The health and wellness of your company can have a significant impact on the bottom line. When employees are healthy, they’re more productive, which means you can save money in the long run by offering them additional perks or benefits. The following are some ideas for improving the health and wellness of your company:
1. Offer resources and education
The benefits of a corporate wellness program are numerous, and employees who contribute to the wellness of their company find themselves feeling and working better than they did before. Offer classes on nutrition, exercise, and stress management. You can also provide information about local resources like gyms or community centers where your employees can work out for free or at discounted rates.
Offer resources such as an employee handbook that includes information about health insurance, benefits, and other policies, an online employee portal with links to information about health insurance costs, deductibles, and prescription drug coverage, and a smoking cessation program that includes free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products for participants who want them. NRT products include gum, patches, lozenges, or nasal sprays that help smokers quit tobacco use without experiencing withdrawal symptoms such as cravings or irritability.
2. Encourage healthy eating habits
Encourage your employees to eat healthy by providing healthy snacks in the office kitchen. Offer fruit, nuts and granola bars rather than candy and soda. If you have employees who eat poorly, have high cholesterol and diabetes, or are overweight, it will cost you in terms of absenteeism, poor morale, and health care costs.
Offer incentives for participation in fitness challenges and contests (like an annual month-long walking competition). If your company has an onsite cafeteria or vending machines, consider adding healthier alternatives to the menu. For example, offer grilled chicken sandwiches instead of fried chicken sandwiches or salads instead of pizza slices. Also, consider adding more vegetarian options to the menu.
3. Provide fitness facilities in the office
To encourage your employees to exercise regularly, provide fitness facilities at work. Many companies offer gym memberships as an employee benefit. The added benefit is that these facilities also encourage physical activity among coworkers who may not know each other well enough to go out after work for a run or bike ride. This could include showers with benches and towel racks, running tracks, or indoor gyms with treadmills, bikes, and elliptical machines. Even a few mats for stretching exercises would benefit those who want a quick workout between meetings or when they get back from lunch break.
4. Encourage workers to take regular breaks
Create an open environment where people feel comfortable sharing concerns about their health with their coworkers or managers. When people spend all day staring at a screen or working with their hands, they ignore their bodies’ natural cues for rest and renewal. That’s why employers need to allow employees time during the workday when they can step away from their desks and relax their minds and bodies, whether taking a walk around the block or going on a coffee break with a colleague. Offer flexible schedules so employees can take care of personal responsibilities outside work hours. Flexible schedules make employees feel more valued because they aren’t just treated like replaceable cogs in a machine.
5. Set boundaries with coworkers
They may be your friends, but setting boundaries between work and personal life is essential. Work-life balance is vital for everyone and can help improve your health and wellness. One way to do this is by setting up separate email accounts for personal and professional communication. You can also schedule time every day or week to respond to emails and messages from family, friends, and others.
This will help you keep your work life separate from your personal life. If you’re working in a small office space, try using dividers or screens to create separate areas where you can focus on work without being distracted by others around you. If you have an open desk area, set up privacy screens so that coworkers can’t see what you’re doing on your computer or phone while working on their own tasks.
In an increasingly health-conscious world, companies must improve their health and wellness programs. This satisfies employees’ needs and promotes a stronger, more productive workforce. By tailoring such a program to your employees, you can truly make a difference in their lives.
