Wellness At Work
Investing in employee wellness can go a long way in ensuring that your employees are healthy, energized and productive. With summer right around the corner, here are some ideas to incorporate into your staff wellness program:
- Encourage your staff to drink more water. – Adequate hydration can help to eliminate headaches, fatigue and other symptoms that can lead to poor work performance:
- Supply employees with filtered or bottled water.
- Place posters in your break room to remind your staff to drink one extra cup of water per day over soda, juice or coffee.
- Consider giving reusable water bottles as a staff appreciation gift. Be sure to place your company’s logo on the bottle for free marketing.
- Promote healthy competition to get your staff active. – Have you ever considered creating an in-office “Biggest Loser” contest? Partner with a local gym to offer an annual membership to the employee that loses the most weight at the end of the competition. Alternately, if your team members all have wearable fitness trackers, you could have a weekly contest to see who walked the most steps.
- Get moving. – If your employees sit at their desks for the majority of the day, encourage walking or outdoor meetings where possible to improve activity levels. The change of scenery and fresh air can also improve mental well being.
- Preventive care is important. – Organize and possibly fund initiatives, such as flu shots for your staff. You can also partner with your insurance company to see if they offer any programs or incentives that your staff could benefit from.
- Choose healthy alternatives for office events. – Challenge yourself to find healthy but delicious catering options for office functions. Try to avoid offering your staff unhealthy snacks and treats, especially during the work day.
- Support local farms. Consider setting up a CSA in your company to help get fresh produce to staff members on a weekly basis.
- Give your staff (and yourself) a break. – Are you finding that you and your employees work through their lunch break or have lunch at their desks? Schedule a daily 10-15 minute rest break to help every member of your team recharge and improve productivity for the remainder of the day.
- Offer training on time management and uni-tasking. – Greg McKweon teaches the principle of essentialism and being intensely focused. Uni-tasking can help boost employee morale and reduce stress because employees will no longer be “Jacks of all trades and masters of none”.
- Offer work-life balance opportunities. – Where possible, offer your staff the opportunities to work remotely or switch to flexi-hours if the need arises. Employees can use tracking software to log their hours on a daily basis whenever they work remotely.
- Create a stress free, peaceful office environment. – Spend a little time and money to give your office space a facelift. A few changes will go a long way in creating an environment that your employees enjoy. Try incorporating:
- Indoor plants
- Inexpensive water features such as a waterfall or water fountain
- Proper lighting
Employee wellness programs do not have to be expensive in order to be effective. By promoting wellbeing in the workplace, businesses can reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and improve staff morale.
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