Get staff to stand up – Employees who stand up whilst working could see a great change in their health. The muscles that keep someone standing up produce more enzymes that break down sugar and fats in the bloodstream. Encourage workers to stand up and walk when on the phone, move printers and bins further away from desks or go to a co-workers desk rather than sending an email. By encouraging staff to stand up you help keep them fit and healthy. You may even notice that employees appear more confident and willing to take on new challenges.
Encourage the stairs over the lift – With staff dedicating around eight hours a day to working, some may not feel they have enough time to exercise. Therefore you could encourage your employees to swap the lift for the stairs. At first they may struggle (especially if there are a lot of stairs!) but after a while they will build their fitness levels up. This could give them great amounts of energy when they get in and be productive and engaged throughout their working day.
Hold meetings standing-up – When holding staff meetings, instead of sitting down tell staff to stay standing. Not only could it improve concentration levels, you are helping contribute to your employee’s health. You could also introduce walking meetings, which can be held outdoors with staff. Doing this could have the added benefit of shorter meetings to prevent any time wasting. It also can contribute in boosting employees to be more productive when they return to their desks.
Promote team health plans – Encourage staff to be more “healthy” as a team. You could encourage staff to set goals on weight they’d like to lose, give them a pedometer to track how much they move around the office or collectively go to the gym during lunches. You could also offer incentive programmes focused on workers who smoke. Those who do well can be rewarded with free healthy meals, spa days or tickets to sporting events. By doing this you could find that staff are more engaged and motivated to work due to the energy exercising gives.
Encouraging employees to take part in the above suggestions will have a series of benefits for your business. You may find an increase in productivity and engagement and decrease in absenteeism and even staff turnover. Employees may start to feel that they are cared for as a person and as an important asset to the business. And as a thank-you they may reward you back with a contributing greatly to your company’s success.
How do you encourage staff to stay fit and healthy at work? Please leave a comment below, we’d love to hear it:
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