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Workplace Assessment
Sarina Thomas
October 29, 2016
Dr. Hesse
Arizona State University

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Overall score: 30% (F)

Social benefits: 10/10 (100%)

Reasoning: Starbucks provides partners the opportunity to get to know one another outside of
work on a regular basis. We have Christmas parties, tastings, and meetings that are typically
really fun.
Emotional benefits: 8/10 (80%)
Reasoning: Aside from the stress of being in customer service, we get adequate time off to take
care of ourselves. The company also invests a lot into us, so the baristas seem to stay upbeat even
during hectic times.
Physical benefits: 6/10 (60%)
Reasoning: Although Starbucks keeps us moving by having us walk around all day, as well as
pumping syrups of lifting gallons of milk to refine our muscles, ergonomics does not exist.
Unfortunately, some employees, including myself, have suffered from carpel tunnel.
Intellectual benefits: 3/10 (30%)
Reasoning: Our company trains their employees while relying on muscle memory. At first,
learning this new skill is really awesome for our brains. As time goes on, however, it is as though
we can get through an eight hour shift without thinking once like robots.
Spiritual benefits: 2/10 (20%)
Reasoning: For some, the spiritual benefits (or lack thereof) does not matter, if one doesnt have
a specific belief. For me, a Christian, the fact that we are open on Sundays, as well as Christmas,
can be a damper. The politics associated with Starbucks have also been straining (remember the
Christmas cup debacle from last year?)

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Nutritional benefits: 5/10 (50%)

Reasoning: Starbucks provides their employees with one free food item of our choosing on every
shift. Although this seems like it would score a 100% in terms of eating on a budget, we only sell
food that is not nutritional. Our mark out is limited to pastries and paninis, and does not include
healthy items such as our fruit cup.
Exercise
Despite the nutritional downfalls, Starbucks is highly committed to employees staying active.
The company will reimburse employees for races, up to $200 every year. This has assisted me in
doing the turkey trot, Oklahoma City half marathon, among other races.

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Strategies for Change: Healthy lifestyle areas in which your company could make healthy
and active changes.
I believe this company would be doing employees a huge favor by allowing them to mark out the
limited healthy options we have. Most stores have fruit cups, and some have yogurt with fruit
and granola. According to Rebecca Weatherbee, Good nutrition will give your employees the
stamina they need to stay sharp throughout the workday. While special occasions still warrant
cookies and cake, you should support your workers daily nutrition with healthier options
(2015). I believe this is an important area for growth after reading about diverse population and
addressing health. According to the National Cancer Institute, morbidity and mortality rates in
different diseases are not consistent among races (2005, p. 7). To me, this says Starbucks does
not take culture and race into consideration by offering food that is all quite similar, as well as a
health assessment that is completed online not taking into account the very intricate details that
make up an individual persons health.
Strengths: Areas where you feel the business is successful.
Although I have noted the process of taking health assessments for insurance needs to be revised,
their providing insurance in general EXCEEDS. All Starbucks employees are eligible for
complete benefits if they work at least twenty hours per week. This has been awesome for myself
as well as my co-workers, as we are college students who cannot work full-time. Paul Fronstin
also tells us that options are highly valued by employees (as cited in Atkinson, 2015). Lastly,
Starbucks clearly does a great job at keeping employees active by providing yearly race
allowances.
How could you use this information to lead a work place or a community towards a
healthier and active lifestyle?

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One idea I had for Starbucks is to step it up in the already awesome benefits options. During
health assessments, we could offer insurance plan options, while under them discussing how
staying active reduces health problems. For example, under the health savings plan, we could list
recommended hours of increased heart rate due to activity per week, and then give suggestions as
to how to meet that. This way, employees can feel confident in choosing a lower costing plan,
because they will also be confident that their amount of exercise will permit them to visit the
doctor less often.

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References

Atkinson, W. (2015). Employees continue to view health benefits as important. Benefits Pro.
Retrieved from: http://www.benefitspro.com/2015/04/27/employees-continue-to-viewhealth-benefits-as-impo
National Cancer Institute. (2005). Theory at a glance: a guide for health promotion and practice.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from:
http://www.aub.edu.lb/fhs/heru/Documents/heru/resources/pdf/TheoryataGlance.pdf
Wetherbee, R. (2015). Step it up! 5 ways to make healthy lifestyle part of your company culture.
Employee Engagement Blog. Retrieved from: http://blog.achievers.com/2015/06/step-itup-5-ways-to-make-healthy-lifestyle-part-of-your-company-culture/