There are many obvious benefits to encouraging employee wellness.<\/span><\/p>\n Healthy employees miss work less often. They’re also more productive and <\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Having employees who are present and productive helps your business save money. It is estimated every year, <\/span>$225.8 billion<\/span><\/a> is lost by businesses due to employees being absent from work due to health problems.<\/span><\/p>\n Employees who participate in wellness programs can also help to save money on employee benefits costs. Promoting healthy lifestyles and habits among your employees doesn’t have to be costly or time-consuming.<\/span><\/p>\n Keep reading to learn more about how you can help with keeping your employees healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n Employers can be active helpers in keeping their employees healthy. There are many simple things that employers can do to promote health and wellness. If employers have the resources to have a significant focus on employee health, they can even hire someone solely to focus on health and wellness programs.<\/span><\/p>\n Here are 10 ways to help your employees stay healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n By providing a kitchen area or even a refrigerator and microwave, employees can bring lunch from home. If your business has a break room stocked with snacks or vending machines, providing fruit and healthy snacks is a better choice than chips, candy, or soda.<\/span><\/p>\n Providing healthy choices, such as salads, fruits, and vegetables for any team meetings or events also can encourage healthy choices.<\/span><\/p>\n Creating a smoke-free workplace will decrease the impacts of secondhand smoke and potentially motivate employees who smoke to quit.<\/span><\/p>\n Going smoke-free can also increase productivity, decrease absenteeism, and lower medical expenses associated with tobacco use. Another benefit that employers may not even realize is that it can lower insurance costs because the risk of fires and property damage is reduced.<\/span><\/p>\n To help employees quit smoking, you can provide smoking cessation programs and aids, such as nicotine replacement patches or therapy programs to help them quit.<\/span><\/p>\n Encouraging employees to participate in exercise initiatives is a good way to keep them healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n Providing opportunities for them to take walks during lunch, sponsoring teams to participate in walks or bike rides, and incorporating physical activity in any group employees are small ways to incorporate movement on a daily basis.<\/span><\/p>\n Employee health isn’t just limited to physical health. Ensuring that your employees’ mental health is solid is also necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n Providing mental health services as part of an employee benefits package, encouraging positive communication, regularly assessing employee morale, and providing tips and tricks to reduce and manage stress are all ways to focus on mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n Too much time spent sitting can contribute to <\/span>early mortality<\/span><\/a>. If you have a desk job and spend much of your day sitting, your health can suffer.<\/span><\/p>\n Standing desks, cycle chairs, encouraging lunch away from desks and computers, and introducing an employee stretching program are all simple ways to get employees up and out of their chairs.<\/span><\/p>\n This company<\/span><\/a> sells ergonomic office furniture that can help encourage less sitting and more standing and movement.<\/span><\/p>\n Over <\/span>half of all employees<\/span><\/a> don’t use all of their vacation days each year. Encouraging employees to use all of their vacation days or limiting how many they can roll over each year can help their mental health and morale.<\/span><\/p>\n When they do take a vacation, encourage employees to unplug. They shouldn’t check in or check their voicemail or email.<\/span><\/p>\n Make it easy for employees to get flu shots by having local providers come to your place of business. Over the lunch hour is a convenient time for employees to get a quick flu shot. Getting a flu vaccination during the fall is the single best way to <\/span>prevent the flu<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Health fairs where employees can have brief physicals to find out their BMI, cholesterol levels, body fat percentage, and other health indicators can help employees have an overall picture of their health.<\/span><\/p>\n By holding these events at work, and allowing employees time to attend, you can increase the likelihood that they will participate.<\/span><\/p>\n Extra money in their health savings accounts if they participate in healthy initiatives, weight loss competitions with prizes, or extra vacation days for healthy practices can all motivate employees to make lifestyle changes.<\/span><\/p>\n Allowing employees to have flexible schedules that promote work-life balance can help their mental and physical health. By allowing them sick days and encouraging them to stay home when they are sick, employers can help them get well faster and also limit the spread of their illness.<\/span><\/p>\nHealthy Employees Benefit Your Business<\/b><\/h2>\n
1. Encourage Healthier Eating<\/b><\/h3>\n
2. Go Smoke-Free at Work<\/b><\/h3>\n
3. Encourage Exercise and Movement<\/b><\/h3>\n
4. Improve Mental Health<\/b><\/h3>\n
5. Reduce Long Sitting Times<\/b><\/h3>\n
6. Make Sure Employees Use Their Vacation Time<\/b><\/h3>\n
7. Hold a Health Fair or Flu Shot Clinic<\/b><\/h3>\n
8. Provide Incentives for Healthy Habits<\/b><\/h3>\n
9. Encourage Flexible Schedules<\/b><\/h3>\n
10. Introduce Plants into the Office<\/b><\/h3>\n