Professor Kathleen Vangronsvelt kicked off the first session of the learning network on workplace well-being with a unique perspective: Why do we always focus on organizations themselves when it comes to workplace well-being? Can't we draw inspiration and analogies from success stories by looking at things differently?
Kathleen drew inspiration from the Blue Zones, regions where people live healthier and happier lives. She invited guest speaker Dr. Kalina Mikolajczak-Degrauwe, coordinator and senior researcher at the Healthy Region research group, to talk about her research and present her knowledge about the Blue Zones. These areas examine how the same context promotes healthy choices and enables people to thrive. Innovations often arise by applying knowledge from one domain to another (De Dreu & Sligte, 2016).
What are Blue Zones?
There are five places in the world where people live longer and healthier lives:
- Sardinia (Italy)
- Okinawa (Japan)
- Loma Linda (USA - California)
- Nicoya (Costa Rica)
- Ikaria (Greece)
These regions are known as Blue Zones, or longevity hotspots. People here often reach the age of 90 or 100 in good health, without medications or disability. Giovanni Mario Pes, Michel Poulain, and Dan Buettner discovered these zones and even registered "Blue Zones" as a trademark worldwide.
9 common characteristics of the Blue Zones
Nine characteristics of the Blue Zones were distilled by Dr. Kalina Mikolajczak-Degrauwe, coordinator and senior researcher at the Healthy Region research group. These include:
- Move naturally: Living in environments that encourage natural movement without the need for gyms.
- Know your purpose: Having a sense of purpose can add up to seven extra years of life expectancy.
- Minimize stress: Taking daily time for relaxation.
- 80% rule: Reducing calorie intake by 20%.
- Plant-based diet: Consuming mostly plant-based foods, preferably grown locally.
- Community: Belonging to a social group that meets regularly benefits health.
- Family: Prioritizing family and loved ones.
- Social circle: Maintaining a strong social network and sufficient social interactions.
- Spirituality: Having spiritual or religious beliefs.
These characteristics contribute to the longevity and well-being observed in the Blue Zones.
Blue Zones are achievable and applicable within your own organization
The good news? You don't have to emigrate to benefit from the principles of Blue Zones—they can be implemented right within your workplace.
In the Healthy Region research group, Dr. Kalina Mikolajczak-Degrauwe and Prof. Olaf Timmermans study the connection between healthy behaviors of residents and environmental factors in Zeeland. They develop innovative solutions that integrate health and sustainability.
During the learning network, they shared several cases demonstrating that Blue Zones principles can be implemented:
- California: Projects to reduce obesity by promoting healthy school meals and adapting infrastructure to encourage physical activity.
- Texas: Reduced smoking rates by 31% and increased well-being index by 6% over four years through structural adjustments in public places, offering healthier food options, and promoting health screenings.
- Singapore: Increased life expectancy by 20 years since 1960 by making fitness equipment widely available, imposing severe penalties for drug and alcohol abuse, and making car ownership unaffordable.
- Zeeland (Netherlands): Innovations to enable elderly to live independently longer and develop products to encourage movement among dementia patients.
With this knowledge, they promote health among employers, explaining how they too can contribute to their employees' health, making them feel more vital, happier, reducing absenteeism, and enhancing performance at work.
The power of words: health is a positive concept
Dr. Kalina Mikolajczak-Degrauwe views health as a positive concept. It's about focusing on possibilities rather than problems (shifting from complaints to strengths), offering perspective, and ensuring people retain control over their lives. It involves sufficient physical activity, healthy eating, and good sleep, both at home and at work. It's about finding balance between stress and relaxation and understanding the influence of your living environment
"Health is a positive concept: it's about possibilities instead of problems, taking control of your life, balance,... By improving the environment and peer support, we aim for a healthier, more active, and independent life."
All these factors contribute to a healthier, more active, and independent life with reduced urgency for care and resources. Rather than focusing on prevention alone, we advocate for promoting health by addressing the environment and enhancing peer support.
