Healthier productive people

For a number of years, businesses have invested more and more in health and wellbeing initiatives. Large international businesses tend to have the resources to put such initiatives in place, but smaller firms can also introduce positive measures without spending a fortune.

Most businesses recognise that sitting in front of a computer all day doesn’t offer much opportunity for movement. In addition, office environments don’t typically lend themselves to healthy eating as team members often bring unhealthy snacks into the office. Time poor employees tend to grab a quick lunch which can be unhealthy if it is fast food or similar.

The above can have a negative impact on the productivity of your team. Sickness absence tends to be higher among unhealthy people and this puts pressure on those people who have to pick up the extra workload.

What can you do to address this? Let’s start with activity. If you have the budget, perhaps you could offer a contribution towards gym memberships for your staff. Most gym chains offer discounts for business staff. Another option may be to organise lunchtime running sessions or form a company sports team.

From a nutritional perspective, your firm could offer nutritional education to staff members via regular lunchtime talks which are free to attend. The firm could encourage healthy eating by offering healthy snacks such as fruit bowls in the office. If you have a vending machine in the office building, you could request that the supplier swaps it for a healthy snack / drinks machine.

Other options to consider rolling out in your firm might include offering standing desks for staff. This encourages movement and can be better for people who suffer with back problems. If a lot of your staff are smokers, you can offer “quit smoking” classes at lunchtimes.

Encouraging your people to become healthier can help turn your business into a more attractive place to work. Introducing a few small lifestyle changes such as those outlined above doesn’t have to cost a fortune but may contribute towards creating a healthier, happier and more productive team.