A blue zone is a region in the world where people live longer than average. The main blue zones are Okinawa Prefecture, Japan; Nuora Province in Sardinia, Italy, the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, and Icaria, Greece. Dan Buettner’s book The Blue Zone: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest explains how certain simple changes in one’s environment can lead naturally to behavioral changes and that this can help people live a decade or longer beyond the average life expectancy. It’s clear that the lessons from Buettner’s book can create a workplace that’s a blue zone, which can have very positive results for employees and the business.
Overview
Buettner created the Power 9® for blue zones—9 concepts derived from those living in blue zones—which can be applied to improve worksite wellness. These are:
- Move naturally—forget mechanical devices to exercise; just walk
- Purpose—know what gets you up each day and drives you forward
- Down shift—shed stress through prayer or meditation, napping, and happy hour
- 80% rule—stop eating when you’re 80% full
- Plant slant—each mostly plants, with limited meat
- Wine at 5—limit alcohol consumption to a drink with meals
- Right tribe—find a group of friends for life who can support you through the ups and downs
- Loved ones first—put family first
- Belong—participate in faith-based communities
These can be boiled down into 4 categories: move, right outlook, eat wisely, and connect.
Changing your workplace environment
Obviously, you can’t oversee an employees’ lives. But you can change things in the workplace that can lead employees to better practices and produce positive results for employees and employers:
- For employees: Better health, greater overall happiness, more satisfaction at work.
- For employers: Reduced health care costs, lower absenteeism, increased productivity, higher employee retention.
Small businesses are ideal for doing this because changes can be implemented quickly (long studies by committees aren’t necessary) and staff may already feel like “family.” Here are some ideas derived from The Blue Zone concepts.
- Encourage “moai.” Moai, a practice in the blue zone region in Okinawa, means shared hobbies or interests. In the business context, employees can form a moai—a group of 2 or more employees—for regular walks. As is obvious, walking is a way to “move naturally,” one of the 9 things to do to live longer. Studies have shown that walking with a buddy produces greater health benefits than walking alone. From personal experience, having a walking buddy means you’re less likely to ditch the walk by making excuses (“it’s too cold,” “it’s too hot,” “I’m too tired”).
- Change the breakroom. Ditch the soda and chips; replace them with water and fruit. This is an environmental change that produces behavior changes in a natural way. If you don’t see it, you don’t want it. A study from the National Institutes of Health found that putting snack food at a greater distance decreases consumption (“proximity effect”).
- Encourage work friendships. The Harvard Business Review reported that having close friendships at work makes you more productive and happier. I think it’s also a positive way to retain workers; those with important friends aren’t as likely to easily leave a company for another job compared with those with no personal connections.
- Get employees excited about your company’s mission. Purpose is a key concept in blue zones. Engaging employees in the company’s mission gives them purpose, which results in a desire to come to work each day and perform well. The Harvard Business Review explains how to connect employees to your company’s purpose.
Final thought
Turning your business into a blue zone won’t guarantee that employees will live longer. But it’s probably going to add to employees’ happiness and health, as well as increase productivity and employee retention. Why not try it? To get more ideas on how to introduce blue zone concepts into your workplace, read Buettner’s book or see his documentary on Netflix.
To read more about creating a healthy workplace, you’ll find more blogs here.
