Five tips to improve workplace wellness

30/05/2018 Sidrah Ahmad

The importance of wellness is no longer confined to our home and workplaces are finally starting to pay closer attention to wellbeing. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that companies who introduce some form of wellness program for their workforce can see big improvements on morale and productivity. The good news is more companies are working to place emphasis on better health and wellness for their employees. Happy employees are not only more productive employees but they also tend to work better in teams, and often display greater loyalty to the company and to its goals. For companies that offer healthcare benefits, these programs can also reduce costs – especially in disease management, where companies such as PepsiCo have seen significant savings.

The future of corporate wellness

Despite all this there are still many businesses that don’t take workplace wellness as seriously as they should. The fact is there are huge business benefits to prioritizing workplace wellness. If your company is looking for improvements in your workplace wellness effort, here are five of the top tips to help you reach your goals.

Motivate your employees

Focus on health goals that can benefit a wide range of employees, and develop a plan to motivate them to achieve their health and wellness objectives. You can use incentives, team competitions, or other rewards to focus their attention on goals like weight loss, smoking cessation, increased hydration and so on.

Focus on the workplace environment

Make health and wellness a part of your corporate culture but make that culture a healthy environment. Emphasize positive interactions – cooperation rather than individualism and permit flexible approach to work – such as Summer Fridays. When employees are encouraged to engage with the group, they tend to be more open to group-oriented endeavors.

Provide mental and physical health education

Bring in experts who can help them to learn how to get healthier. Bring in nutritional gurus, exercise experts and specialists to teach your team about the benefits of better wellness and the things they need to do to achieve that better health.

Focus on hydration

Make your work environment one in which hydration is emphasized daily. Staying hydrated is one of the keys to better health and one of the best ways to ensure that employees are happier and healthier in every area of their lives. Add an office water dispenser fresh fruit, and other liquids to your workplace, and encourage your team members to remain hydrated throughout each day.

Bring in an office doctor

You don’t have to have a doctor on staff, but it can be helpful to have someone come in on a regular basis - even if it’s only once a quarter. He or she can be available to discuss health concerns with your employees and offer advice on long-term health goals. This can also provide you with another form of preventive medicine to reduce business health care expenses.

There are many other things that you can do as well, including exercise activities designed to promote better wellness. The key is to know why your company is focused on better health for your employees, then develop a plan to facilitate those goals. In the end, your employees and your company will be healthier because of the effort.