Fitness on the Job

Scott Tenner says he gets his “butt busted” four days a week at work. “Our company really pushes us,” says Tenner. “My manager sometimes says, ‘It’s time to get down there, isn’t it?’” But it’s not a meeting or presentation Tenner is being pushed into. It’s his company’s corporate fitness program.

Tenner, 53, has worked as a financial analyst for Ceridian Corporation since 1979. The Woodbury resident has also been a firefighter and emergency medical technician for the city of Woodbury for 21 years. A three-sport athlete while in college at Winona State University, for the most part, Tenner carried his fitness habits with him throughout his life. But a few years ago, life got hectic for Tenner and the workouts went by the wayside.

He gained 28 pounds in one year. It was his recent engagement and upcoming wedding that spurred him into getting back in shape, with a little help from some friends.

“There were two co-workers who were asking me, probably for six to nine months, to join them in a fitness class. I’d say, ‘I can’t do that. I hear you guys busting your butts, yelling, and I see you coming out of there dripping wet,’” says Tenner. “But because they knew all this time I had my gym bag under my desk, they came up, grabbed my hand, grabbed my gym bag, and took me in there one day and said, ‘Just try it.’ And that’s what it took.”

He’s lost 30 pounds since restarting his fitness routine in March of last year. The weight loss has required him to tighten his belt—four notches—and he’s fitting into clothes he hasn’t worn for years. There have also been some other benefits: He’s more energetic and he’s eating better. “Just through doing these classes, I’ve got muscles that I’ve never seen on my body,” says Tenner. “I actually have a little ab that I can see. I don’t have a six-pack, but I do have a two-pack.”

Healthy employees really do make for more productive workers. There have been numerous studies done on this topic over the years, and corporate America has been working hard to figure out ways to help employees develop and maintain healthy lifestyles. Employees with risk factors for chronic disease, such as being physically inactive, being overweight, smoking, having high blood pressure or high cholesterol, have higher health care costs than those who don’t have any or only a couple of those risks.

Dr. Marc Manley is vice president and medical director of population health at Eagan-based insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. “Studies have looked beyond just health care costs to things like absenteeism and productivity issues. And, by all those measures, people with fewer risks are costing less than people with lots of those risks,” says Manley. “And the risks are changeable. So from a bottom-line financial point of view, it makes good sense to pay attention to those risks and try to do something about them.”

Sue Henderson has worked at Methodist Hospital for 36 years. For the past 10 years, she has been a nurse manager. Methodist opened its employee fitness center in November 2005. Henderson joined immediately.

“It’s been life changing for me. It improved my outlook on life, and it improved how much I could get done. I think it’s made me a better employee, because I have more energy and because I’m more positive. Things don’t get to me as much,” Henderson says. “It has improved my stress. I lost 50 pounds. I was able to try all sorts of new things—like yoga and weight lifting—so it just expanded my horizons.”