Obesity is prevalent in America, but it doesn’t have to be in your workplace. With an employee wellness program, you can help your employees lead healthier lives inside and outside of the workplace. Not only will this help to reduce medical costs, but it could help improve productivity. Being overweight can lead to other health problems that can result to absences and hikes in health insurance premiums. Whether you’re looking to improve the quality of life for your employees or cut back on health expenditures, you can try implementing an employee wellness plan within your place of business.
Teaching Employees About Health
Education shouldn’t be limited to a professional level. One way to introduce an employee wellness program in your company is to offer a class about obesity. You’d be surprised to know that many of your employees probably don’t know how to read nutrition labels or understand the difference between poly-unsaturated, saturated, trans fats and mono-unsaturated. The wellness program could also inform your employees about eating organic foods. There are also more cost-effective alternatives if their pay doesn’t allow them to afford organic foods.
Creating an Employee Wellness Environment
It takes more than just talking about change to make it a reality. Leading by example is a great way to instill healthier eating habits. Create a work atmosphere around that theme. For instance, you could remove all of the junk food snack machines and replace them with machines that offer healthy options like fruit cups, nuts, granola bars and natural juices. If you have a lunchroom that serves food, update the menus to feature more healthy options like vegetables, fruits and grains and less starch and red meat.
Improving the health of your employees can help to boost their energy and provide them with clearer minds. Try implementing an employee wellness program into your business and see how well it works out.