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Staff Photo by Matt Fields-Johnson Stephanie Mantooth, a disability benefit specialist for the Unum Group, works out four times per week at the company's fitness center. Mrs. Mantooth is a mother of two and would not have the time to work out if Unum did not offer a fitness center, she said.
Meredith Baker thinks Unum Group officials are seeing healthier employees because of its on-site fitness center.
“It’s convenient,” Mrs. Baker said during a break from a workout at Unum’s downtown headquarters. “I can’t complain about the facility or the equipment. It’s sufficient for everything I need.”
Providing a place where employees can pump iron, take a Zumba dance class or just spin on a stationary bike is a way some companies are helping meet employee wellness needs.
Open 24 hours a day, Unum’s 3,000-square-foot center in downtown Chattanooga is similar to ones offered at the insurer’s other major offices, said Michael Booth, the company’s health programs manager.
“We definitely see good positive returns for those folks using the facilities,” he said.
Estimates range that 16 percent to 20 percent of employees use the centers depending on the time of year, Mr. Booth said.
40 acres
McKee Foods Corp. in Collegedale has a 40-acre facility that includes outdoor walking trails, softball and volleyball facilities and outside and indoor swimming pools, said Mike Gloekler, McKee’s corporate communications and public relations manager.
In addition, the McKee Employees Recreation Center has a facility that includes exercise equipment and free weights, two full-court gyms and racquetball courts, he said.
“We just did a $100,000 upgrade to equipment,” Mr. Gloekler said.
He said wellness and fitness are “part of our company culture.”
“In a time of rising health care costs, it’s good business sense,” said the official for the snack cake maker.
He said he pays $4.20 a week for a family membership. Mr. Gloekler said 1,783 of the company’s 3,050 local employees are members.
Health insurer BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has included a fitness center in its new headquarters building on Cameron Hill. It didn’t offer one at its old location, said BlueCross spokeswoman Mary Thompson.
“It’s in keeping with the culture of wellness we’re trying to develop at BlueCross,” she said.
Having a fitness location on the campus helps employees schedule exercising into their daily routines, Ms. Thompson said.
TVA workers
Scott Brooks, a Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman, said the power provider offers employees a chance to work out at a 23,000-square-foot center in its downtown office complex.
Mr. Brooks said a comprehensive wellness program helps in the management of health care costs.
“It’s easier to keep people healthier than to pay for them when they’re not healthy,” he said.
Krissy Cate, a Unum employee, said she already has a membership at the YMCA with her husband, but it’s easier to exercise at work.
“It’s a waste of time to drive, and I like the people here,” she said. “It has everything I want and need.”
Unum’s Chattanooga center has a group exercise area, circuit strength training equipment, cardio-vascular machines and free weights.
The cost of using the center, about $22 a month for employees, includes exercise classes and personal training, if requested, Mr. Booth said.
“We have degreed professional staff in the exercise science field,” he said.
Andrew Molloy, Unum’s assistant vice president for health management and insurance programs, said it’s a nice perk to have on-site professionals.
In addition, there’s communication between the fitness facility and Unum’s health resource center, which is managed by an outside vendor and where employee’s can make use of their own health coach.
“It’s a great partnership between the fitness centers and the health resource centers,” Mr. Booth said.
Ms. Thompson said BlueCross also still offers a subsidy to pay for outside fitness memberships for workers, which it did before the new campus was constructed.
She said the company center wasn’t intended to replace gym memberships, but rather serve as an “information and motivation hub.”
FITNESS CENTERS
* Unum Group: 3,000 square feet; cost about $22 a month for employees and slightly more for family members; open 24 hours
* McKee Foods: located on 40 acres; cost is $4.20 a week for families; recent $100,000 equipment upgrade; open seven days a week
* BlueCross BlueShield: free; employees only; open 5:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday
* TVA: 23,000 square feet; free; for use by employees and dependents of workers eligible for TVA insurance
Source: companies
Mike Pare, the deputy Business editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, has worked at the paper for 27 years. In addition to editing, Mike also writes Business stories and covers Volkswagen, economic development and manufacturing in Chattanooga and the surrounding area. In the past he also has covered higher education. Mike, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Florida Atlantic University. he worked at the Rome News-Tribune before ...
The reporter writes, "Meredith Baker thinks Unum Group officials are seeing healthier employees because of its on-site fitness center."
But the reporter has no idea whether Ms. Baker thinks that at all.
All the reporter knows is that Ms. Baker says that.
This is no knock on Ms. Baker, of course. It's just Journalism 101.
The reporter should give us what he can verify. He can verify that she said it. A reporter can never tell us accurately what a person thinks, or feels, or believes, only what that person says, and does.
Why? I know this will come as a shock, but people often lie. People say they like Aunt Mary's apple pie, when they really think the crust is stale. People may say they believe this or that about a member of Congress or the president, when actually they are just scoring a political point. People say their business is going to have a banner year, when in fact they may fear that business is about to tank.
Don't tell us, please, what people think. You're no mind reader. Tell us what they say, and what they do.
Abe, that was quite a semantics lecture!
You say Mike Pare is not a mind reader, but of course you could be lying, too! (What do you really think?) Also, there is the possibility that he is a mind reader. You didn't define the term. There are different degrees of mind reading.
Or perhaps Mr. Pare should have said, "Meredith Baker said she thinks..." That should make you happy. It would be very parsed and accurate.
If Ms. Baker does not think what she said is accurate, perhaps she'll write a letter. Or perhaps she doesn't really know what she thinks. Some people don't.
To me it does seem a bit excessive to jump up and down over something so small, but I guess we all have our niche complaints. I confess that I am not immune from them, myself, at times.
+++++++
In all seriousness, the real story here is whether fitness centers in the workplace actually accomplish the goal of improving fitness.
That is something I didn't read in the story and would like to know.
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