Contrary to what you may have heard, an office can promote health and wellness. Employers, recognizing the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, are shifting their focus to help employees lead more balanced, active and healthy lives. When you want to promote health and wellness in the office, you have a lot of options:
1. Start with Mental Health
Mental health is a big issue in the workforce, but it’s also a problem that is brushed under the rug. Companies don’t want to address mental health issues, but with 300 million people suffering from depression, it’s essential to focus on mental health.
Businesses are working on improving mental health in several ways, including:
- Flexible schedules
- Mental health days
- Mental health seminars
When you allow for higher levels of flexibility in the office, even if this means working remotely, you’ll be able to promote health and wellness. It’s often small changes that boost the mental health of workers.
2. Encourage Exercise
Exercise has been shown to create endorphins, which make a person happy. It’s important to promote exercise in the office, and this can mean a lot of different things:
- Providing gym membership reimbursement
- Taking breaks to “move around”
- Joining in on local marathons and events as a team
Equipment can also be purchased and put in the office. Small offices or home offices can do a lot with even a small budget. You don’t need an exercise bike or large equipment to make a difference.
You’ll find a lot of companies that offer office-related equipment.
There are:
- Standing desks
- Treadmill desks
- Under desk ellipticals
- Under desk pedals
Not only is exercise great for health and wellness; it’s also great way for alleviating depression symptoms. Any equipment that can promote exercise in the office is a good addition.
3. Healthier Snack and Drink Options
It’s not uncommon to walk into a warehouse and find a slew of vending machines lining a wall. Cinnamon buns were my weakness, but they contained as many calories as a meal and made me crash.
Productivity fell any time I ate one of those sugar-filled treats.
Healthy food and drink options would have been a delight. Offices are catching on and beginning to offer much healthier options. Google offers chefs that serve breakfast, lunch and dinner to employees.
A small business may not be able to offer this, but it can offer healthier vending machines with:
- Nuts
- Dried fruits
- Energy bars
Offering a healthier alternative is going to help push employees to adopt a healthier lifestyle. If you have your own home office, you may want to stock up on trail mix, fruits, water, energy bars and other healthy snacks. Not only are these snacks lower in calories; they also supply the body with the energy it needs to get through the day and stay focused.
Healthier snacks promote concentration and aren’t filled with the refined carbs that will eventually lead to a sugar crash.
A healthier office will allow for a better overall workforce, higher productivity and an environment that promotes growth.