your leg muscles as you stand up.
Avoid twisting as you lift. If you must turn, start with your feet and then pivot your body in the same direction.
When placing a load on a high shelf, move close to the shelf. Spread your feet apart, with one in front of the other. Keep your elbows in and do not fully extend your arms as you place the object on the shelf. Remember to tighten your stomach muscles. Do not arch your back.
Do not rely on a back belt. Studies so far have not shown that they help to prevent injuries.
Use an assistive device such as a specially designed belt or board to help move a person.
Take breaks. At least once an hour, stand and stretch. Place your hands on your lower back and slowly arch backward

Preventing Violence in the Workplace

We've all seen the disturbing headlines related to violence in the workplace: "Six Die in Workplace Shooting," "Gunman on Rampage -- Kills 12 and Then Himself." We all deserve a safe work environment. Yet the sad reality is that no workplace is safe from violence in today’s world. You can protect yourself by understanding more about how workplace violence starts.

What is “Workplace Violence?"
Many workplaces are extremely dangerous because of lack of security -- convenience stores, for example, are susceptible to robberies. But this is not what we mean when we talk of workplace violence. Generally workplace violence occurs when present or former employees attack one another. It can occur at the work site or somewhere else as a result of work-related tensions.

Understanding the Cause of Violence in the Workplace
According to statistics, violence in the workplace is on the rise. Homicide is the third leading cause of death in the workplace.

Most experts agree that social issues, especially drug abuse, layoffs, and poverty, are the major contributors to workplace violence. In addition, the ease with which guns can be obtained, excessive graphic violence on TV and in movies, and ethnic differences among workers are other causes frequently cited as part of the problem.

Prevention is Key
It has been proven that workplace violence prevention programs are effective. This includes employee education and training on how to recognize potentially violent behavior and to report it before it's too late. There is no good reason for a business, large or small, not to have a workplace violence prevention program in place. It protects the employees, avoids costly lawsuits between employees and the company, preserves the company’s reputation. Most importantly, it is the right thing for a company to do to protect the people that work for it. Find out if your company has a violence prevention program.

Proper screening procedures during the hiring process will help keep potentially dangerous people from joining a company. There should be a clear warning to all job applicants that the company will conduct background checks as well as drug and alcohol testing. In addition, each applicant should be interviewed individually by at least two members of the company. When firing or laying off an employee, the company should take extra care to make sure that employee isn’t unnecessarily angry about being let go.

Responding to Violence at Work
If violence does occur at your workplace, and your company hasn't already taught you how to handle it, do the following:

• Contact local law enforcement and follow their instructions
• Notify building security
• Evacuate the scene as quickly as possible
• Remain calm
  

Original article found at http://www.safety.com/articles/preventing-violence-in-the-workplace.html

Workplace Hazards: Sick Building Sydrome

Are you not feeling well while you're at work, but the symptoms clear up after you leave? If so, chances are you're not allergic to your job, but you may be suffering from an occupational health risk known as Sick Building Syndrome. Get the facts on this workplace hazard and learn what you can do to improve your work environment.

What is Sick Building Syndrome?
Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is used to describe a situation where workers in a particular building experience symptoms that seem to be linked to their time spent in that building. The symptoms tend to get worse the longer you are in the building and improve when you are away from it.

Recognizing when you have SBS
Typically the symptoms of SBS include: headache, nausea, fatigue, dry or itchy skin, mental fatigue, sore throat, nasal congestion, difficulty concentrating, lethargy, and sensitivity to odors. Part of the difficulty in recognizing SBS is that all of these symptoms could be attributed to other common ailments and illnesses. If symptoms improve when you are away from the building, it might be the building that's sick and not you.

What Causes SBS?
SBS cannot be traced to one specific cause, but is most likely due to a combination of factors. It seems to occur more frequently in buildings that are sealed off from the outside environment. If the windows cannot be opened, the only ventilation is through a heating or air conditioning system. That may not be enough ventilation to let germs out of the building.

Another factor could be objects within the building that slowly release chemicals into the air. Potential hazards include glues and adhesives, foam padding from chairs, photocopiers, cleaning chemicals, and certain wood products. Tobacco smoke greatly reduces indoor air quality. Outdoor chemicals could also contribute to SBS if the ventilation system takes in air from outside the building.

Other possible factors include: temperature inside the building that is too high or low or fluctuates rapidly, humidity, noise, poor lighting, and airborne dust particles.

Protecting yourself from SBS
Employers have a legal responsibility to prevent work-related s and poor health -- including SBS. If you suspect your sickness is due to SBS, contact your human resources department. A building that is properly ventilated, cleaned, and maintained will greatly reduce the risk of SBS.

You can help yourself by putting a plant next to your desk. A plant will release oxygen and take in carbon dioxide from your work area, naturally cleansing the air.

Remember, almost everyone who works in a building every day is at risk. Being aware of Sick Building Syndrome is the first step toward finding a solution for yourself and your coworkers.

Original article found at http://www.safety.com/articles/workplace-hazards-sick-building-sydrome.html

Workplace Hazards: Protecting Your Eyes and Ears

Each day more than 2,000 people suffer eye injuries at work. And noise pollution is one of the most common occupational hazards in the American workplace. You only have one pair of eyes and ears. Take care of them by following some simple precautions.

Why is Eye Safety So Important?
The workplace is a leading cause of eye trauma, loss of vision, disability, and blindness. Of the 2,000 employees each day who sustain job-related eye injuires, 10 to 20 percent will be disabled due to temporary or permanent loss of vision. Experts belive that proper eye protection could have reduced the severity of or prevented the injury in about 90 percent of these cases.

Eye injuries can range from minor burns, cuts, and bruises to total blindness. Welding equipment, as well as other sorts of power tools and machinery, pose a big threat. Chemicals such as acids and adhesives can splash into the eyes and cause serious damage. And particles from hammering or grinding can easily fly into the eyes. The cost of such injuries is enormous, both for the worker and the American public, which covers nearly $4 billion a year in worker’s compensation claims and lost productivity.

Wear Proper Eye Protection
The first step to preventing any injury in the workplace is to be aware of the hazards. If possible, eliminate those hazards or reduce them by using proper eye protection. There’s a wide variety of safety eyewear including safety glasses, goggles, face shields, welding helmets, and full-face respirators. Your boss should choose which one for you to use depending on the particular hazards in your workplace. If he hasn't, ask him about it.

In the event of an eye injury, know where the eye wash fountain is so you can clean your eyes as quickly as possible. Get your eyes examined on a regular basis to ensure your vision is good enough to do your job safely. And, as always, use common sense.

Noise pollution in the workplace
Is your workplace so loud that you have to raise your voice to be heard? When you leave work and are in a quieter environment, do your ears feel plugged or do you hear a mild ringing or other unnatural noise? If the answer is yes, your hearing may already be at risk.

Excessive noise levels over a long period of time will damage your hearing so gradually and painlessly that you may not notice until it's too late. Sudden e sounds, such as gunshots, can also cause immediate damage. Approximately 30 million Americans are exposed to hazardous noise at work. For many this has resulted in permanent hearing loss.

Protecting your hearing
You can protect yourself from such hazards to minimize the risk. Wear hearing protection devices, such as ear plugs or ear muffs. Don't wait until it’s too late. See if your company has health screenings or see your doctor if you suspect you are at risk of damage.

Original article found at http://www.safety.com/articles/workplace-hazards-protecting-your-eyes-and-ears.html