As a business owner, it is your responsibility to keep your employees motivated and productive throughout the day.
Part of this is helping them become healthier, physically and mentally. People who are living healthy lives tend to have more motivation to do a great job.
So by introducing healthier food options or wellness programs in the workplace, youÂre not just helping your employees, but youÂre helping your companyÂs success as well.
That said, what are you doing to help keep your employees fit and productive?
Provide Healthy Foods
Start by introducing healthier foods around the office.
If all you have in your office is coffee, donuts and vending machines filled with snacks and sweets, then that is all your employees typically have during the day.
A good majority of people are not going to bring their own lunches and instead go out to eat. So on the days when they donÂt feel like going out or are hungry for a late morning snack, they head straight to the break room.
One way to improve their physical health is by offering healthy items instead of things like donuts and bagels. Have fresh fruit set out for employees, and stock the break room with snacks like yogurt, granola bars or even whole grain bagels with fat-free cream cheese. Put more healthy options in your vending machines as well.
Introduce a Wellness Program
Wellness programs have been very successful for companies who choose to utilize them.
A wellness program can include anything you like, such as on-site classes in yoga, Pilates or even CrossFit.
You can have someone offering stress-relief services for the wellness programs as well, such as massage therapy or acupuncture. This can become part of an employeeÂs signing bonus and benefits program. It helps your company by offering more benefits and being able to retain your employees, as well as getting more productive and motivated workers in return.
Offer Fitness Center Memberships
If you have a gym on-site, great! But even if you donÂt have one, you can still encourage the use of fitness centers by offering memberships or discounts to local gyms.
Contact fitness centers in your area and see if they will offer discounts if you send your employees to their gym. Employees get a cheap gym membership and the gym get a good deal more business, so it works great for everyone.
Encourage On-Site Fitness
There are also ways to encourage physical activity in the workplace.
Start having stretches a couple times a day where you have everyone stand from their desks and perform stretches. This is going to help prevent injury from repetitive motion, such as doing stretches for the hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and back.
You can also give an extra 5 or 10-minute break to employees who want to take a walk around the building for some fresh air and exercise.
Your employeeÂs health should be important because it keeps them working every day and improves their productivity.
Another thing to note is that you should be offering them help for mental and emotional health through their benefits package.
Photo credit: healthline.com
About the Author: Tina Samuels writes on social media, healthcare recruitment, small business, and social media.
