Winston-Salem Magazine ‘Fit to Do Business’

Feature Writing

Fit to Do Business

If you’re trying to find Richard Budd, president of North State Supply, Inc., during the lunch hour, he may well be on the racquetball court at his company’s South Stratford Road location. After work, you may find Budd and North State Vice President Gerald Chrisco pedaling away on stationary bikes at the YMCA, their annual membership fees paid by the company.

John Pesenti, treasurer-controller at Wesley Business Forms in Rural Hall, spends three lunch hours a week with fellow employees who work out on Nautilus equipment in a private club near the office. Their membership fees are also paid by their employer.

Deposition Services, Inc., subsidizes membership fees at Nautilus Elite, Inc., for co-owner Mike Greene and several other fitness-conscious employees, while E.G. Forrest Company pays membership fees for a dozen of its 100 employees who, in turn, reimburse the company through monthly payroll deductions.

“The company gets us a group rate plus a price break for paying the whole fee up-front,” explains E.G. Forrest Sales Representative Sam Lewis. “If we joined as individual members on an installment plan, we’d end up paying much more.”

These local companies are among an estimated 50,000 American firms that have invested in physical fitness programs for employees. As many as 1,000 companies have on-premises fitness facilities, ranging from the beat-up stationary bike in the corner of the boss’s office to lavish multimillion dollar fitness complexes.

Others promote “wellness” through a variety of programs, all of which share the same goals: to educate employees about the value of good health and to motivate them to achieve it.

Because the programs are so varied, so are costs. An article in the June ‘84 issue of Management Accounting reports facilities costs “can run into seven figures,” while per-participant program costs can range from $50 to $800, depending on the amount of supervision and testing involved.

Dollar estimates of program benefits vary just as widely.

One of the biggest investments in facilities so far is at Tenneco, Inc., which opened an $11 million fitness facility at its Houston headquarters in 1981. Company researchers have found that regular exercisers at Tenneco’s facilities were absent an average of 47 hours a year and made health claims averaging $640, compared with 70 hours and $1,380 a year among the non-exercisers. One study of more than 3,000 Tenneco employees showed that exercisers also had higher job performance ratings than their non-exercising co-workers.

At Burlington Industries, a four-year pilot program at five of the company’s 84 plant locations netted $10 in decreased health care costs and reduced absenteeism for every $7 invested, according to Dr. Donald Hayes, director of Health and Safety for the company.

The pilot program began with multi-phasic health testing of the 55 percent of employees who chose to participate. Based on test results, Burlington recommended to 80 percent of employees screened that they participate in one or more health-related individual counseling and classroom instruction programs.

“As we expected, our health claims increased at first as a result of problems we uncovered in the initial screenings,” Hayes said. “Our claims have since decreased, and when we’ve re-screened employees annually, we’ve found a general improvement in measurable health at all the locations.

“Also, when we interviewed employees who participated, we found they considered the program an expression of the company’s genuine interest in their welfare as individuals. That’s a benefit that can’t be directly translated into dollars, but it’s definitely there.”

Closer to home, the fitness program trend hasn’t seemed to catch on among the larger companies. A survey of Winston-Salem employers including R.J. Reynolds Industries, AT&T, The Hanes Group, Wachovia, Piedmont Aviation, McLean Trucking, AMP Inc., Stroh Brewery, TNT Pilot Freight Carriers and Integon revealed that only one—Integon—had a formal, company- sanctioned employee fitness program.

The Integon program, set to kick off in January, was planned by an employee task force and includes a low-calorie, nutritionally-balanced plate lunch in the cafeteria, an improved resource library in the Medical Department, and a series of lunchtime seminars, built around such themes as “a healthy mind,” “a healthy body” and “a healthy spirit.”

During the kick-off period, employees who fill out “lifestyle questionnaires” for computer analysis will have a chance to win door prizes. In the company’s seventh-floor gym—a facility equipped with a universal machine, stationary bicycles, a treadmill, a mini-trampoline, exercise mats, a ping-pong table, a pool table, showers and lockers—employee volunteers will demonstrate the proper use of the more complicated equipment. For those who prefer to work out away from the workplace, representatives from a local health club will sign up new members at a corporate rate. The year’s estimated out-of-pocket cost for the program is less than $1,000.

Given the cost effectiveness figures from the pioneering companies, it seems surprising that more of Winston-Salem’s larger employers haven’t devised fitness programs of their own. One reason, according to Sandy Masura, manager-trainer at King Nautilus Fitness Center, is that many managers insist on knowing the exact benefit they can expect before they’ll authorize any outlay of dollars. “The more innovative companies that have gone ahead with wellness programs are finding they more than pay for themselves,” she says. “It’s just going to take a while for it to catch on.”

“You’d think promoting employee fitness programs to corporations would be easy,” says Nancy Jaquish, who, as health and fitness director at the Central YMCA, is currently at work on a corporate health enhancement program to take fitness evaluations and classes to company locations. “The numbers are there showing reduced absenteeism and health claims, and higher productivity and morale. But so far the companies around here don’t seem that interested. The potential is there, but only a few companies have really gotten started.”

According to Sandy Masura, the fact that many smaller local companies are actively addressing the fitness question is related to a heightened awareness among their managers. “Managers in smaller businesses are more aware of the importance of good health for two reasons. One, they know if their staff consists of themselves and perhaps a few other key people, and all of them are not at their best, the company is in trouble. Two, owning your own business is much more stressful than people who’ve never done it before realize, so the company owner is more likely to develop an interest in fitness.”

“Our president, Rick Wesley, puts a lot of emphasis on fitness himself,” says Pesenti, “so when I told him I thought the company was benefiting from my health club membership and asked him if the company would help pay the fee, he said, `Sure.’ It was an easy sell.”

“Richard Budd is one of the better racquetball players in town,” says Gerald Chrisco, “and he was president of the Y for two years. I think that has a lot to do with the company’s emphasis on fitness.”

If the fitness craze hasn’t yet caught on throughout the workplace, the city’s working people are definitely working out anyway, as morning, noon, and early evening fitness classes indicate. Just how many people are members of the private clubs remains a mystery because most don’t give out their totals for fear of scaring off prospective members. As of October 1984, the YMCA had 5,854 members, 2,603 of whom joined under adult (as opposed to child, senior citizen or student) memberships.

People are also working out more at home. Americans spent an estimated $554 million on home exercise equipment in 1983, up from $493 million in 1981. Of the ‘83 total, $175 million went for stationary bicycles, also a big seller locally. As of November ‘84, Manager Paul Harrell of Paul’s Schwinn Cyclery had sold more than 250 Schwinn AirDynes at $595 apiece and was confident the year’s total would reach 300.

“Air-Dynes have been on the market four and a half years, and every year, our sales have increased,” notes Harrell. “Most people buy them to use at home, not only as an alternative, but as a complement to a health club membership.”

No matter where they work out, most regular exercisers are convinced of the benefits. “I’ve been in aerobics classes for two years now,” says Integon Systems Control Clerk Nancy Renn, “and I find them an excellent way to relieve stress. I go from my desk to my class after work, and I find it much easier to go home relaxed and ready to enjoy time with my family.”

“Before I started my fitness program four years ago, I could count on being out of work at least two weeks out of the year,” says John Pesenti. “Now, even if I do get sick, I usually don’t have to miss work. I also have more confidence and energy.”

“I find I have more energy when I work out,” says Mike Greene, “and it helps with my concentration. For that reason, I know it’s definitely a good investment for the company.”

Regardless of company size, support from the top down seems crucial to the success of any corporate fitness program. “The impetus for our program came directly from our CEO,” says Burlington’s Hayes. “In choosing the five plants for the pilot program, we felt it was important to select locations where we felt the management was not just sympathetic, but actively enthusiastic about the idea.”

“The programs that have succeeded all have top management support and involvement,” agrees Nancy Jaquish. “If that’s not there, any program will just fizzle out.”