Healthy Lifestyles at 3M Attract Recognition

There are a lot of changes that take place with a new job; new responsibilities, new environment, and new people. Three and a half years ago when Brenda Frismanis accepted a job as a legal secretary at 3M, she took one look at her life and saw the beginnings of a carved path leading toward a long familial line of obesity. She decided it was time to make another life change.

“I had turned into a stress eater at my last job and gained quite a bit of weight. Then I came to 3M and there was a gym downstairs. It was kind of hard to find excuses to not go,” explained Frismanis.

Frismanis is just one of the people at 3M who has found the opportunity to make healthier choices at work. Glen Bearth lost 35 pounds by making simple changes like walking and riding his bike more often. And mechanical engineer Theo Schultz was able to return to his healthier, college weight by choosing better meal options and setting physical goals. No one took any drastic measures, but the one decision they all made was to use 3M’s many Healthy Living resources to change their lives.

“We know if you want to see strong productivity and results, you need a healthy workforce,” said Janice Angell, vice president, 3M Compensation and Benefits. “That’s why we want to make it as easy as possible for people to make healthier choices and change their lives in little ways.”

3Mers are not the only ones taking note of the company’s resources. Health Partners presented 3M – along with two other Twin Cities-based employers – with a Workplace Well-being Award at the 2014 Minnesota Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference on Sunday evening. The award recognizes 3M’s conscious effort to engage its employees in Healthy Living programs and promote healthier behaviors on its campus.

“This award shines a light on 3M’s tremendous work to establish an environment that supports healthy lifestyles at work and at home,” explains Nico Pronk, vice president and chief science officer for HealthPartners. “3M recognizes the importance of individual health — whether it’s in a physical, mental, or financial sense — as well as the work environment, to help employees achieve their health goals.”

It’s those qualities that Frismanis says will help her continue her new, healthier lifestyle, and she hopes her story can help motivate her colleagues to get healthy as well.

“I feel better when I’m eating better and working out,” she said. “I’m still young and the better you take care of yourself, the more enjoyable your life is going to be.”

About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $31 billion in sales, 3M employs 89,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

About Health Partners
HealthPartners is the largest consumer-governed, non-profit health care organization in the nation with a mission to improve health and well-being in partnership with members, patients and the community. For more information, visit healthpartners.com.