How To Make Your Employees Healthier and More Productive

Smart companies know how important it is to use strategies that make their employees healthier so that they can perform better at work. Employees are the foundation of a company’s success.

Common health issues that office employees face include lower back pain, headaches due to noise-related stress, obesity, heart disease, and flu.

Are you interested to know the ways to improve your employees’ health and productivity? We’ve listed effective strategies below. Read on.

How to Make Your Employees Healthier and More Productive

Conduct Fitness Classes in the Workplace

When it comes to the subject of increasing employee productivity, little is being said about incorporating fitness into work. Fitness isn’t always the first intervention that comes to mind among managers.

Physical activity should be encouraged among staff members not only through mere education but through running fitness classes during the work week. It’s not enough to tell your workers the importance of exercise. You need to bring it to them.

You can assign team members each week to research simple exercise movements that increase their cardiovascular endurance and lower their risk for lifestyle diseases. Basic movements can range from running in place to jumping jacks.

Make a Healthy Snacking a Priority

In addition to promoting physical activity, healthy snacking should not take a backseat in your overall management strategy. While junk foods like sodas and pizzas are often employees’ main choices for snacks, these foods harm their minds and bodies by causing stress, headaches, and blood sugar spikes.

Snacking healthily can provide your employees with additional energy and nutrients to focus better and avoid mood swings. For example, snacking on grapes can supply a person with resveratrol, a natural compound that boosts brain health and reduces anxiety.

If you don’t have a company food program in place, start having one today. In your office canteen, make sure that your menu features a healthy snack foods list that includes a variety of delicious fruits and vegetables.

Taking an active part in planning for healthy snacking also sends everyone the message that you appreciate your employees for the valuable work they do help your business grow.

Allow Employees to Work One Day a Week From Home

A lot of managers assume that employees who do robotic work can bring more company results. According to Harvard Business Review, people would be able to get more done when they do not constantly work in an office.

It’s no secret that being able to work from home at least once a week can have a huge impact on a person’s mental health. The most significant health benefit a person can gain is a significant reduction in anxiety and stress levels.

Also, employees can easily incorporate healthy practices while they work from home. This can include a 15-minute yoga session or adequate food preparation.

Invest in Ergonomic Chairs

People are spending a huge chunk of their days sitting at work. This alone puts them at risk for several problems that could negatively affect how they deliver. Uncomfortable chairs lead to poor posture that results in problems of the shoulder, neck, and back.

Poor posture also places a restriction on breathing and this can make a person feel tired, irritable, and experience digestive issues such as bloating and acid reflux.

The solution to increasing your workers’ comfort levels so they can better focus on their tasks and have fewer sick days is to invest in ergonomic chairs. These chairs are designed to mimic the spine’s natural curvature and encourage posture changes without pain and discomfort.

Try to consult an ergonomics specialist to get sound advice on making your workplace more efficient by using ergonomic chairs. He or she might also suggest other ergonomic solutions that reduce carpal tunnel syndrome – a condition that’s evidenced by a painful sensation in the hand and nerves.

Over to You

Remember that healthy people are productive workers. When your employees are healthy at the physical, mental, and emotional level, they can give their best. Play an active role to improve your staff’s health by using these strategies. You’ll be surprised with the results.

Bike to Work Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "How To Make Your Employees Healthier and More Productive" was first published on Small Business Trends