Want to improve the health, happiness and motivation of your staff or colleagues? Then why not introduce a company wellness program?
What is a Wellness Programme?
A wellness program is a set of actions put in place by a company to improve its employees’ health and happiness. This is an ongoing system which is continually developed to ensure the company is the best employer it can be.
What Does it Involve
This can involve a number of factors aimed at making the premises a healthier, safer and more enjoyable place to work, as well as encouraging staff to take action in order to improve their working life.
A wellness program could cover anything from annual health screening and an after work exercise class to health and safety training and staff motivation training exercises.
What Kind of Thing Should be a Part of Your Programme?
Create Standing Desks
Sit-stand or height-adjustable desks are becoming a popular alternative to the traditional desk as many believe sitting for long periods of time can be detrimental to your health. Although the long term benefits to health and wellbeing are not conclusive, many people claim a standing desk has improved their health greatly, in particular reducing the risk of obesity. Of course, to optimise this, office workers should walk around more, but standing is a start.
Improve Ergonomics with New Chairs
If you don’t think your staff or team mates will go for the whole standing all day idea, why not replace some of the office furniture? Not only will it make your business premises look more modern, but it will also reduce the risk of back pain and other injuries associated with sitting or using a computer for hours on end.
Ergonomic chairs support good posture and reduces the risk of neck and back pain while keeping the user sat comfortably. These chairs reduce the pressure on the user’s hips, encourages proper breathing and ensures normal blood circulation.
Remind Staff to Get a Flu Shot
When you think of who typically gets an annual flu injection you may be forgiven for envisaging babies, old age pensioners and pregnant women. However, if you work in an open-plan office or factory space, you’ll be familiar with how quickly germs spread.
Multiple employees in a small or cramped space could increase the spread of infection, as does the use of shared items such as kettles, machinery and/or keyboards. Encouraging your staff to get an annual flu vaccination could halt this spread of disease in its tracks.
But it’s not just physical health this may affect. According to the journal Indoor Air, workers in open-plan offices report greater levels of poor mental health, especially psychological stress. You can achieve peak performance through mental toughness with our mental resilience services.
Provide a Breakfast Buffet or Healthy Snacks
When you’re hungry at work, what do you do? Grab something convenient? Well, for many people the nearest convenience is a vending machine or a nearby bakery – both of which do not offer the healthiest of options.
Providing employees with a healthy breakfast buffet or snacks, such as fruit or yoghurt, could not only save staff time and money, but also improve their health and productivity. After all, eating the right foods can improve your mood, memory and concentration.
Find Out More About Health and Wellbeing
If you’d like to learn more about wellbeing, why not find out more about our health and wellbeing management services? We offer strategies and help encourage ideas for behavioural change to tackle common problems.
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