Quantum Newsprint hosted by Bill Sjoblom

Are You a Quitter?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog Are You a Smoker?  I got responses from three people who wanted to quit smoking.  That's a great start!  I wanted to share one story (with permission) that I found very interesting and yes, inspiring...from Bryant in Syracuse:

You will be glad to know that as of today I have been smoke free for five days. I know that does not seem like a lot to most but to a smoker that is a big step.

How you may ask?

Well, I'll get to that but first I will answer why I quit. Main reason is health (the most obvious) but did you know that here in NY a pack can cost you about 8-9 bucks a pack? Lets see... that's one pack a day, seven days a week comes to 252 dollars a month... to slowly kill myself.  Not to mention the smell (in your clothes, your car, on your hands, and worst of all your home). I could go on and on but now you will learn what surprised me the most, was how I quit.

This part is going to seem odd... but effective. After the long drive home from ASDG (Keep in mind, that during this whole story I have not had one cigarette) I went straight to bed and awoke that Sunday to find myself feeling a little under the weather. At first I brushed it off as fatigue and went about my day... Monday came and I knew I had caught a little cold, all the signs were there.

For the record, however, I hardly ever get sick but when I do... its bad, so as you can imagine, that Tuesday was pretty tough.  I pushed myself through the day and slumped to the sofa where my wife began to cater to my every need (Even if it was a need I didn't desire. She has a pushy bedside manner) Morning came and ohhh... did I hurt. Classic Flu. The aches, pains, cough, and tissues were in full bloom. The biggest shocker was that my loving wife had used my phone to call Lynnette the night before to inform her that I was not going to able to make it to work. Yes, I was just as shocked as you probably are and I was little conflicted. I loved her more for what she did yet felt slighted at the same time. Luckily (for both our sake I think now) the flu had sapped me of all energy to be able to fight against her better judgement. It was at that time spent in bed that I decided to test the old saying, "it is always best to quit when you are sick".  I found this to be true. The whole time I was fighting the flu I was also going through withdrawal of smoking. Killing two birds with one stone in a way.

I don't recommend a smoker go find the nearest flu bug to quit but it helped me. Hhmmm.. first time I can recall being happy I got sick.  So far, so good. With no cravings I can go each day making the right step to a happier healthier me.

Next step is to get the wife to quit... least I can do for what she does for me.

Great story, Bryant!  It is really hard to kick this habit.  Please take a moment to send Bryant an email to encourage him -- or get his help if you want to stop smoking (bmawyer@quantum-services.com).

What about the rest of you?  Anyone else want to share how they are kicking the habit?  And don't forget my offer.  If you want to quit we want to help.  If you are on our health insurance contact BAC or Pam Hoyt for details on what our plan covers.  If you are not on our health insurance let Pam (phoyt@quantum-services.com) or me know if you want our help with a quit smoking aid. 

Are You a Smoker?

Yep, the second biggest cause of health issues is smoking.  I am thankful that I never started smoking.  Last week at the QS Values Meeting in Columbus, I was surprised to see that at least half of the group were smokers!  I am not going to make the medical case for the dangers of smoking, there are plenty of sources for that.

But I am going to make you an offer.

Did you know that we changed our medical plan earlier this year to cover many of the aids to quit smoking like Nico Derm and Chantix when used under the direction of a doctor?  If you are interested, please contact our medical administrator, BAC for details.

And what about if you don't have our insurance or the insurance you have does not cover aids to quit smoking?  If you are determined to quit smoking and want to try one of this approaches, send me an email (bsjoblom@quantum-services.com) and let me know that you want to quit smoking and what aid you want to use.  We will help with the cost. 

So...what do you say?  Are you ready to quit?

Do You Struggle With Your Weight?

Ok, so I will go on record that I struggle with my weight.  I love food.  Pretty much all kinds of food!  At times I get motivated to change my habits...but it is hard to keep it going.  What I have found out is that the most important three things you can do are:

• Eat a healthy breakfast - don't skip it.
• Keep track of what you eat.  There are plenty of web sites and even mobile apps that will help you.  I have used Vitabot and My Fitness Pal before.
• Exercise.  I know, we all want to believe there is some magical diet or supplement that will help us lose weight without real exercise...but the truth is that if you incorporate some type of regular exercise into your routine, you will have more success than if you don't. 

There are also lots of great programs out there like Weight Watchers that can help you. If you have decided you want to get serious about losing weight and there is some way we can support you - drop me a line.  We want to help.

Being overweight is one of the two biggest causes of health problems!  I bet you can guess the second one.  More on that one next blog!

Sheetz Emphasizes Wellness

One of our best clients, Sheetz has been emphasizing employee wellness for the past five years.  They recently opened a brand new 10,500 square feet wellness center in Claysburg, PA.  The center will feature a fitness center and a education center.  The benefits to Sheetz are reduced health care costs and more focused and happier employees. 

We recently rolled out our new Healthy Ways program with IWS.  If you are on our health insurnace have you and your spouse signed up?  What are your thoughts so far?

Set Yourself Up for Success

The latest edition of Harvard Business Review has some fascinating articles on Happiness.  In particular I was interested in Positive Intelligence by Shawn Achor.  His offers three ways that we can cultivate our own sense of well-being and set ourselves up to succeed.  In other words, you want to be happier and more successful?  Do this:

DEVELOP NEW HABITS.  You can actually train your brain to be more positive just as you train your muscles at the gym.  Engaging in one brief positive exercise each day for as little as three weeks can have a lasting impact.  Here are five to try:

• Jot down three things you are grateful for.
• Write a positive message to someone in your social network.
• Meditate for two minutes.
• Exercise for 10 minutes.
• Take two minutes to describe in a journal the most meaningful experience of the past 24 hours.

HELP YOUR COWORKERS.  There is a direct correlation between your success (and happiness) and the amount of support you get from your network of friends and co-workers.  But there is an even stronger correlation between happiness and the amount of help you give others!  People who initiate social and business interaction are more successful and more satisfied with their work.

CHANGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH STRESS.  The problem is that people get to stressed-out about being stressed-out.  It is important to remember that stress has an upside as well.  Stress is not an obstacle to growth, it can be the fuel for growth.  Stress is an inevitable part of work.  The next time you are feeling overwhelmed, make a list of all the stresses you are under.  Put them in two groups - the ones you can control and those that you can't.  Choose one stress you can control and some up with a small concrete step you can take to reduce that stress. 

What do you think?  Some of you have probably been doing one or more of these things for a long time.  How does it work for you?

Health Insurance is Too Expensive!

This past week you received an email from QS with "Good News"!  What was the great news?  Your health insurance premiums and deductibles are NOT GOING UP NEXT YEAR!!  I don't imagine any of you were jumping up and down and cheering...because quite frankly, health insurance is just too expensive! 

I agree.

Over the last ten years, health care costs in the U.S. have doubled.  That's an  average increase of more than 7% every year.  I don't think anyone at QS has seen their pay double in the last ten years so it is easy to see the impact on each of  you. 

Almost six years ago we decided to switch to a high deductible health plan (HDHP) with health savings accounts (HSA) in order to try to manage our costs and minimize the increases to our employees.  We believe that one of the solutions is to get people more involved in how their health care dollars are spent. This has helped but you are still spending more than you were six years ago.

Many smaller companies like ours have decided to no longer offer health insurance - or if they do, the employee pays for all of the cost.  That is a decision we don't want to make.  We believe you should have coverage and that it should be as affordable as we can make it.

But I recognize that health insurance is still very expensive.  I wish I had a better solution.

Healthy Ways Launches in 2012

I am pleased to announce that QS is working with Integrated Wellness Solutions to offer Healthy Ways, a program that offers incentives to make healthy lifestyle choices. The program is similar but more robust than what we offered this year. The program combines monthly reporting on healthy activities and biometric screening for:

• Tobacco use
• Cholesterol
• Blood pressure
• Glucose
• Body Fat

Over the course of the year, you will have the opportunity to earn up to 1719 points. You only need 1325 to quality for a $200 reward. Additionally, if you do not participate, your health insurance premiums will increase 15% the following year.

One study indicates that 58% of large employers are offering some type of incentive program like Healthy Ways. That's up from 49% just two years ago.

We believe it is so important encourage healthy behaviors. We also offer a wellness benefit - most routine screenings and preventative care is covered 100% with no deductible. Check out BAC's website for more details.

We will be offering a webinar on November 28 and December 13 at both 7 pm and 9:30 pm (EST) that will give you more details about Healthy Ways.

Shrink Trends Up Slightly in 2010

The latest Convenience Store News Industry Report finds that shrink as a percentage of sales trended slightly up from 1.33% in 2009 to 1.36% in 2010.  What is the largest category for shrink in convenience stores?    Food service - where shrink is 3.91% of sales.  The next category is cigarettes at 1.19% of sales. 

The number of in store transactions increased by 30 per week to 3,210.  The average transaction also increased by 8 cents to $7.47 each.

Two expenses not under the operators control increased the most in 2010 - credit card transaction fees were up over 20% (mostly due to higher gas prices) and health insurance costs were up 9%.  On a per store basis, credit card fees averaged more than $59,000 and health insurance costs were almost $18,000 per store. 

Alcohol and QS

It is QS's desire to provide a healthful and safe workplace.  To promote this goal, our policy is that while conducting business-related activities off QS premises, no employee may use, possess, purchase, distribute, sell or be under the influence of alcohol.  There have been some questions lately about how this policy applies so I would like to clarify.

There should be no alcohol consumption (regardless of who pays for it) at company functions including meals while traveling and training events.  We also do not want you to purchase alcohol at a client's store before, during or after an audit. 

If you have any questions on this policy, please contact me or any staff member.  Thank you for your commitment to your health and everyone's safety.

Healthy Eating...in a Convenience Store?

It seems that lately every issue in the industry press has at least one article with a reference to the importance of providing the convenience store customer "healthy options".  Most c-store chains claim to be trying to promote healthier products in their stores.  Even McDonald's is now offering Oatmeal for breakfast!

I am curious.  In what ways have your clients been emphasizing or offering more healthy options?