New Corporate Wellness Initiatives
Lost Art Press knows that healthy employees are happy employees.
To engender a new spirit of happiness among associates, Lost Art Press’s human resources department is sponsoring a new initiative that will help promote wellness among its employees, foster a friendly competitive spirit between its two corporate locations (Kentucky and Indiana) and offer up some fun prizes, too!
Each branch of the business has been instructed to appoint a “wellness leader” who will lead the charge for that office. The wellness leaders will meet with their local team members weekly, and all the corporate wellness leaders will participate in a bi-monthly conference call to compare “wellness points” and discuss the next steps for their teams.
The first wellness competition will involve consuming “whole grains,” which can reduce the risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Each team will seek “wellness points” by consuming servings of whole grain. Each team will receive one point for for every serving. Examples include:
- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice or other cooked grain
- 1/2 cup cooked 100% whole-grain pasta
- 1/2 cup cooked hot cereal, such as oatmeal
- 1 ounce uncooked whole grain pasta, brown rice or other grain
- 1 slice 100% whole grain bread
- 1 very small (1 oz.) 100% whole grain muffin
- 1 cup 100% whole grain ready-to-eat cereal
How are the points tallied? At the end of every workday, employees will log into the corporate Whole Grain Gateway, where they will tally each serving of whole grain consumed during the last 24 hours. They also can download free recipes involving whole grains (try the Mexican Freekeh Chili With Beans).
The office’s wellness leader will also have administrative access to the Whole Grain Gateway so he or she can see how many wellness points have been earned by each team member and encourage more whole grain consumption among employees and ensure 100 percent participation.
Wellness leaders are encouraged to educate their branch employees on the benefits of whole grains. Examples of education include holding a “Whole Grain Fair” on-site where employees can examine whole grains, try different dishes and ask questions of dieticians. Example two: Wellness leaders can also create quizzes and games available through the Whole Grain Gateway for employees to explore.
During the bi-monthly conference call, the wellness leaders will compare wellness points earned by the two branches. At the end of every fiscal quarter, corporate Lost Art Press will award gift certificates to members of the winning team, including $5 gift cards to Subway and $20 gift cards to Whole Foods.
This is just the first of many wellness initiatives planned for Lost Art Press employees in the coming year. Look for upcoming competitions involving pedometers, on-site blood pressure checks and weekly weigh-ins!
— Lost Art Press Human Resources
All the Problems are not New
“To a certain extent, our endeavors coincide with those abroad, in particular with ones in Germany, but we feel they are working on a more primitive basis regarding the use as well as the working out. Apparently they have jettisoned all traditions, starting from scratch. “What is a chair?” it is asked, where and in what way is the construction influenced by pull and pressure, etc. It is a laudable way of procedure, but a troublesome one, because in all probability one will not get answers to all the questions.
“In preference to what is modern, one loses one’s view and precludes the best aid, namely to build on the experience gained through the centuries. All the problems are not new, and several of them have been solved before. These movements all over the world are, however, useful: it is no longer fashionable to surround oneself with antiques. A real interest in modern cabinetmaking has appeared and we welcome it sincerely.”
— Kaare Klint
Elephants at Work
…Early the next day, while yet cool, we visited one of the decided ‘lions’ of the city—the working elephants. Formerly these were very numerous, being the heavy workers in the timber yards and great saw mills. Machinery has now supplanted them in all establishments run by foreigners. In each of the native mills, where small orders are filled, two of the noble beasts yet perform the heavy labor which human hands unassisted could scarcely manage.
We visited some of these the second time on our return from up country, and were greatly interested. They draw the logs, many of them three feet in diameter and thirty to forty feet long, from the river, pile them up in systematic order, and when they are needed roll them to the ways and assist in adjusting them for the saw.
Lumber is not here sawed into boards, but the slab is taken off and the good stuff left in square timber to be ripped up into boards where consumed. This is done both for home consumption and for exportation. After the log is thus cut the elephant goes among the machinery, takes the slabs away, and then carries the good timber and piles it up or lays it gently upon the ox carts to be hauled.
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Social Economics
Interesting Figures Relative to the Cabinet-Making Industry
As a Fine Art It Has Been Killed by Labor-Saving Machines
The Chicago Trade and Labor Union held a meeting at Mechanic’s Hall, No 54 West Lake street, yesterday afternoon, at which about 200 representatives of the various trades and occupations were present. O. A. Bishop was called to the chair.
T.J. Morgan presented the following report on the condition of the trade of cabinetmakers: There are 5,500 men and boys employed in the 160 furniture factories, averaging thirty-five men. One firm employs 250, one 200, one 185, one 170, one 155, one 140, one 125, one 120, one 115, one 90. Two average 80 each, ten average 50 each; the rest employ 10 to 40 each: thirteen establishments on the North Side employ a total of 310 persons.
Small shops cannot compete, and most storekeepers buy from several wholesale manufacturers. “Easy-payment” stores have driven out of business a large number of retail furniture stores, and the retail manufacture is forever doomed.
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