I am walking a very thin line here. I have been very hard this past year on Oregon Insurer SAIF Corporation over the termination of CEO John Plotkin and the resulting aftermath. So, when someone sends me a link to a video that could allow for some potentially humorous commentary, and that video happens to be produced by SAIF, the appearance that I am just “piling on” is always a definite possibility.

What the hell, here goes.

While everyone has been concerned about employee morale at SAIF, it turns out it may be a hip and happenin' place to work. The workers' compensation insurer has launched an ergonomic safety campaign called “Go Ergo”, and at the forefront of the effort is a professionally produced rap video. It shows employees rapping, dancing and gyrating to the energetic beat of a “Go Ergo” rap tune. While the message is designed for employers insured by the carrier, it was presumably taped using SAIF employees, as I believe I recognized at least one “Go Ergo” pennant waving Executive Council member in the video.

Some of the actors look as though they were being held at gunpoint. Next time blink twice if you are doing this against your will.

The link was sent to me by a regular reader, an Oregon resident, who simply titled their email “Our Tax Money”.  I suppose, technically, it was not tax money, but rather employer premiums that funded this. I do not condemn anyone for promoting safety and encouraging preventative behavior. Whether this video actually accomplishes that is subject to a debate much greater than what we will engage in here.

You may watch the video below:

I am not a rap fan by any stretch of the imagination. There are some controversial studies showing a correlation between rap and lower intelligence. One study showed Lil' Wayne listeners to be at the bottom of the intelligence scale, although to be fair, rap overall performed better than several other music genres. Perhaps they should have produced this video using Indie music, which appeared as the tippy top preference of the most intelligent among us in that same survey.

Maybe one of them could tell me what Indie music is. I am clearly too stupid to know.

Anyway, not all is bleak and forlorn at SAIF HQ. They appear to be dancing in the aisles. As for me, I might just be a tad jealous. Here I am, firmly ensconced behind my ergonomically correct standing/sitting adjustable desk, top one third of my monitor directly aligned with my eyes, and no one has bothered to present me with an Ergo crown.

And I want one. Definitely. After all, while being CEO at SAIF is a dangerous thing, “it's good to be the King”.

Update: I just showed this video to my wife. She liked it, calling it a tongue in cheek video for a serious message. She believes everyone looked as though they were having fun.

So, never mind.

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For a list of Bob’s other SAIF/Plotkin articles (as well as a couple old AASCIF articles that get picked up in the search), Click here.