The Importance of Good Health: Take on Aura

Gabriela Hondal

University of South Florida

MAN 3025

Dr. Doreen MacAulay

April 29th, 2022

 There are many issues that go on in today’s current world. Everyone is constantly looking for ways

to make our environment a safer place for people to live in. There are many different aspects of global

issues but today, I would like to focus on good health and well-being. Many situations take place in our

lives daily that can be stressors like family, physical health, mental health, car troubles, and friends. All

these issues can easily overlap and cause you to perform poorly in one unrelated aspect. A big cause of

stress for most people is their workplace. A lot of potential conflicts can arise since many jobs require us

to communicate with a wide variety of people that have different personalities. Many people have various

responsibilities that may be too much for them to complete. They could feel like they are under an

immense amount of pressure and have no one to turn to. All these feelings coupled together can cause

people to ignore their health and well-being. A draining 8+ hour day at work can cause you to come home

and not want to do little daily tasks that can make a difference in your health. For example, you may just

want to lay down and eat out instead of making home cooked healthier meals and doing some type of

activity that requires you to move your body for at least 30 minutes. This can be a root cause for heart

disease, which is an overwhelming problem in the United States. These types of feelings are the recipe to

creating toxic environments and an overall unhappy society.

Many people may not understand that good health and well-being is not only physical, but mental as

well. Many countries worldwide struggle daily with different diseases. The United States is the country

that struggles the most with good health. According to the CDC, placing importance on physical activity

is only at 25.3%. Also, in the U.S., the number one cause of death and complications is heart disease.

Statistics show that more than half a million people die each year from cardiovascular problems

(CDC,2022). One major contributing factor of heart disease is lack of physical activity. Why might

people not want to or have time to work out? It could be because of overwhelming circumstances in their

lives. People need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day, whether that is weightlifting,

walking, running, yoga, or dancing. The days eventually turn into years of people living primarily

sedentary lifestyles. This increases the likelihood of a person developing heart problems later in their
lives. When a person feels tired or overwhelmed after work, the least thing they want to do is spend hours

preparing and cooking a meal when they get home. One might feel inclined to stop at a fast-food drive

through like McDonald’s, Burger King, or Taco Bell and avoid the hassle. These types of food are fried

and filled with grease. They do not contribute towards a healthier lifestyle. These foods slow down your

metabolism and the grease can slow down your blood flow and can clog your arteries. Its easy to get

addicted to these kinds of meals as they are quick and easy after you just spent a whole day in Corporate

America.

We are in an era where people have all types of a jobs that can create stressful situations. I know

one of the most overwhelming industries is cybersecurity. Its a constantly evolving industry as you must

work with emerging technology. As you work for a company in cybersecurity, you can have a lot of

responsibility. Not only would you have needed to complete a bachelor’s degree in business, which can

be extremely difficult but then, you would have to go into an overwhelming industry all together.

Cybersecurity analysts oversee protecting a company’s information. Most of the time, they are dealing

with extremely sensitive and confidential statistics and reports. They must make sure that the company is

not getting hacked by potential threats. It’s a job where you may not have a lot of downtime to take

breaks or take care of yourself as much throughout the day. I wanted to focus on this industry because this

new era of technology is taking over and there are a lot of USF students that are going into this field.

After completing your bachelors, one is drained so you might feel like you might need a break and then

going into a demanding field can really cause you to put your health as a second priority.

The company I want to focus on is Aura. This business works for the public, so it makes

sure to protect the public while you are surfing on the Internet. When you go on a public website,

there are hackers constantly waiting for an accessible moment to take all your valuable

information. When you team up with a company like Aura, they help you eliminate the risk of

having those hackers obtain your information. They protect your bank and credit information as
well. You can also set up your account to have several family members on the same plan so Aura

can be protecting your entire family of 5 at the same time while they are surfing the Internet

(Aura,2022). So, for the outside population this is great because they can surf at ease without

having to worry that they are at risk. Now, imagine this from the perspective of the Aura

employees. They feel tremendous pressure that their company has all these clients that are

depending on them to keep their information safe. They must talk to clients throughout the day

and have meeting with the board to make sure they’re plans are effective in keeping their clients

safe.

It can be a consuming position. When these employees get home, the last thing many want

to do is exert more of their energy into draining exercises or spend hours cooking a good meal

for their family when they can pass by a McDonald’s drive through in 5 minutes. This sedentary

lifestyle is what contributes to these heart diseases and unstable mentality. A company like Aura

needs to make a change for its employees because a change must start somewhere. Aura is one of

the major cybersecurity companies so if the begin to implement changes for their employees,

other companies in the same field will follow. All it takes is one company to take that step and its

possible that even other industries will feel compelled to do something about this issue. This

would be wonderful because Corporate America could use this big change, as the typical 9-5 can

create a toxic lifestyle if they are not provided the materials to succeed.

To make these changes, I would like to provide the company with three broad ranges of options

so they can decide the best alternative based on their budget. The least expensive method would

be to hold weekly activities in a public area like a beach or a park. It would most likely be free to

hold these activities since they are public areas, and anyone is welcome. The company can get

together, and they can do trail runs or walks. They can bring a speaker as they walk to make the
experience more enjoyable. They can make it a goal to walk at least one mile collectively. After

their walk, they can walk collectively to a picnic area and eat a healthy meal together. They can

obtain this meal at Publix, for example, have salads, rice, and chicken with protein shakes. The

company can have a small contract with Publix to make sure that they will provide these weekly

meals. Not only would the company become healthier, but it could also be a great bonding

experience for the group so they could work together more effectively.

It may not seem like a lot, but these weekly meetings can give the company something to

look forward to other than work. It can motivate them to get that physical activity in once a week

which can make a difference in their overall health. It also makes sure that they are getting at

least one good meal a week and that one time a week can cause them to want to continue eating

like that. This can set the tone for their life and decrease their chances of developing a hear

complication. Getting out and moving your body can also make you forget about the

overwhelming feelings you have at the office. A little goes a long way in these situations. To

create incentives for workers to attend, the company can create a contest and for the top three

workers that attend the most events, they will get prizes at the end of the year company parties.

This will give people a reason to attend and can create a positive working environment

altogether.

The second option that I would provide the company which would be a lesser expensive

option, but it would still be a bigger change than the first option. That change would be to hire a

therapist for the company and give all the employees one free session a week. During this

session, the employees can tell their problems to the therapist and express the troubles that they

are having in their personal and professional lives. I believe this can be great because it can serve

as a great outlet for the employees, and they won’t feel so suffocated by their daily lives. Since
they will most likely feel less consumed, that means that when they get home, they will have

more time to give into other activities. The therapist will give them tips to daily outlets that they

can use. The reason I believe that it would be more expensive is because the company must pay a

therapist’s salary. In the United States, therapists make an average of $34.11 an hour (Job

Search, 2022). This means that in a year, a therapist makes about $70,000 a year. So, this means

that the company would have to spend this amount approximately.

The reason I believe this plan is worth this execution is because most problems start with a

person’s mental health. Sometimes just having the ability to speak about what is bothering you to

a trusted individual can make a great difference in their lives. It would also make the company

stand out from other companies as many businesses don’t offer free therapy. Not only would it

differentiate Aura from the rest, but it would be a great opportunity for the workers because

many people want or need therapy, but they cannot afford it. A lot of therapists with their own

practice charges at least $100 an hour, which for many workers in America their salary is barely

enough to pay their bills.

The third option I believe would also be effective towards this issue is the most expensive and

that would be incorporating a health and fitness program into the company. I would try to use an

empty conference room and that is not used much and turn it into a company gym. I would

incorporate a small weights session, with bicycles, treadmills and ellipticals. The company

should hire a trainer to come three times a week to give sessions to the workers and the rest of

the time the workers can come in and do their own sessions. The gym would be open 24 hours,

so everyone has the freedom to choose their time of physical activity. Aura can provide all the

employees with an access card so they can all get in at anytime and at the same time create a safe

environment for the company. It would be expensive and time consuming because all of the gym
material would have had to be bought and a trainer would have been needed to be hired,

depending on how much they ask for.

Apart from offering a free gym, the third option would also include free meal plan. Aura

could hire a nutritionist to help make a meal plan for any employee that would be interested. This

would include what they would need to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner depending on their

different goals. So, this means that Aura would need to pay for a trainer’s salary and for a

nutritionist’s salary as well. This would easily facilitate the lifestyle of the workers as they now

have unlimited gym and meal planning as well. We could create different packages for the

workers to choose from so they could have a package that includes 3 days a week, with 5 day of

meal planning includes as well. This could help the company with organization and know which

employees use which services. This third option would make it easy for employees to put

themselves first. There is a gym that they can use before or after work and meals at their

fingertips. Personally, I believe this is the best option as it is the most diverse and it is easier for

the employees to use as they don’t have to leave their place of work to receive all those services.

They will see results faster.

There is no easy recipe to solve good health and well being as a global issue, but I

believe that a company is a good place to start. The problem is that nobody really prioritizes

good health like it needs to be so, it is only up to the individual once they get done with their

daily duties. If a company like Aura, with a busy cybersecurity system to take care of, makes

well being a service that they offer, others will follow. This global issue is prominent because too

many people die daily from complications of the heart. These are issues that we can work to

avoid if we take care of ourselves years prior. One day at a time makes a difference in the long

run. If something is not done to diminish these problems now, it will only get worse as time goes
by which means more people will be affected. I highly consider Aura to take advantage of these

three options as they are a powerful company and have the power to impact hundreds of lives.

With Aura implementing these methods, we can send a message to the world on how important it

is for companies to take care of their workers.

 References

Aura. (n.d.). Protect your future Today. Aura. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from
https://www.aura.com/lp/free-trial?
mktp=google&c1=16116370055&c2=136689941647&utm_source=google&utm_medium
=cpc&utm_content=590038293043&utm_campaign=16116370055&gclid=Cj0KCQjwma
6TBhDIARIsAOKuANwQnGnG-QFeZ_JGyVMTaAg5F-
NgVpV9N1LMa1ilGjxgwANSUTjX990aAubmEALw_wcB

CDC. (2022, February 17). Adult physical inactivity prevalence maps by race/ethnicity. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from
https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/data/inactivityprevalence-maps/index.html

Home. Job Search. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2022, from

https://www.indeed.com/career/therapist/salaries