How to improve employee health

Business owners are beginning to see the effect that having a healthy workforce can have. Whether you own a business with only a few employees or run a mega corporation with thousands of employees, improving the health of your employees should be a priority. Savvy business owners understand the fact that a healthy workforce is also a productive workforce. However, business owners should be fully aware of how they transmit the message of health. Anything that implies any sort of discrimination should be heavily avoided. You want to encourage and empower your employees to seek out better health; however, you want to be sure that you are not penalizing any employee that does not join the program. So if you are ready to make changes at your place of work, here is what you need to know about how to improve employee health-

- Make it a competition-Studies have shown that there is often a much higher level of participation, when competition is part of an employee wellness program. Issuing a challenge can be a fun way to get your employees involved in getting healthier. Organized competition can give the employees who want to participate, a chance to meet their goals, in a fun way. Keep in mind that the motivation does not have to be monetary. There are a variety of things that can get your employees up and running. In addition, you should realize that the competition does not have to be complex. A simple league of sport teams, or placing employees in groups that will work together, can often be enough to motivate the participants. You may also want to consider joining forces with other businesses, to pool your resources and make the stakes even higher (think company pride!). Remember, that no matter what you do the bottom line is to organize employee wellness in a way that generates excitement and gets your employees involved.
- Make healthy eating easier-Another important component of employee wellness is making sure that your employees have the chance to make more nutritious choices, when it comes to their diet. Business owners can make this process easier by taking a close look by what is being offering in the company cafeteria. Most cafeterias offer the usual fare that if often not high in nutrition. A simple overhaul can leave employees with much better choices. In addition, vending machines can be restocked with bottled water, nuts, trail mix, and fresh fruit, taking the place of the usual cookies and candy. The bottom line is that your employees will gravitate toward the easiest food choices, so make sure that they have healthy ones.
- Offer an incentive-If you really want your employees to get involved in employee wellness, then you need to offer them an incentive. Most people are going to want to want to have something in it for them, if they are going to participate. The bottom line is that offering a reward for making healthier choices, is going to be enough motivation to get a lot more employees involved. You should keep in mind that you don't have to offer money, in order to get participants. There are lots of ways to offer rewards without breaking the budget. For example-You could offer one large reward to the participant who achieves a certain goal. Or you could focus on offering healthy treats, hats, sunglasses and other small prizes to keep people going. Lunch for a winning team, or even a ½ day off may be big enough prizes to motivate employees to participate. The key to offering the right reward is to know your employees and what is most important to them.