Ways to Encourage Better Employee Health
Employees are any business’ greatest asset and that means that you should take very good care of them and provide their well-deserved employee benefits. The healthier your employees are, the better they will perform overall during the time with you, the fewer sick days they will take and the happier and more productive your company will be.
So, I think you’ll agree, it makes sense to do anything you can to encourage and facilitate better employee health, right? Well here are a few things that will help you do just that:
1.Invite health Professionals In
Having doctors and other health professionals come into the workplace to talk about common health issues, particularly those which can arise at work, how to prevent them, and what to do if you think you may be ill is a great way to get employees thinking more seriously about their health. It will also serve to show them that you are a caring employee who is truly concerned about their wellness, so they can use cbd products like jeeter juice to improve employee health.
- Offer Incentives for Vaccinations
If you’re concerned about your employees being struck down with flu, which can really do a number on your productivity, invite a health professional in to conduct workplace vaccinations and make getting them attractive to your employees by offering a small bonus, a little time off or whatever you think will encourage them to come along and take preventative measures. In addition, you can provide them with free disposable masks to help protect themselves from getting infected.
- Provide More Healthy Options
Instead of filling your workspace with lots of unhealthy vending machines dispensing sugary sodas, deep fried chips and unhealthy candy bars, install machines that offer fruits, veggies, water and other healthy snacks. If you have a cafeteria, ensure that as many of the offerings as possible are healthy too. Why? Because a healthy diet is arguably the single most important thing anyone can do for their health, and if you make it easier for your staff to have one, you will all see benefits now and in the future.
Offer basic Cooking Facilities
You may also want to offer basic kitchen/cooking facilities for your employees if you have the space. You may want to renovate some office space for a kitchen remodeling to provide cooking facilities for your employees. Even just having a fridge where they can store healthy homemade meals will make a huge amount of difference.
- Give Them Free Fruits and Veggies
Staying on the food theme, leaving a fully stocked fruit basket in the office or stocking the communal fridge with healthy free veggies and maybe some healthy dips like hummus or tzatziki will further encourage healthy eating habits in the workplace because who doesn’t like to get something for free?
- Reconsider Night Shifts
Okay, so this isn’t always going to be possible, but if you look at how working night shifts affects your health, you will see that it is one of the worst things for the health of any employee, and if you can get rid of them entirely or ensure that only the healthiest and most capable workers are hired to work nights, you will do so much to prevent health issues in your employees. It’s something to think about, perhaps for the future.
- Lower Your Emissions
If your company uses vehicles or equipment that emits fumes, do what you can to switch to lesser-polluting vehicles because air pollution is one of the biggest killers in the world and something that can make the people who are forced to breathe them in regularly very sick.
- Offer Mindfulness Classes
Stress is a major cause of sick days, and more importantly, it can make employees very sick, unhappy and even afraid to be in the workplace. As an employer, it is up to you to ensure that your employees experience as little stress as possible and that they are adequately equipped to handle any stress that they do find themselves under. One very effective way of doing this is by offering mindfulness classes in-house. These classes will teach your staff how to deal with their feelings, find more peace in the day and even become more productive while doing so – what’s not to love?
- Provide Fitness Trackers
Providing your employees with fitness trackers like the Jawbone and Fitbit is sure to be an investment well made, especially if you encourage your employees to have a little healthy competition to see who can get the most activity in each week, perhaps offering them a small prize as an incentive. Why? Because these devices encourage the average person to get a bit more active throughout the day and the more active people are, the less likely they are to get sick or experience mild mental health issues. They’ll be healthier, happier and more energetic, which is exactly what your business needs. Fitness trackers really aren’t that expensive, so do consider this option carefully.
- Subsidize Gym Memberships
Another thing that you might want to consider doing if you want your employees to be fighting fit is subsidizing gym memberships for your team. Not only will it help with their health, but the gym is a great place to meet up, bond and discuss work matters in a different environment. I mean, how many deals have you done in the gym or the sauna afterwards?
- Make Walking Meetings Mandatory
Walking meetings are so much better than cramming everyone into a stuffy conference room where they get bored and fidgety within minutes and they are a simple way of sneaking in some activity during the working day. Not only that but it has been shown that being in nature and moving around can help to boost productivity and creativity and lower stress levels, which means this is a good all-rounder to implement in your office.
Install Bike Racks and Showers
If you install bicycle racks and sowers int he workplace, you will encourage more of your employees to cycle to work, walk or run instead of commuting, which again will help them to be healthier overall.
13. Make Mental Health Days a Possibility
Mental health issues have exploded in recent years and they are causing a huge loss in productivity, not to mention a whole lot of suffering for so many people. As a caring employer, one simple thing you can do to fight against poor mental health and show support to your employees who are facing such difficulties is to mention mental health days in your literature, making it clear that they are not only acceptable but positively encouraged when there is a real need. Don’t make mental health a taboo, do what you can to give those with mental health issues a break and you will see that it does not become an overwhelming issue for your business, at least.
- Make Everything Ergonomic
Make everything from desks and chairs to laptop stands and mice, which can be ergonomic, ergonomic and you will reduce the number of employees who are struck by back and neck pain, repetitive strain injuries and a whole hos to f other painful conditions that are caused by the way they sit, stand and work. It might cost you a little to upgrade your current equipment, but it truly will save you so much more in lost productivity and sick days int he future.
15. Ask for Employee Feedback
The most important thing you can do to encourage employee health and wellbeing is really to ask them what they think about their working conditions and what could be improved to help them be healthier. After all, they will know better than anyone what issues they are facing. So, actively encourage feedback and listen to what your employees say!
A healthy workforce is a happy and productive workforce, so make it happen!