Lunch & Learn /
. . . offered over the lunch break
or a Wellness Session
. . . offered at any time during the working day.
The Emergent WorkForce™ program is the evolution of workplace wellness into well-being.
We transform wellness programs from ‘cost center’ to ‘profit center’.
Request a Lunch and Learn / Wellness Session
Lunch and Learn/ Wellness sessions are complimentary. We waive our usual speaking fee as part of our ‘giving back’ to the community.
Where travel is extensive, we may negotiate a small fee to offset our costs.
If you are considering hosting a “Lunch and Learn session” with us, please complete the form below. When we receive it, we will contact you to discuss your needs, and goals, to ensure that the Emergent WorkForce™ is right for your organization.
1. FOR THE MANAGEMENT TEAM:
“Building Blocks to Brilliance”
The Challenge
Creating a successful business in the 21st century has changed. We can no longer ignore the creeping erosion of the prosperity of a company due to enormous costs related to health problems caused by chronic stress.
Studies have shown that 35% of payroll is typically wasted due to absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover. And half of Canadian companies waste even more.
The Journey
Every week, over 500,000 Canadians miss work due to illness or injury. The costs are enormous, exceeding $50 B annually due to mental health concerns alone, that are largely stress related.
Your workforce needs effective tools to manage workplace stress. And their response to that stress. We’ll explore some major stress-busters – tools that can help manage the stress response in minutes!
Incorporating a broad spectrum of tools from many modalities ensures that programs can be tailored to meet the unique needs of your workforce. We’ll explore some of these including mindfulness, emotional intelligence, perceptual intelligence and others. Each module is designed to support the transformation of the workplace, where people are engaged, inspired, creative, purposeful and passionate about the contribution they make to their company and to the world.
During the Lunch and Learn we will explore 3 building blocks to brilliance:
- Understanding the nervous system ‘software’.
- Unlocking the brain with emotional management and perceptual intelligence.
- Firing up the Heart through fulfilling purpose and driving engagement.
The Reward
There is good news.
Health Canada reports a 340% average ROI when implementing the right programs to manage workplace stress.
Occupational Health and Safety Ontario highlights companies that have achieved ROIs of between 150% and 615%, with most organizations achieving about 300%.
When Whole Foods transformed their workplace, they realized an 1100% return on their investment in the program.
Well designed and implemented Workplace Wellness programs must be created to support the financial goals of an organization.
2. FOR THE WORKFORCE:
“Please Pass the Calm”
The Challenge
Stress has been designated the “Health epidemic of the 21st century” by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is responsible for over half of all deaths of those under 65 in the US according to the Centre for Disease Control (USCDC).
Stress shows up everyday life in insidious ways, in the body, mind, emotions and behavior. The harmony between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems is upset, activating the sympathetic (fight or flight) system by flooding the body with adrenaline and cortisol, putting the body in a state of high alert. It is here that dis-ease takes hold, that in the long term can bring on serious health concerns like heart disease, digestive problems, diabetes, and more.
The Journey
We begin with the exploration of simple tools and methods to manage the stress response – methods that are effective in minutes. Participants will experience the use of mindfulness, perceptual and emotional intelligence, and specific sounds and music including some sound tools to support the relaxation of the stress response.
The Reward
When the stress response is managed, people are free to achieve — it’s like having a heavy weight lifted from their shoulders.
You will notice:
- Absenteeism is reduced, as well as the presenteeism that often accompanies absenteeism
- Turnover is reduced – both voluntary turnover, and involuntary
- Performance is improved
- Engagement is improved
- Energy levels are increased – people are more involved in the community
- Relationships are enhanced
- And more.
Nancy Addison’s focus is on an optimal diet that will supply the basic needs of the body and fortify the body’s defenses, thereby improving health, increasing vitality, delivering greater longevity and preventing diseases associated with aging. These include heart disease, age-related muscle loss and fat gain, memory loss, dementia, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, and the physical effects of aging.
When you give your body the right tools, it can do miraculous things!
When we play music together, there is a battery of hormones released by the nervous system, including Oxytocin, the bonding hormone, Dopamine, the ‘feel good’ hormone, Immunoglobulin A (IgA) an important immune system antibody, Serotonin, which regulates the sleep/waking cycle, and Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), Growth hormone (GH), and B-endorphin (B-EP), all helpful in supporting our immune function. 
There is a growing body of research that documents the benefits of gratitude. Experiments have confirmed an immediate increase in happiness, reduction in depressive symptoms, and increased wellbeing. These benefits have lasting effects on the brain and the individual.
We all have our own perceptions. It has been said that there is no one truth for our individual truths have been coloured by our perceptions and beliefs, our upbringing and past experience – just as our vision is coloured when wearing a pair of sunglasses.
Tibetan Singing bowls were traditionally used as an aid for a meditation practice, but they do much more. The slow repetitive movement of the playing stick creates an instant physical relaxation response, while calming emotions and focusing the mind, so there is greater access to creative solutions and inspiration. The Tibetan Singing Bowl can act like the restart button on the computer. They are natural stress-busters that can stimulate the natural healing ability of the body.
However, it can be easily suppressed by stress, by fatigue, or illness, with short term and long term consequences.
There are always distractions in an office environment. From the sound of a phone ringing, conversations in the hall, or a photocopier, or printer working away to name but a few. The distractions are compounded as more businesses shift to cubicles, which have been shown to reduce productivity by up to 60%. 
Brainwave entrainment is a thousands of years old practice.
In 1998, Robert F Furchgott, Louis J Ingnarro, and Ferid Murad won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery that our cells puff and release nitric oxide. Nitric oxide, is a gas that acts as a signalling molecule in the body. Since its discovery, the U.S. government and the pharmaceutical medical complex have spent hundreds of million of dollars investigating this gas. As a result, medications are now widely available to support cardiovascular disease, and others.
Let’s take a look at the software that handles stress or relaxation. The autonomic nervous system has 2 divisions that work like a teeter-totter. One division takes control, and the other yields. And then the other takes control.
There are two sides to our autonomic nervous system – the sympathetic (fight or flight) system whose purpose is to protect, and the parasympathetic (rest and digest) system whose purpose is to restore health.
Building on the ‘Office Fitness’ module, we look at ways to bring fitness home. There are many ways to incorporate an easy to follow fitness program, from walks to swimming, to shoveling the driveway. They all come with the benefit of supporting a healthy body, one that is more resistant to disease, one that has the energy to do things with friends and family, and one that strengthens performance. 
Keeping the mind and body well oxygenated is essential for peak performance, yet sitting for extended periods reduces blood flow in the upper body, with the corresponding drop in oxygen to the brain. Using deep breathing techniques, coupled with simple movement that can be done in the office, oxygen levels can be restored, invigorating the body and mind. 
Mindfulness has a significant impact on communication and safety. It is a proven way to reduce stress and improve health (physical, emotional and mental), thereby reducing absenteeism. 
One of the most powerful tools you have to navigate through everyday life is your voice. It is one of those things that, like air, is always there, but we pay little attention to it. Your voice is your communication center. And it communicates both verbally and non-verbally. Your voice communicates from many different aspects of who you are.