Promoting Healthy and Engaged Employees – It’s Common Sense

It goes without saying, the health and well-being of your employees will undoubtedly affect their levels of engagement and performance in the workplace.

More and more organisations are looking to maximise the well-being of their staff by providing a varied range of resources and opportunities to engage in healthy activities. Companies are introducing programs that promote improvements in certain lifestyle behaviours such as weight management and stopping smoking.

Health champions, are becoming more commonplace at work. They educate and provide a wealth of information relating to the benefits of healthy eating, exercise and other health issues such as blood pressure, cholesterol and stress levels.  They can be the catalyst in getting everyone in the workplace to take a closer look at their lifestyle and make changes. Health champions offer advice and support to help staff set up plans that are personalised, tailored made, easy to understand and easy to follow.

Organisations are introducing healthier menu choices in the staff canteen, marked with a special icon to denote that it is a healthier option.  This way, staff can make a more informed nutritional decision. It’s not unusual to see bowls of fruit in the office these days either.

To encourage increased physical health, workplace gyms are springing up, and those businesses that do not have the room are arranging concessions for their employees at local gyms and leisure centres. Lunchtime walking clubs or exercise buddy schemes are popular, and as well as encouraging better fitness, staff get to meet colleagues they may not have otherwise met.

Improved employee health has many benefits. Happier, healthier staff have the potential to be more highly engaged. Their productivity and performance will increase and there will be less absenteeism through sickness, saving not only the organisation money, but the national healthcare system.

If you would like to know more about employee engagement, then please contact us on +44 (0) 1255 850051.