A salute to Stickley and its 'big losers'
Ray Allegrezza, Editor-in-Chief -- Furniture Today, June 22, 2009
If you're in the business, you know that Stickley has a reputation as a domestic manufacturer of premium wood furniture and upholstery.
But what you may not know is that many of the company's employees are losers. Even more surprising is that Stickley is proud of that fact.
Now, before my good friend, Mrs. Aminy Audi, picks up the phone to blast me, let me explain.
Long before it became the fashionable thing to do, Stickley had a long history of encouraging its employees to live happy and healthy lives.
In addition to providing workers free, weekly appointments with a company doctor at its Manlius, N.Y., facility, the company's Occupational Health Office promotes health and wellness via programs such as smoking cessation, walk-at-work, health fairs, on-site eye care, and company-sponsored Weight Watchers programs.
Here's the part about the losers.
After a small group of employees from the Purchasing Department asked if they could use a business scale for their weight-loss effort, Stickley's H.R. staff quickly formulated a company-wide "Biggest Loser" contest. In less than one week, 50 teams with 227 participants across its sites had signed on for a 10-week competition.
Contestants weighed in weekly, and the team with the highest percentage of weight loss for each week won prizes, including shirts, water bottles and gift cards.
At the end of the contest period, members of the team with the largest total weight loss won a paid vacation day, as did those who lost 10% or more of their body weight. Stickley also awarded a cash prize of $500 to the individual who lost the highest percentage of body weight.
Man, talk about cutting the fat out of the business! At the end of 10 weeks, the Stickley family of employees was collectively 2,592 pounds lighter.
At a time when one third of all U.S. adults are obese — creating more than $100 billion in extra health costs, roughly half borne by individuals and companies, the other half falling on government — here was good news. Stickley gets the fact that healthy employees are happy, productive employees.
Hats off to Stickley for celebrating its losers.
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