March 8, 2016

How to Inspire a More Healthy Office

Ensuring your office is packed with plenty of plants and tons of natural light is a good start for a healthy environment, but it won’t do much for employees if they’re simply slouching around in their chairs admiring all the plants and sunlight. The trick is to get individuals off their duffs and into action that can result in an overall healthier lifestyle – both inside the office and out. These ideas can help inspire just that.

Hold Walking Meetings

Instead of slumping around the board room at your next employee meeting, try walking around the building or a nearby park or track. While it may be tough to walk as a group with dozens of employees, you can certainly call walking meetings when you’re meeting with individuals or smaller groups.

Kill off the Candy Bars

Vending machines stuffed with candy bars, potato chips and sugary, starchy snacks can instantly wreak havoc on an otherwise healthy eating plan. Swap out the ooey-gooey goodies for crisp and tasty healthful snacks, like vending machines packed with protein bars, granola, nuts and body-happy options. Keep fresh fruit and veggies in the break room to further encourage healthy munching.

Alter Your Happy Hour

Happy hour is a prime time to release stress – but it doesn’t have to go down at the neighborhood bar. Lead the pack to nearby gym, or encourage attending after-work fitness classes or workouts. Give your local fitness center a call to see if you can secure discounts for day passes or classes, or see what options are available at your community center.

Amend Your Perks

Better yet, try to secure discounts for annual gym memberships for your employees. Even if you can’t, adding a gym membership to the lineup of employee perks can serve as an incentive for workers to actually use them. Other health-oriented employee perks can include wearable fitness trackers, access to a small relaxation lounge you create out of an empty office, standing exercise desks and bringing in a yoga class once a month.

Integrate Exercise into the Office Routine

With all that hard work to do, employees may still find it tough to schedule a full workout into many of their days. Make it easy for them to at least keep on their toes by integrating exercise equipment into the office.

Try a chin-up bar near the bathrooms, a climbing rope by the break room or a set of gymnastic rings on the way to the parking lot. Encourage employees to give the equipment a go each time they pass it – and watch those muscles grow.

Launch Healthy Employee Challenges

Encourage a hale and hearty vibe by launching a series of healthy challenges. Each challenge can last a week, a month or even longer, with the winners receiving a fitness perk and delightful certificates showcasing their achievements. Ideas can include:

Bringing a healthy, homemade lunch to work every day for a month
Walking the greatest number of steps in a week
Running the greatest number of miles in a week
Most frequently conquering the staircase by avoiding the office elevator
Having unfailing attendance at your weekly healthy happy hour
Biking to work for the greatest number of consecutive days
Best ideas to launch new challenges to create an even healthier workspace

Getting employees up and moving can do wonders for morale and productivity – not to mention the massive benefits it can bring to overall health.