In a recent study, 87% of employees considered health and wellness options when searching for a new job. That’s because people are more conscious now about physical health and mental wellness.
So as a company or an institution, considering employees’ overall well-being should be one of your priorities. It may be something that would cost a company a little more, but the impact of taking care of employees also has its advantages.
Not many companies realize that the company thrives when employees are taken care of. It’s the same as saying that the company’s performance is good when the employees are good.
If you are one of those companies asking, ‘Are flu shots required by the constitution?’ and wanting to prioritize the well-being of your employees, this blog post will show you different ways to make it happen. Read on.
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Conduct Annual Physical Exams For Employees
Physical exams for employees can be significant because it serves as a wake-up call as doctors evaluate the employees’ physical conditions.
Most people only go to doctors for a check-up when they feel sick, not realizing there can be a chronic illness building up in their body without them knowing. After a visit from the doctor, people tend to re-evaluate the things they’ve been doing in life and make more health-conscious choices.
Through a physical exam, there can be early detection, intervention, and prevention of any health issues for which an employee may be at risk.
Additionally, it can facilitate open dialogue with the doctor and present a chance for an employee to discuss symptoms and general health.
Further, these examinations review vaccines and screen for potential illnesses so they can be identified and treated before any symptoms even show up.
Make Healthy Snacks Available
In an office with a pantry, you can reduce junk food options and replace them with healthier ones. For example, from sugar-filled drinks like soda and fruit juices, you can replace them with water or dark coffee. Likewise, you can replace cookies and candies with sugar-free ones for the sweet tooth in the office.
It is essential to communicate openly with employees to ease the transition to healthy food substitutes and promote wellness and health at work.
Provide Enough Time For Breaks
The ability to take a complete lunch break away from their desks should be made clear to staff. A lunch break spent scarfing down food while attempting to multitask isn’t exactly pleasurable. It reduces the capacity to properly enjoy a meal, which might encourage overeating and mindless eating.
Having lunch at the office desk should be discouraged. Eating while doing work should be a no-no. That’s because doing so makes the person less likely to enjoy meals properly, which may lead to overeating or mindless eating.
To prevent this, lunch times should be at least an hour to enjoy a good meal. Employees should know they can leave their desks and offices and enjoy lunch somewhere else with colleagues. A different environment can be a good pause on a busy day, even for lunch.
Conduct Stress Management Activities
Stress in the workplace has harmful consequences on employees’ mental health. You may not see it, but those smiles can be superficial when you look at your employees. More often than not, the top employees are the ones that get to experience stress in the workplace because they need to keep it up, even if it means their well-being is neglected.
Employees under stress at work are more prone to depression and mental breakdown. Moreover, they’re likely to indulge in harmful habits, including drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, and eating poorly.
That’s why it is essential to incorporate stress management activities like taking employees on team lunches, dinners, and retreats. You can even go the extra mile by providing stress management books, putting up a meditation room in the office, or just surprise them with an early off.
Provide A Good Working Space
A good working environment helps boost productivity among employees. It even boosts employee morale.
Having a good and comfortable working space means there is a good temperature and air quality, it is not noisy and has enough lighting. It also means that there is enough space to move around, sit and stand and have a relaxed posture.
Likewise, desks and tables are crucial and should have the proper ergonomics where the chair is not too high or low for the table. Little things like this create a significant impact when done right.
Employees may experience physical pain like neck pain, back pain, wrist pain, and more if done wrong. It may also cause mental stress as they must deal with the discomfort every time.
Investing in good office furniture and positioning them in such a way that creates a productive and conducive environment can help employees’ physical and mental well-being.
Encourage Exercising
Not everyone can get excited when you talk about exercise. Quite frankly, it’s one of those personal wellness goals that busy professionals often overlook.
Most people know that exercising can help enhance the ability to carry out daily tasks, lower the risk of disease, help control weight, and build cognitive, bones, and muscles. But it is something that a lot of working individuals do not prioritize.
That said, incorporating exercising in the work environment and encouraging employees to do so will benefit an individual and the company as a whole. Some studies show people who exercise are more productive and more proactive.
You can encourage exercise in your employees by providing a space where they can take a break and exercise, like a mini gym or an area where they can do yoga. You can even go the extra mile by coming up with company events like sports fests, marathons, and walkathons.
Takeaway
Promoting employees’ health and wellness really is all about caring for one another. The success of every business and organization depends on a solid understanding of the needs of the employees.
Employees who understand that their company cares for the overall being will continue to work happily and stay loyal to doing their job well.
