The Safe Harbor Family broke ground for Phase II of the Safe Harbor Center on Thursday, July 21.  Phase II will consist of 7 executive suites and 2 virtual offices in addition to a reception and break area.  There will also be a salt water fish tank in Phase II which is a favorite gathering place for Phase I tenants, employees, and visitors.

Phase I tenants and Safe Harbor Benefits employees celebrated this long anticipated day with a wonderful catered Mexican luncheon.

The human body is meant to move. That is the reason why doctors increasingly warn that sitting for long periods of time threatens wellness. Standing, on the other hand, promotes health. But exercise is the best. Sitting is, in fact, an independent risk factor for several illnesses. It raises risk all on its own – whether a person exercises or not.

Several large-scale studies show that people who spend most of the day sitting are more likely to have diabetes, cancer or heart disease. They are more prone to heart attack and stroke and more likely to be overweight. With four hours of sitting, the genes that regulate the amount of blood sugar in the body have begun shutting down. Some studies show the same with three hours of sitting and even one hour. In fact, for every two hours spent sitting, the chance of developing diabetes goes up by 7 percent. When the large muscles are not used, blood flow slows. Fewer feel-good hormones circulate. At least that’s one theory about how sitting ups the odds of depression.

Metabolism slows, too. A person burns an extra 60 calories a day by standing most of the time instead of sitting. Any kind of movement is better than no movement, say the experts. A few years ago, one study showed that the simple act of fidgeting burns 350 or more extra calories a day.

Simple lifestyle changes can help your clients’ health. Encourage your clients to take the family for a walk after dinner, stand to talk on the phone, place exercise equipment in front of their TV – and use it. At work, find a reason to get up and walk every hour – even if it’s to the water cooler.

Members should always consult a doctor about specific health concerns.

Sources: Mayo Clinic, University of Missouri at Columbia

On Tuesday April 5th, there was a huge win for small business because additional new government red tape has been stopped before it was enacted.  The  U.S. Senate passed H.R. 4, the “Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011,” to repeal the 1099 reporting requirement newly required under the recent health care reform law. Since the House of Representatives had already passed the bill by a 314-112 vote on March 3, 2011, it now heads to President Barack Obama’s desk for his signature. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation.

The 1099 reporting mandate was intended to increase tax compliance by requiring businesses to file a 1099 for all business-to-business transactions for goods or services totaling more than $600 cumulatively over the tax year. Businesses would be forced to track down and record the name, address and taxpayer identification number of each vendor.   Then the small businesses would then have to file a 1099 with the IRS and send a copy to each vendor at the end of the year. This burdensome mandate would have created a mountain of paperwork for small businesses and diverted precious resources away from business expansion and job growth.  Many other new twists of the health care reform law may be eliminated before they become required in 2014.

{From the 9th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends by MetLife}

Benefits can be an effective tool for the task of building loyalty and job satisfaction.  Study findings reinforce the connection between satisfaction with benefits and employee loyalty.  In fact, employees who are satisfied with benefits are nearly three times as likely to express a strong sense of loyalty to their employers.

Benefits dollars work harder when employees perceive their benefits program as valuable.  But perceived value depends on benefits being relevant to an employee’s personal needs, and this requires employers to take a closer look at workforce realities.  While nearly all workers were impacted by the recession, they were at different stages of life when it hit.  The resulting shifts in personal fancicial paradigms are also likely to be different for various age groups.  The Study highlights how this can translate into different generations of workers having different priorities and views about what benefits should include.

For a complete copy of this report, including Generational Benefits Strategies, contact Victoria Weir in our office. (Victoria@safeharborbenefits.com)

Safe Harbor can help you put together a creative benefits package with flexibility and customization to maximize benefits within your budget and strengthen employee appreciation.