Health And Wellness In The WorkplaceHealth And Wellness In The Workplace

In today’s organization atmosphere, the health of workers is often related to the health of the organization. Increased job satisfaction, improved morale, reduced illness and injuries, and increased work rate are just some of the advantages of having healthy workers. Promoting health in your workplace does not have to be be complicated, expensive or time-consuming. Any organization, big or little, can reward healthy eating and active living in the workplace. Here are some ideas:

Healthier Eating

• For breakfast gatherings, instead of serving donuts, sizable muffins, cookies, tea and coffee with cream and sugar, offer healthier alternatives such as bagels, small muffins, fresh fruit, water, 100% fruit juice and milk with coffee and tea.
• For lunch meetings, avert serving chips, fried foods, rich pastas, and salads loaded with dressing. Instead, offer sandwiches, bagels, whole grain low fat crackers and cheese, 100  percent fruit juice, water, salads with dressing on the side, vegetable and fruit trays.
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) employees for items purchased to better their health (e.g. healthy eating cookbooks, consultation with a Registered Dietitian).
• Arrange for the cafeteria or food vendors to offer healthy meal choices.
• Arrange to have healthy choices like bottled water, 100 percent fruit juice, fruit bars, and raisins available in vending machines.
• Provide a means for people to share healthy recipes with each other (for example, posting recipes on the Intranet, on posters or by e-mail).

Active Living

• Create programs and group activities to advocate employees to become active, such as walking programs, contests and challenge programs, stretch breaks, team sports or participation in local or provincial programs.
• Offer onsite health professionals (e.g. personal trainers, fitness instructors) or incorporate this service in Employee Assistance Programs to help workers work towards physical activity objectives.
• Give a supportive environment in the workplace that makes healthy choices easy: bike racks, shower facilities, clean, safe and accessible stairwells, walking or running routes in the vicinity of the workplace, and fitness center facilities.
• Provide|Offer|Give} flex time so that workers have more opportunities to take part in physical activity programs as part of their working day.
• Reimburse health club membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment purchases.
• Give corporate fitness center memberships to cut costs of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to:

• Create lunch ‘n learn sessions to offer information and motivation for healthy eating and active living.
• Invite demonstrators to provide cooking lessons or tips for making healthy foods.
• Display a list of local restaurants that offer healthy diet choices on their menus.
• Distribute information to educate workers on portion sizes.
• Include physical exercise and nutrition information in newsletters, pay check inserts, bulletin boards or e-mails.
• Establish activities that reward healthy eating and physical activity. By way of example, start a year-round lunch-time walking club, and special activities