According to the July 29 LA Times, an increasing number of companies are instituting shape up or pay up programs. Since insurance companies have legal carte blanche to discriminate against their clients, this is not just a plussie issue, it’s a worker’s rights issue. A lot of being out-of-shape and stressed-out (thus leading to increased cholesterol, etc.) is directly attributable to the work from the very companies that seek to penalize their employees.



Why is this the case? Because corporations have turned their benefits into a never ending game of chess between themselves and their employees. If you watch the Corporation, you’ll understand the unsustainable and inhumane profit model that pushes all of this forward. Working lunches, overtime, constant last minute deadlines all conspire to keep workers at their desks - sedate - along with a certain level of suspicion if even smaller breaks are taken. Salary payment models especially screw people over, because there isn’t even enough room for health let alone a personal life, because the demands of the company infringe on every aspect of being.



Sure, some companies provide gyms for their employees, but most restrict use to employees that they would “reward,” which means that only the few and favored will escape these increasing health penalties. Often the in-house employee gyms are so outrageous that only those in upper management could possibly afford them anyway.



Essentially, these corporations are penalizing their workers for bad health, a situation that the corporation itself contributed to and possibly even caused. So their response is to punish workers for actually using their benefits. It makes me curious as to what’s going to happen during the age of 401K withdrawals, especially those that bank on company contributions.



The solution to all this is much more simple and less costly than these companies think, and yet more complex: Americans have the lowest amount of allowed sick time and vacation time in the world. They are the most stressed out, and are, basically working themselves into an early grave. 10 days of vacation time is not enough for anyone. This is all because anonymous boards and shareholders are thinking of those who do their divvied up dirtywork as “assets” and easily disposable, instead of recognizing that no matter how automated the world gets, there’s some little guy powering the whole machine somewhere.



It’s not only not fair that corporations are charging their employees to offset “health costs.” It’s an outright abuse, and one that workers just don’t have a defense against.