5 Ways to Help Your Employees Achieve a Healthier Lifestyle

Eric Becker

We all have our own goals of healthier lives and more fit bodies, and while it can be different for each person, a healthy workforce can mean a more productive and less costly team to an employer. These goals may seem to be something left up to the individual, but as an employer there are things that you can do to help motivate and support employees toward achieving their personal health goals. For more information on how we can help, go here: http://bit.ly/ProgramExpert

  1. Encourage healthy behavior. While many employees may think of their employer as the source of their income, you also have a lot of influence on the lives of your employees. By communicating with employees, demonstrating healthier behaviors, and supporting others’ goals, you can encourage healthy behavior among your staff. It may be that small word of encouragement from senior leadership that helps jumpstart a healthier lifestyle for an employee.
  2. Allow for more physical activity at work. This may not be possible for every employer, but for those who can, an employer-led walking club or allowing employees to alter their work schedule to ensure a workout can help to support employees’ motivation. Even working with your employees to build a schedule that they can use to fit in physical activity can help serve as visual motivation.
  3. Share health and wellness information at the workplace. Major lifestyle changes don’t happen all at once, and having some tips on how to make the small changes lead to bigger results can be beneficial in helping your workforce stay motivated toward their personal health goals. Contact your occupational health provider or group health agent to provide information to get education materials on health and wellness, nutrition tips, and even a personal health assessment for your employees.
  4. Host a team event that requires physical activity. If you are planning to have a team building event or have an upcoming team meeting planned, try doing it in a setting where everyone can increase their physical activity. Depending upon the makeup of your team, you could even make a competition out of it.
  5. Create a reward/incentive program. Sometimes some sort of monetization or extrinsic reward is exactly what some employees might need. The rewards don’t have to be grand or lavish they can be small; just as long as they are after every checkpoint within their plan. It could be a $10 gift card to the employee who logged the most steps that quarter or an extra vacation day to the employee who lost the most weight. It can even be incentives that have no monetary value, such as the MVP of the month – just an extra push to help employees go the extra mile.

While healthier employees certainly have a positive impact on the individuals, studies have also shown it leads to better productivity. A study conducted by the University of Warwick measured the effects of happiness and wellness on productivity. The individuals that were identified as being happy had approximately 12% greater productivity. Besides increasing productivity, helping your employees fulfill their goals in their personal lives gives you an opportunity to show them that you care about them as individuals within your organization. To learn how you can help your employees stay focused on their health goals. Talk to a program expert today.