ExecutiveChronicles|Helpful Tips for Improving Employee Health|Most business owners are well aware that healthy employees mean productive employees. When your workforce is healthy, it will contribute to the success of your entire organization. Even just planning a companywide picnic with friendly competition and games is a great way to encourage your employees to be more physically active. For more info on fitness, click here. However, if you are unsure of how to get started with a healthy initiative at your work, or unsure if it is worth the expense, keep reading.
Getting Involved
If you want your workforce to be healthy, you have to give them a reason to get involved with the initiatives you create. According to Forbes, employees are much more likely to get involved with a new wellness objective if they can access the objectives while on company time. While you may believe that promoting your employee’s health is something that is complicated or expensive, the opposite is actually true. Some steps you can take to help improve the health of your employees, and, as a result, your entire business, can be found here.
Provide Health Related Information and Education
Considering providing your workers with a short in-service program one time a month. This is a good way to motivate your employees to begin taking steps to improve their own health. You can even feature more basic health information in a monthly or weekly newsletter, but the key is to educate your staff. Make sure that you keep the advice practical and simple, so your employees are more likely to use the tips given. You can even offer more specialized workshops about health supplements, like a polyphenol blend, or specific exercises to reduce work-related aches and pains.
Promote Various Health-Related Activities
If you want to help your employees improve their health, you should consider sponsoring company-wide athletic teams. Softball and basketball teams are very popular activities that many people appreciate and enjoy. If keeping a schedule of regular practices and games isn’t feasible, consider planning one-time events during the year. Select a good cause that has some type of annual event, such as a mini-marathon or a walk-a-thon. Even just planning a companywide picnic with friendly competition and games is a great way to encourage your employees to be more physically active.
Encourage Your Employees to Seek Preventative Care
Each year, more than 69 million people miss work because of some type of illness. However, preventative care can help to reduce worker sick days and increase overall levels of worker productivity. Make sure you are encouraging your employees to engage in regular testing (as appropriate for their gender and age), which should encourage everything from colonoscopies to mammograms. Even something as simple as having a “flu shot day” on the job can make a huge difference in the overall health and well-being of your workforce.
Provide Some Type of Incentive Program
A wellness program or health incentive offers your workers financial awards or some type of prize for achieving some type of health-related goal. For example, you may offer to cover part of their health care premiums if your workers reduce their blood pressure or maintain a healthy BMI. Try to customize the incentive program you offer so that it meets the needs of your workforce.
Offer Healthier Lunch Options
Did you know that eating just a single, healthy meal each day can make a huge difference in the health of your employees? It also provides incentives and ideas for eating a healthy diet when not at work. A well-stocked salad bar or healthy entrees can provide your workers with several food options. If you have a bigger budget, you should consider hiring a nutritionist, even on a part-time basis, to work with your kitchen staff.
If you want to create a healthier workforce, it is a good idea to implement the tips and ideas found here. Doing so is going to pay off and help ensure that your workers are happy and healthy, which is also going to make them more productive. Over time, it will lead to a better bottom line for your company, regardless of your size or industry.
