How to Incorporate Wellness at the Workplace
There’s good reason why so many organizations in today’s modern workplace culture are driving the idea of health and wellness into the office as these are no longer trends, but more of a reality.
There are numerous studies that show a healthy workplace can decrease health-related costs and attract top talent, and a business can go in many different routes to achieve this goal beyond the typical discounts at a local gym or bringing in healthy snacks for a break room. For instance, a business can purchase and install ergonomic office furniture that benefit employee health like the line of Ergotron height-adjustable tables, or, a business can opt to go the natural route and incorporate natural light and plants in the office.
“I think having programs that get employees away from their desk as well as getting them outside are effective for wellness programs. If your office has an area such as a pond, getting outside and taking just one lap around the pond can provide a much-needed break that will allow you to focus better and be more productive than constantly sitting at your desk.”
Our team of workplace experts have time and time again helped businesses of any industry achieve the goal of a healthy office. A popular program that BOS does internally is a step counting program, where achieving a certain number of steps each month can earn them cash incentives. Another program that BOS and Workspace Digital offer is our annual Lake of Hope charity walk, where BOS donates money to a charity of choice near the completion of the challenge based on the number of steps walked by the entire organization.
One thing is for certain, the power of health and wellness is not going to stop anytime soon, in fact, experts believe within the next five years, HR will have to incorporate wellness programs within the workforce in order to keep up with the increase in healthcare costs for its employees.
“I have seen many different wellness programs. I have seen companies provide gym memberships, lunch hour workouts, incentives for increasing overall health and wellness. Stop smoking incentives, getting active or staying active incentives. I have seen social wellness programs too such as company social activities as well as family activities. I feel that to be effective, all areas should be considered (mind, body and soul).Wellness is greatly impacted not only by eating well and staying active but by having downtime and social time with coworkers, family and friends.”
As one can see, the options to implement a healthy office are plentiful, and the options are nearly endless. Let’s take this Japanese company for instance as an example. Piala was receiving complaints that smoking breaks were affecting the firms productivity and in order to combat this, Piala put in a policy granting non-smoking staff an additional six days off each year.
Don’t wait on getting the most out of health and wellness programs. The sooner these programs begin, the sooner an organization can reap the benefits.
