It’s a new year and time for all those health related resolutions. For employers it can mean more productivity, less absenteeism, and stronger, more fit employees. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to help your employees focus on the habits that matters most: increasing their activity, providing education on smart food choices, strategies to help reducing stress, and ways to stop smoking.
Here are a few ways you can test the how employees react to wellness in your workplace and determine if a more wide range plan would be valued:
1. PREVENT: Bring in a nurse service and offer flu vaccinations for all employees. If their health insurance doesn’t cover it, consider picking up the cost. It will be well worth the investment if even one employee isn’t out for days or even weeks, with the flu.
2. EDUCATE: Provide speakers on topics such as healthy cooking for families, how to stay healthy when travelling, stress management, or safely exercising. Consider providing a healthy lunch or snack during the session or offer other incentives for those who attend.
3. SUPPORT: We spend more time at work than anywhere else. Support your employees by offering healthy choices in your vending machines. Replace soda with water, candy with nuts or dried fruit, and have fresh fruit once a week. Employees are more likely to make a healthy choice when less desirable choices are limited.
Encourage employees to exercise by sponsoring a lunch time walking club or offer discounted gym memberships. If you have space, consider offering yoga or other aerobics classes to expose employees to a variety of ways to find an exercise regimine that works for them.
4. COACH: Provide coaching resources to employees who want to make behavioral changes such as tobacco cessation, weight loss or stress management. These programs are designed to help employees with long term changes where additional ongoing support is needed for a successful change to occur.
In 2013, take a step in the wellness direction. If it’s too big a job to handle internally, there are companies that can run a formal program for you. Either way, you will have happier, healthier, more productive employees which will benefit your bottom line.
For help getting started, please call The Flanders Group at 800-462-6435.