Ideas to Engage Your Employees For a Healthier Environment

The happiness of your employees directly impacts their productivity and ability to meet the needs of your customers. Employees who are struggling with health issues or sedentary lifestyles may have difficulty mustering up the energy during the work day. Improve the overall well-being of your staff by fostering a healthy work environment. Implementing ideas for employee engagement that focus on healthy living benefit both your staff and your company's well-being.

Revamp Snack Options

Avoid the risk of your employees crashing midday after a sugary snack by promoting a healthy work environment. Revamp the vending options in the office to give them the boost they need. Include healthy snacks in break rooms, too, such as fruits, vegetables and low-fat fiber bars to keep them energized. Employers who provide easier access to healthy foods can increase the performances of their employees and potentially lower health care costs, explains Jason Lauritsen, Director of Best Places to Work at Quantum Workplace.

Host Stress-Relieving Workshops

Employees often feel overwhelmed and stressed, especially in busy, deadline-oriented workplaces. As a result, their overall health can quickly deplete. Minimize stress and invest in developing a healthy work environment by sponsoring workshops and break-time activities that focus on relieving stress. Ask a yoga instructor or meditation specialist to lead your employees through a brief session that teaches ways to relax and decrease stress. Host massage therapy sessions in the office once or twice a month. Provide your staff with the tools they need to cope with stress and re-energize their efforts on the job.

Provide Alternative Furnishings

Employees who sit for hours on end run the risk of increasing health issues. Offer alternatives to the standard office chair and desk. Seek furnishings that encourage movement, such as standing desks that adjust to various levels that are suitable for your employees, especially millennial workers who are seeking unique ways to improve their productivity. Place anti-fatigue mats in high-traffic areas to cushion the soles of your active employees. You can also help your employees get active while providing a healthy work environment by placing printers, copiers and fax machines in hallways, supply rooms or across the hall from offices.

Launch Friendly Competitions

Encourage a healthy work environment and lifestyle with incentives and competitions within the office that also spark and foster employee engagement. Ask for volunteers to participate in a challenge, and chart progress in a common area, such as the break room or office lobby. Award winners with prizes such as Fitbit bracelets, resistance bands and exercise balls so they are prompted to continue their success.

A healthy work environment often carries over into the home. Improve the health of your employees by investing in their overall well-being, and enhance their personal and professional success.

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