This is not really how "Parkour" got its name.
Cynical as Dilbert can be, it’s the frission of underlying truth that gives this particular strip its sting. Corporate wellness programs are gaining popularity as a cost-savings measure at the workplace, because there’s a growing body of research data that, in a fairly obvious reinforcement of common sense, shows that folks who are healthier in general miss less work due to illness (whether it’s a cold or something more serious and/or long-term).
In other words, we’re putting ourselves ahead of the game here. Fitness geeks are the wave of the future. We’re trendsetters. W00t.
Yanno… I kind of expected a better view, what with being ahead of the curve and all. All I have is a beige cubicle, although I did score dual monitors.
But, in all seriousness, this is a trend that’s only going to gain momentum in the coming years. The shift in health care is moving more and more towards proactive prevention rather than reactive treatment, on both the small and large scale. Individuals, companies, and (potentially) the government want to take steps to minimize (or at least help control) health care expenditure, in terms of treatment, insurance, and all the associated “hidden” costs, like lost wages or productivity. Offering modest incentives to make employees more healthy in their day-to-day choices and behaviors is a lot less costly than paying elevated insurance premiums and/or retraining or retaining extra staff to cover health-related absenteeism.
Plus, there’s a chance that some people in the company are like me and Mike, and will end up evangelizing for healthy living simply because some parts of it are enjoyable for their own sake. For instance, in just two months, the crew at our office’s gym taking part in a self-assessment of a handful of simple exercises has grown from just me, to five guys, to nine. Next month, there are liable to be a dozen or more.
We don’t have to go full-bore Darwin here, ratcheting things up until the weak succumb, but if everyone gets a little (or a lot) healthier, that’s better for all of us — we won’t have to pick up the slack at the office for that guy who’s taking yet another sick day, or see our insurance premiums go up because group health costs keep creeping upwards (don’t get me started on the insurance and pharmaceutical industries; Mike is already twitchy enough about my penchant towards coprolalia, and this would totally blow the lid off that; suffice it to say, I have strong opinions on the subject).
None of which is to say that you shouldn’t try and take a distant parking spot. You won’t have to hunt for it, and, unless it’s Velociraptor and Zombie Day, the walk will do you some good, and burn some extra calories.
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