Do you ever stop to think about how much time and money you have invested in your employees?

Whether you run a company with just a handful of workers or one with dozens and dozens of people under your employ, your team is critical to your success.

If you have employees that are healthy and raring to go day after day, you stand a good chance of being a successful, long-running business.

On the other hand, a staff where some employees are missing work regularly due to sickness and injuries, well that can be a recipe for disaster.

So, which is it for your company?

Help Your Workers Practice Better Health

Even though you can’t (and shouldn’t) babysit your employees once they leave the office each day, it is important that they lead relatively healthy lives outside your presence.

Sure, some will smoke on a regular basis. Others, meantime, never turn down junk food or the ability to not exercise. Some are even accident prone.

No matter what kind of employees you have, you want them to be relatively healthy for several reasons.

First, you hopefully are an employee who cares about the well-being of his or her team.

Secondly, healthy employees tend to do better on the job, not to mention show up for work more times than not.

Third, healthy workers typically have a better attitude about now just the responsibilities of their jobs, but life in general.

So, what are you doing to be as sure as you can that your team is relatively fit and happy?

Incentives Typically Work in the Workplace

Giving them incentives to be as healthy as possible is certainly a good start.

Among the areas to focus on:

• Healthy habits – First and foremost, your workplace (just like schools, hospitals and other public gathering places) can be a breeding ground for germs. Do your best to encourage workers to show up for work as healthy as they can be. This means not coming into work when one is sneezing, coughing, running a fever etc. Having allergies is one thing; bringing the next bad cold into the office to infect others is totally different. Be insistent that workers not come to the office when they’re battling colds, the flu, and other such illnesses. It doesn’t take long for one person to spread the illness around the office;
• Knowing how to help others – While you hope and pray that you never will have a major health incident in your workplace, all too many business owners have seen otherwise. Knowing CPR, how to treat injuries on the job etc. is important for both employer and employee. If the majority (or all) of your employees do not formally know CPR, find CPR in your area and get them trained. You never know when one of your workers or even a client/customer visiting your office could develop chest pains and other related problems. Being able to deliver CPR on the spot until medical professionals arrive could mean the difference between life and death;
• Fitness does matter – Remember earlier when told that you can’t babysit your workers 24/7/365? While that is true, it does not mean you can’t or shouldn’t encourage them to be relatively fit. More businesses are doing their part these days by helping employees get and stay fit. You can consider offering fitness memberships to your team or even allowing them to workout at a fitness facility in your building (oftentimes, buildings where a number of companies call home will have a fitness area available to workers). Another option is having company workouts. Know, you all don’t have to go and see which employee can lift the most weights or do the most push-ups. Outings after work or on the weekends to go bowling, bike riding, hiking etc. can be great physical excursions, not to mention more bonding for the company.

No matter what option/s you choose to keep your team as healthy as possible, do it in a productive and professional manner.

While you can’t force employees to be as fit or as healthy as you may like, always tout the positive, letting them know why this can help them and others over time.

If you haven’t thought too much in the past about the importance of employee health, change that train of thought.

Have a healthier outlook on the men and women helping you stay in business.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.