Richard Safeer, MD, is the Chief Medical Director of Employee Health and Well-being at Johns Hopkins Medicine, where he leads the acclaimed Healthy at Hopkins strategy. He is the author of A Cure for the Common Company: A Well-Being Prescription for a Happier, Healthier, and More Resilient Workforce. Safeer's work has been featured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Fortune Magazine. With a BS in Nutritional Biochemistry from Cornell University, mentored by T. Colin Campbell (author of The China Study), and an MD from SUNY Buffalo, his career spans family medicine, academia, and wellness leadership. At CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, he led groundbreaking initiatives, earning NCQA wellness accreditation. 

In this episode Jason and Richard discuss:

• Importance of leaders prioritizing employee well-being for organizational success
• Benefits of mindful gratitude practices and self-care on performance
• Impact of childhood experiences on interest in workplace safety and well-being
• Measured outcomes of workplace wellness programs, including reduced absenteeism and turnover
• Leadership strategies for promoting employee health through low-cost, preventive methods

Key Takeaways: 

• Leaders’ well-being is essential for optimal performance, emphasizing the importance of self-care in physical, mental, and emotional aspects to foster resilience and productivity.
• Engaging employees in wellness programs, from creative contests to accessible tools like the CDC worksite health scorecard, ensures continuous improvement and a focus on workplace safety and health.
• The impact of leadership on employee well-being is undeniable, with clear priorities and preventive measures enhancing engagement, productivity, and retention across organizations.
• Lifestyle medicine, encompassing factors like nutrition, exercise, stress management, and social connectedness, emerges as a critical approach for preventing and reversing chronic diseases in the workplace.
• Actionable resources like A Cure for the Common Company offer leaders practical blueprints to prioritize employee well-being, driving healthier, more productive organizational cultures.

“Any leader who's listening to this podcast episode today should come to appreciate that you have more impact on the health and well-being of the people you lead than most physicians do because of the sheer amount of time that you spend with your team.”

 - Richard Safeer

A Cure for the Common Company: A Well-Being Prescription for a Happier, Healthier and More Resilient Workforce: https://amzn.to/3bG1q1D  

Online training program to learn how to create a well-being culture on your team and in your workplace: https://www.creatingawellbeingculture.com/ 

10 Minute Well-being Tips for Managers- Safeer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_v8Jd-x-c4 

Connect with Richard Safeer:

Website: https://richardsafeer.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardsafeer/ 

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: [email protected]

Show notes by: Angelo Paul Tagama

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.