You may have made some major changes in your personal lifestyle in an attempt to become healthier and fitter but find that your professional life needs additional assistance. This may be especially true if you work a desk job or in a department where you move little throughout the day. Finding new ways to remain physically active despite the challenges you face in the workplace is ideal. More importantly, finding ways to motivate your peers benefits you, too, by giving you multiple workout buddies.
If you’re the owner or manager of a business, you’re able to lower healthcare costs by incorporating a physical fitness program into the workday. You’ll notice a drop in illness-related absences and find that your employees are able to deal with stress in seemingly more productive ways. Staff morale will be at an all-time high, too, because of the lifestyle changes being made by the people who work for you.
How to Get Your Employees Pumped About Exercise
Starting a health and wellness program at work takes very little time and offers multiple benefits. In addition to boosting morale and encouraging teamwork, it also increases productivity. Employees feel better physically which helps them perform better mentally. They’re also less likely to call out because they’re unhappy with work or have a health issue.
Here are ten ways to encourage physical fitness in the workplace:
- Launch the health and wellness program you created. Make it a big deal so your employees become excited about it. Make announcements leading up to the event’s kick-off, hire a healthy caterer to supply lunch, and appoint one of your staff as the person who handles sign-ups for the program. Keep packets ready so that each employee knows how to track the physical activity they do each day for the purpose of the program.
- Give pedometers to your employees as welcome gifts to the program. It’s an easy way to have them track the steps they’ve walked each day. You can have the gifts personally branded with your logo or company name, too. It’s a great way to boost morale and give your staff the tools that they need to start making small but noticeable lifestyle changes.
- Stock vending machines with healthy snacks. Get rid of the junk food for good. Start stocking vending machines with healthy, organic snacks and drinks. People may protest at first but after a short amount of time, they’ll be on board with the decision. They may even find themselves preferring the healthier option over what they used to eat or drink.
- Provide refillable water bottles for employees to use at work. It encourages regular hydration, provides a calorie-free beverage to enjoy, and helps promote a healthy lifestyle. Water is essential for all of the body’s major functions. It’s low-cost and doesn’t create waste when reusable bottles are being used daily.
- Hold walking meetings. Rather than sit for the meeting, take a stroll around the building or outdoors. Get fresh air and a new perspective. Have your employees wear their pedometers so they can see how many extra steps they gained with every meeting you host. Employees are able to focus better when you eliminate all the distractions that come with traditional workplace meetings.
- Host family events that encourage exercise. Get employees, their significant others, and children active. Have a health fair or field day. Offer prizes that are health-related to participants and winners. People will try to do their personal best because there is some type of incentive involved. It’s a great way to model ideal behavior to children, too. They may not be as active as you were as a kid because of all the technology that exists today.
- Work with area gyms and fitness clubs to get your employees discounts on memberships. It encourages them to participate in physical activities outside of work. They can schedule a workout before their shift or after, whichever they prefer. With every gym session, they become stronger and healthier which benefits you and your workplace. They’ll be able to handle more work, get it done in record time, and remain positive even when they’re faced with challenges professionally.
- Have a chef come in and give a demonstration on how to cook healthy food affordably. This activity is a lot of fun. It gives your staff better options because they’re creatively inspired to try new ingredients and cooking methods. They can go to the grocery store, buy the supplies that they need, and recreate the meal they saw cooked by the chef at work. It’s one way to show your employees that they don’t need to spend a lot of time or money to create healthy and delicious home-cooked meals.
- Provide stress-relieving resources for employees to explore. Give them tools that help them get over stressful situations quickly. Deep breathing, meditation, and even yoga can help strengthen the body and the mind while improving a person’s resolve. They’ll be more resilient and ready to deal with whatever life has to throw at them because of your help.
- Allow employees to preview a wide variety of exercises to see which benefit them the most. Having a personal trainer come in and do a short demonstration of different physical activities allows your employers to sample them with no pressure. They can find what motivates them most and then discover a way to incorporate it into their daily routine. Variety is key so it’s important that they know that they can switch up exercises to keep things interesting.
There are plenty of ways to motivate the people around you to become healthier. From having professionals come into the workplace to demonstrate what it means to be fit and well to get your staff’s family involved in the process, you’ve got options. The investment that you make in developing a health and wellness program in the workplace generates plenty of positive results that affect your business.
The Benefits of a Health and Wellness Program at Work are Numerous
Encourage everyone working with or for you to get fit this year. Now that you’ve got some new ideas to implement, you’ll have an easy time making health and wellness a priority. You’ll have a built-in support team that has your back and keeps you focused on your personal fitness goals.