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Showing posts from October, 2014

Corporate Wellness Debate

From a company HR department to employees about their wellness program and related communications. Sadly, I'm not surprised some naysayers were vocal with their petty grievances (I mean shoot you can just delete the email and instead of stressing and taking your "valuable" time to send a negative comment...how about go for a walk or take a deep breath to reduce your stress?) and so appreciate her thoughtful reply. Subject: Another Annoying Wellness Email Body: That’s right, another one… why do we bother? Well, I’ve gotten feedback that some employees feel that our Wellness Program is a waste of time and effort and that some find the communication a bother. I want to assure you that there are important reasons for all this Wellness “stuff.” Actually closer to a $million reasons – as that was the initial amount of our insurance cost increase earlier this year. Due to the health status and claims utilization of our organization, we were facing a very large renewal increa

The romance vs the reality of farming

I'm in the middle of a visit to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It's a tremendously scenic place and the people here are amazingly friendly and welcoming.  Near Whale Cove, Nova Scotia It is also a place that historically has send many of its sons and daughters away to find work elsewhere. Buildings have fallen to ruin and once-cleared farmland has reverted to woody perennials. Which reminded me of a quote one of my Caper friends gave me. Romance vs Reality (quote from My Remarkable Uncle , 1942 ) Too many, I'm afraid, have a view of agriculture and food production that's more romantic than realistic. Folks who can afford to move back to the country, plant a garden, tend an orchard, and raise a few animals are blessed. But they aren't the same as folks who are doing that for a living. Nor is their life and the lives of their family members dependent upon what they produce. Subsistence farming is NOT secure. There's a difference between farming WITH money and farming F