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Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)
Coming To A Worksite Near You—Saunas? Let's Hope So!
One aspect of healthy play is trying to remain open to new possibilities for finding little pleasures of a diverse nature. An example of a healthy openness might be a willingness to consider experiencing a Finnish sauna, if the occasion arose. Or a Chinese or any other style of sauna, for that matter! The Finnish sauna comes to mind as a play outlet because of a recent feature story in Fortune Magazine ("Finland, Where The Glass Ceiling Is A Sauna Door," 9/23/03) about saunas and business in that small Baltic country. Based on the article, there is likely to be some animated discussions around workplace water coolers about how far some execs are willing to go to bond, connect and play for fun and maybe increased productivity. My guess is that more than a few managers are either hoping for or concerned about the possibility that this trademark Finnish custom might be coming to a staff training initiative near them! Maybe the executive sauna will be the next business fad in this country in the grand, if silly, tradition of "One Minute Managers" or even more sensible TQM, TBO, Japanese management or other fashions du jour.
The Finns are, as most know, big on saunas. A top official of the Nokia Company (the leading producer of cell phones that also operates a sauna facility for employees) referred to the sauna as "almost holy." This may sound like a bit much to prudish Americans, but in Finland, it is commonplace to take the hot vapors bare nekked with colleagues, as well as amongst families. Of course, to Finns, sauna goes beyond play to notions of "intense cleansing, both physical and mental." Imagine this—the small country of Finland has two million saunas, which means there is one for every two and a half Finns. Even the Finnish Parliament has one for members, and the country's president and prime minister have their own official saunas where they sometimes conduct affairs of state.
There is much to recommend the sauna. Sweating in a sauna helps the body rid itself of wastes, regulates body temperature and stimulates our largest organ—the skin. Pasteur and Lister famously encouraged the practice in the late 19th century. The Norwegian Medical Association promotes Finnish saunas as an effective tool for preventing the spread of certain contagious diseases.
The few precautions issued by Finnish and other authorities for newcomers taking saunas are all common sense, but that does not seem reassuring considering the fact that Americans might soon start taking them. These precautions include the importance of NOT taking saunas when under the influence of drugs or alcohol, not sitting on hot coals, not staying in too long and not getting over-stressed in the sauna, especially if suffering from heart disease or other maladies. Of course, you could have figured all that out on your own. Other obvious cautions include:
- No jewelry (metal gets hotter than you do).
- Go easy on the birch strikes (called "loyly" by the Finns)—the ritual caning can, if overdone, cause pain.
- Don't overeat! This is wise advice even when NOT taking a sauna.
- Acclimatize. Build up your tolerance little by little. If you are not a Finn, don't try to outlast one in a sauna just to be collegial or competitive.
According to the Fortune account, negotiations take place and "deals are struck" in saunas, which is where the sticky problem of separate saunas for the sexes becomes an issue. How can women break through the glass ceiling if they face "No Girls" signs on the sauna doors?
The Fortune article dwelled on the ticklish situations involving saunas from "countries in which the words 'nudity' and 'client' can't happily coexist." This is not just a problem with business folks in Finland. During recent trips to Germany and Switzerland, I stayed in hotels and visited health clubs wherein saunas and showers, as well as hot tubs, were enjoyed by all—in the nude. They were not separate but equal, but fully integrated. I thought it was a highly enjoyable as well as a playful, if overly wholesome, experience, but it was clear some of my colleagues were not nearly so amused—or comfortable. "Well, that's their problem is my attitude" but this approach won't solve the sauna issue if the Finnish custom works it's way into American business culture.
You may wonder if nudity is an essential part of the ritual. It is, and that's the way it ought to be, I say! Finland's deputy consul in New York, responding to the same question by one of the Fortune writers, added, "The sauna is the place for total relaxation, so to keep the bathing suit on is not the perfect relaxation, because you feel kind of sweaty—sweaty in an unnatural way." So, take it all off, relax and do as the Romans—or the Finns, do.
Even the Finns, however, have a problem, now that women have taken their rightful place at the corporate board and other tables. At Finnish companies, unlike public facilities in many European countries, saunas are sex segregated. This could be a block in the way of "women's paths to advancement," note the Fortune writers. The result? According to a column in Finland's largest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, "The forces of modernity may simply drive the sauna culture underground. Officially people don't meet in the sauna. But unofficially, they do."
We Americans must be more open to inclusion when the sauna craze comes to corporate America. Let's not drive it underground. Everyone should be made welcome, just they way they are and as they were when they came into this world. At least, that's how I see it. What do YOU think? Would you take a sauna in the buff with colleagues in a non-discriminatory fashion? Surely you would—right?
Be well, and look on the bright side.
Domain: purposeSubdomain: play
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