A healthy company is a happy company and it’s important to offer employees benefits that will help them improve their health and general wellbeing. Personally, I prefer to spend my days in a happy, healthy office but if you’re not convinced, check out these studies that show a strong the positive effect wellbeing and general happiness can have on productivity.
There are lots of companies out there offering wellness programmes to their staff, including IBM, Virgin, AmEx and of course, Google. But wellness programmes aren’t just for large corporations with enormous budgets...
To follow this workplace hack you need to create a wellness programme that suits your team’s needs and fits your budget. Designing an affordable wellness programme will take some creative input on your part but here are a few suggestions to get you started…
1. Encourage exercise - In my experience, there are 2 major reasons people claim they just can’t exercise enough - time and money. How about subsidising your team’s gym membership or extending lunch breaks by an extra half an hour for employees who wish to exercise?
2. Ban the biscuits - Plenty of workplaces offer their staff snacks to get them through the day but have you considered something other than biscuits? We provide plenty of fresh, organic fruit to our team as well as herbal, green and decaffeinated teas.
3. Be mindful of mental health - Don’t forget about your team’s mental health. While you may not be able to afford to splash out on therapy for each staff member, do make sure your employees know they can talk to you about work-related issues. Encourage regular breaks and walks around the block for employees who are under a lot of stress.
4. Educate - I’m sure your employees already know the importance of diet and exercise but make sure they’re aware of other aspects of the job that can affect their health. Enforce regular screen breaks and show every employee how to adjust their chair and monitor to prevent back problems.
5. Offer rewards - Try setting health targets and offering rewards for people who hit them. You could give cash prizes or gift cards to employees who give up smoking at work, use their lunchbreak to exercise or cycle to work.
Does your office have a wellness programme in place? Tell us about it on Twitter.