The way we lead impacts the health and family of those we lead. Just ask Sarah and Ben Guptill.
Sarah and Ben — who recently celebrated their 19-year wedding anniversary – are both team members at Barry-Wehmiller’s Accraply division. Sarah is the Marketing Coordinator and Ben is part of the IT team.
Beyond their busy roles, they each also make time to volunteer as professors for Barry-Wehmiller University, our internal university that shares the principles of Truly Human Leadership with our team members around the globe. Sarah and Ben also are mom and dad to little Eloise and Lena, so they have plenty going on outside of their days at Accraply.
Sarah and Ben are well regarded as wonderful parents and Truly Human Leaders in our company, but, after they got their onsite biometric screenings last fall, they began demonstrating leadership at work and at home in an entirely different way.
“I’ve gotten a biometric screening at work every year, but this was the first time that most of my numbers were out of whack,” Ben said. “I decided to do something about it.”
He and Sarah decided to try eating differently. They significantly reduced their carb intake, they cut out sugar and highly processed foods, and increased their fat consumption. So far, these changes are working for them. In fact, they’re more than working.
“My mental clarity, motivation and mood are massively improved—I no longer get ‘hangry,’” noted Sarah. “Plus, I’ve lost over 30 pounds so far!”
Ben’s seen even more drastic improvements in his life.
“I’ve lost 70 pounds since December, and my joint pain is gone,” said Ben. “I just went in for my physical, and my cholesterol is down 54 points. My doctor was very pleased!”
At Barry-Wehmiller, we believe it’s important to offer team members the tools and inspiration they need to live productive, healthy and fulfilled lives. Free biometric screenings, often at team members’ jobsites, are just one of the ways we support those within our span of care, and ensure they go home feeling safe and well.
As I’ve said before, our wellbeing offerings aren’t about lowering our health care costs or increasing productivity—we truly want to inspire our people to become their best selves, and taking proactive care of their health and wellbeing is critical part of that goal.
“Because we’re young, we probably would have waited for a sign that something was wrong before getting a checkup if we didn’t work at Accraply and have easy access to biometric screenings,” admitted Sarah. “Unfortunately, high cholesterol and blood pressure aren’t things you can easily sense, so we may have gone years before making any changes.”
Sarah and Ben acknowledge that the way they’re eating now isn’t for everyone, but they’re glad it works for them. Perhaps most importantly, people are asking them about what they’re doing and these conversations are raising awareness and inspiring others to make changes in their own lives. In the spirit of giving back, they’ve even spoken at a company lunch-and-learn event to share their experiences.
“There are so many things you can’t control, but I can take charge of my health,” Ben said. “Biometric screenings got our family on track. The only thing our girls will know is healthy eating.”
When we encourage wellbeing, we realize the potential for it to extend far beyond the blood pressure or the cholesterol of our team members. It also impacts the health and wellbeing of those within each person’s span of care. Last year, nearly 3,500 BW team members and spouses got a biometric screening at one of our free onsite events. That’s whole lot of wellbeing going around!