Protect Your Employee’s Health With These 4 Top Tips

Healthy employees are the backbone of a happy and productive workplace. A part of the responsibility for keeping employees healthy falls on the shoulders of the employer. The four tips explained below will help improve and maintain the health of all your workers.

Health Begins at the Mouth

Providing healthy snacks for employees is extremely beneficial to their health. Healthy snacks stave off unhealthy weight gain, stabilize mood, increase brain power, and provide an energy boost. 

A wise employer will substitute dried fruits, nuts, and other healthy snacking alternatives for candy or potato chips in the breakroom vending machines. Making this change will provide health benefits for employees of all ages and improve the productivity of the team as a whole. (source)

Exercises to Do at Your Desk

The World Health Organization reports that 3 million people die each year because they do not maintain a healthy level of physical activity. Heart disease, diabetes, loss of bone strength, and loss of muscle can be attributed to a lack of physical activity. If you spend much of your day in a chair for work or for school, you can benefit from chair yoga poses performed intermittently throughout the day. (source)

Employers should stress the importance of getting adequate amounts of exercise to their employees. Employers should also instruct their workers about ways to get exercise while at their desks. Tricep dips, calf raises, chair yoga, and other exercises are excellent ways to raise your activity level when in a stationary position.

Establish Partnerships with Gyms

Many gymnasiums and fitness centers will partner with companies of all sizes. The partnership will provide employees with a variety of benefits that include gym access and personal coaching at a discounted price. It may also be a good idea for the employer to pay the cost of the membership as a perk to employees. If partnering with a gym isn’t possible, you could do something as simple as organizing an office step challenge.

This same concept can be applied to nutritionists, dieticians, and other professionals; it can be beneficial to the health of employees.

More Breaks and Longer Lunch Hours

Some may believe mistakenly that less time performing actual job duties will decrease productivity. The fact is, brief breaks throughout the workday have proven to enhance focus and to increase task output for extended time periods. (source)

Many companies adhere to the traditional one-hour lunch break. However, longer may be needed for the employee who wants to go for a run or visit the gym during lunch.

Final Thoughts

Wise employers understand that healthy employees make for an amicable workplace environment and increase the productivity of the team. The four tips above are good ideas for employers who wish to keep employees happy, healthy, and productive.

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