The New Year is a great time to get employees thinking about their health – getting fit, losing weight, and having more work life balance is on everyone’s minds. Why not take advantage of this and provide support to your workforce with a low cost, easy to implement health and wellness program in 2016?
Here’s 4 tips to get you started.
Set Up a Corporate Wellness Center
Whether you have a large office space that can accommodate fitness equipment, or you are in an area where you have plenty of places to walk, any company can set up a corporate wellness center. Set up a space for displaying healthy lifestyle posters, provide cold water and healthy snacks for your employees, and have some pieces of equipment available for employee use. You can also set up a bike rack and provide a few corporate bikes for employees to enjoy. Create an indoor walking track with removable vinyl stickers placed in hallways between cubicles. Set up private office that includes soft seating, green plants, low lighting, and relaxing music, as a place to unplug and de-stress.
Redo the Office Vending Machines with Healthy Options
Get rid of the soda pop and beers, the candy, and salty snacks and replace them with healthy alternatives like green tea, vitamin waters, juice, fruit, veggies, yogurt, string cheeses, and granola. Studies have shown when employees have access to healthier snacking and beverage options, they are more likely to have long-lasting energy and they have the support needed to reach their health goals. At least once a week, provide an onsite catered meal by a local healthy vendor. Or provide delivery from local restaurants that offer healthy meals.
Set Up an Employee Self-Managed Wellness Platform
Employees who have access to information about their health can make more informed decisions where it comes to their well-being. Find a corporate wellness vendor that provides a self-managed health and wellness platform, delivered via the web and mobile devices. This will help employees to track their own health goals, reduce bad habits (like smoking) and get the support they need to succeed. Use the data gathered to design wellness initiatives that directly relate to the issues that your employees face.
Encourage All Employees to Participate in Health Benefit Perks
Your group health insurance may come with some extra perks that employees can utilize – such as weight loss program discounts, free diagnostic testing, preventative care, and more. Be sure to check out the benefits offered and educate your employees about them. The insurance company may also have a wellness platform and educational materials around health and wellness topics you can share with employees.