Creating a healthier work environment

Creating a healthier work environment is important to the bottom line of the employer and to the life of the employee. There are three great ideas that can help an employer create a healthier work environment.

Employee wellness program

One great way for an employer to create a healthier work environment is for them to set up an employee wellness program. Employee wellness programs offer employers a great opportunity to have their employees taught about how to better take care of themselves at the workplace and at home.

An employee wellness program can be as simple as have a wellness class taught once a month to employees during their lunch break. These classes can teach about how to make better food choices, how to make time to exercise, how to quit smoking, what exercises to do to lose weight, etc. These classes can give employees the tools they need to live a healthier lifestyle.

Wellness programs can also include a lot more than just classes. An employer could offer an employee wellness program that allows their employees to have a Personal Wellness Profile conducted every six months or each year. An employee could get their percentage of body fat, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar checked, and they can find out how physically fit they are through an extensive employee wellness program.

After their Personal Wellness Profile is conducted in an employee wellness program, an employee can have a diet and exercise program written up tailored just for them. Having a diet and exercise program made up specifically for them can help employees live a healthier life, be more productive at work, and avoid chronic diseases.

Healthy snacks

A simple way that employees can create a healthier work environment is by offering healthy snack options in the break room and in any vending machines around the office. Many times people will just eat what is there whether they are hungry or not. If the break room is full of apples, oranges, pears, 100 percent fruit juice, one percent or skim milk, and granola bars instead of candy bars, soda pop, and cookies, then employees are more likely to purchase that and eat it for lunch instead.

And when an employer decides to treat his or her employees to a snack, instead of bagels and cream cheese, how about replacing that with yogurt and fruit parfaits or in place of a plate of cookies a veggie or fruit tray? The change from unhealthy food options to healthy food options will be a refreshing one for the employees.

A work out area

Another way to create a healthier work environment is by creating a workout area in the workplace that employees can use on their breaks. Instead of employees having to get in their car, drive to a workout facility (using up most of their lunch break), change clothes, workout, change again, and drive back, they would have a workout area not five minutes from their desk. With several less excuses for why they don't exercise, many employees would benefit from the close workout facility.

The in-office workout facility does not need to be an extravagant one. It can be simple, with a treadmill or two, maybe a recumbent bike instead of the second treadmill, a weight bench, a yoga mat, a few free weights, and a Nautilus; even having two or three of these options would be better than nothing. Having these machines available in the workout area of the office allows for more than one person to exercise at one time, and for an employee to life weights one day and do cardio the next.

Of course, not all businesses have the money, or the room to build a workout facility, even a small one, in the office. So another option is that the business makes it easier to exercise in or around the building. For example, an employer could find out how many times around the building would equal a mile, or how many times an employee would have to walk up and down the stairs to get in their mile walk. That way, employees can take advantage of their breaks by walking a few miles around the building or walking a few flights of stairs.