April 18, 2023

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Creating a Culture of Support: Why We Need Employee Wellness Programs in the Workplace

The Chamber recently spoke with LeVar Johnson, a Community Activist working within the Pharmaceutical Industry, about employers’ roles in handling obesity within the workplace ahead of his participation in our Wellness in the Workforce Part 2 event on April 25th. Physical health is a personal mission for Johnson, who was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 4. Through the guidance and support of his mother, a registered nurse, and his father, a hardworking business leader, he learned to not only live with his disease, but also thrive alongside it as the first Type 1 Diabetes scholarship football player (Duke University). He carries those skills into his work with non-profit, political and healthcare organizations throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. In his words:

As executives, we must collectively ask ourselves if our organizations can’t afford to invest in our employees’ health and wellness now, how do we think we will fare when we lose productivity in the future? After all, a single employee’s health can be the deciding factor in an organization’s bottom line. A healthy workforce equates to a stronger organization, making employee wellness a business concern.

In business, we value employee productivity and its correlation with profitability, yet all too often the health-related, personal struggle path to that productivity is overlooked. Mounting insurance claims, absences, and sluggishness are all by-products of an unhealthy workforce. Today’s savvy employers are prioritizing employee health support, not solely for its financial benefits, but also from a cultural standpoint. The need for employers’ commitment to wellness is particularly true when we discuss the often misunderstood disease, obesity, and its rapidly growing prevalence within our modern workplace.

It takes a disciplined employer to first recognize and then foster a culture that incorporates employee wellness. It begins with leadership that models the organization with its employees’ health in mind. Obesity is a perfect situation where an employer’s support can benefit all. I say this because, despite the evidence surrounding obesity and that our society is facing an all-time high in terms of the percentage of obese adults within our population, there remains a bias against those battling the disease. This will not change until society, including employers, recognize and accept that obesity is a chronic disease, not a state that can be modified by simply eating less food. This mind shift is in everyone’s best interests as obesity’s health impact is tremendous: it contributes to over 200 health vulnerabilities such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.

Which brings me back to workplace culture. Healthy organizations prioritize health awareness amongst their employees and help battle bias within the workplace. They embrace that employee wellness is part of their organizational culture and take extra steps to provide employee support. I encourage every employer to take a deeper look at their organization’s overall employee health needs and to provide ongoing education and programs that promote employee health. I’ve seen organizations achieve this through...

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NEWS YOU CAN USE

Take the 2023 Greater Washington Champions for Accountability Survey

Is your business actively working toward greater corporate diversity? Your efforts can be recognized through the 2023 Champion for Accountability badge by completing The Greater Washington Champions for Accountability survey, available to organizations within the Greater Washington Region. Champions for Accountability is a DEI research project and digital badging system committed to catalyzing more inclusive systems of economic growth, and by sharing your data on your organization’s staff, board and ownership's demographic composition, your organization can earn its own 2023 Champion for Accountability badge and be highlighted at our annual event.

To learn more about the Champions for Accountability research, see a list of current Champions, and find details on earning your company's Champions badge, visit here.

IN PERSON AND VIRTUAL

UPCOMING EVENTS

DEI Connects Members-Only

April 18th | 2-3PM | Virtual

SPEAKER: Demola Sholagbade, Vice President & Head of Diversity and Inclusion, ICF.

DEI Connects is an inclusive and collaborative community of members who seek to share, learn and implement best practices in diversity, equity and inclusion in their employee culture, talent development, and employee recruiting and retention. NOVA DEI Connects welcomes all members interested in advancing their knowledge and understanding of successful DEI strategies to join us and each other in this opportunity. Each month the network will meet via Zoom to speak with a leader who will share their DEI best practices and programs.

Wellness in the Workforce Part 2: Understanding Obesity’s Impact on the Workforce & How to Combat It

April 25th | 11:30AM-1:30PM | The St. James

Keynote: Lydia Wang, Medical Account Associate Director, Novo Nordisk

Moderator: Ruth Williams-Brinkley, President, Mid-Atlantic Region Kaiser Permanente

Panelists:

Christina Gallagher, Senior Center Administrator, George Washington University
Kyle Russell, CEO, Virginia Health Information
Craig Dixon, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, The St. James

Special Guest: LeVar Johnson, Regional Account Manager at Novo Nordisk

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing and progressive disease that affects over 30% of Virginia's adult population and continues to grow in prevalence. It acts as a driver for a multitude of other serious health conditions and has been linked to $147 billion dollars in annual medical costs within the US alone. Despite these staggering numbers and the disease's impact on both our population and businesses, comprehensive care for obesity faces barriers in the form of stigma, bias, perception, and access to care.

Join us at The St. James on April 25th for Part 2 of our Wellness in the Workplace Series which will focus on the impact obesity has on our business community before covering ways to combat it. During this event, our Keynote, Lydia Wang, Medical Account Associate Director, Novo Nordisk, and our panel of experts will discuss what role organizations can play to support this serious, complex, and chronic condition with a profoundly negative impact on health and quality of life.

Workforce Network

April 25th | 2-3PM | Virtual, Free

SPEAKER: Michael Glascock, Regional Program Manager, Virginia Values Veterans will talk about the V3 Program which helps employers develop and implement long-term strategies and nationally-recognized best practices in recruiting, hiring and retaining Veterans.

Are you interested in finding innovative solutions to our region’s workforce challenges? Then please join us for the next meeting of the Workforce Network. The Workforce Network is an inclusive and collaborative community of workforce professionals and others interested in workforce innovation. Monthly meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of each month.

Greater Washington Apprentice Network

May 2nd | 2-3PM | Virtual, Free

SPEAKER: Debby Hopkins

Director, Workforce Initiatives

Appteon, Inc., who will be talking about the advantages of working with an intermediary to build an apprentice program. An apprenticeship intermediary is an organization with the capacity, expertise, and network to help businesses successfully create, launch, and expand apprenticeship programs.

The Greater Washington Apprentice Network (GWAN) brings together employers, academic institutions, public and private sectors. Employers gain access to best practices from organizational peers, sources of prospective apprentice candidates, support services, academic institutions, and training resources. The GWAN meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month for an Employer Briefing.

C-Suite Roundtable By Invitation, Members-Only

May 3rd

Our next Roundtable will be held over lunch on May 3rd and will feature Todd Marks, Founder, CEO, & President of Mindgrub Technologies.

Get ready to ignite your curiosity and broaden your horizon as we present an electrifying fireside discussion on Artificial Intelligence! Join us for lunch at the prestigious Tower Club in Virginia as the Chamber dives into the exciting world of AI and its numerous applications. Be a part of a thought-provoking conversation on how ChatGPT, Machine Learning and Robotic Process Automation are transforming industries.

If you would like to add your name to our C-Suite Roundtable list, please contact Carmen Sevilla, Chamber Senior Manager, Member Engagement, at csevilla@novachamber.org .

Annual Members' Meeting Members-Only

June 6th | 8:30-10AM | Westwood Country Club

The Chamber's Annual Members’ Meeting is where our Region’s leadership connects, celebrates our collective achievements, and passes the torch to a new Board Chairman. Known as the "best networking in the Region before 10AM," this members-only event is a who's who of Regional leadership, making it a key business connection opportunity not to be missed!

MEMBER ADVANTAGE

MEMBER NEWS

Join Penn Direct's Brigitte Perry and JLL's Jay Farmer for the American Heart Association's Golf Tournament on May 1 at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, MD. Save lives while enjoying a captain’s choice scramble and 18-holes of golf at one of the most prestigious courses in our region, breakfast, a post-event awards dinner, and more. Learn more here.

On May 6th, the Dulles Greenway invites you to Run The Greenway 5K, 10K and Kids Fun Run. This year we are moving the start/finish line to Loudoun Station, which provides Metro access via the Silver Line to the Ashburn Metro Station. Free parking will be available at Loudoun Station. Learn more here.

Luanne Gutermuth invites all to visit her Good Spirit Farm, a family-owned, winery, garden, guest house, and gathering space on 42 acres in Round Hill, VA. Learn more here.

Would you like to include your member organization's news in our next Doing Business issue? Sharing news is free for all members! All you have to do it complete the form on our website found here. The deadline to submit news is Friday at 12PM prior to our Tuesday newsletter.

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Doing Business is the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce's weekly e-newsletter focused on member-relevant news, Council Series updates, and upcoming events. Each month we will feature advocacy updates, a message from our President & CEO, and member-written blog posts. Subscription sign-up and past issues may be found on our website.

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