Creating a healthy workplace

There are many reasons why an employer should be concerned about their employees' health. For one, unhealthy employees can end up costing the employer a lot of money. Luckily for employers there are a lot of ways that an employer can create a healthy workplace for their employees as well as for themselves. This article discusses ways to create a healthy workplace.

Don't spread germs

One way that an employer can create a healthy workplace is by doing several little things to stop the spread of germs. In a workplace germs can easily be spread from employee to employee because they are in close quarters working with many of the same office supplies and sometimes working closely with each other.

One of the best ways to stop the spread of germs is for a person to wash their hands. An employer can post signs in the break room as well as in the bathrooms to remind employees to wash their hands before eating and after using the restroom. Having hand sanitizer available can be helpful as well. That way, when employees have been shaking hands all day and are not near a sink, they aren't forced to continue spreading germs.

It is also a good idea for office equipment, such as phones, copy machines, fax machines, desks, and computer keyboards to be cleaned and sanitized often. These items are used very often and have probably been sneezed or coughed on hundreds of times. Cleaning these items can help stop the spread of germs.

Offering sick time to employees is a great way for an employer to help stop the spread of germs. If sick people are not at work sneezing and coughing all over the equipment and their hands it can help keep other employees from getting the illness.

An employee wellness program

Even if a person does not have a viral or bacterial infection it does not mean they are healthy. Really being healthy does not just mean the absence of illness. A healthy employee also need to make healthy eating decisions, exercise, and stop unhealthy habits such as smoking. An employer can help employees do these things by offering an employee wellness program.

Employee wellness programs can teach employees how to eat healthy by showing them what a portion size is, and teaching them what foods are healthy and how to make meals from these foods. And an employee wellness program will also show employees how to exercise and how long and how often they should participate in some type of activity. Some employee wellness programs can also make a profile of each employee to figure out what each employee needs to do to get healthy.

Morale

Of course there is more to a healthy workplace then just having it be clean and employees be eating well and exercising. A healthy workplace should generally be a happy place to work. Most employees should be happy to come to work each day. If employees are unhappy about coming to work because they do not like their job, they get bullied at work, etc., something needs to change.

One way to make a change is for the employer to take time to sit down with each of their employees in a one-on-one meeting to find out how they are doing. It is a good idea for this meeting to take place as often as they are needed. Employers should make sure that employees feel comfortable to discuss their concerns during this meeting. Hopefully these meetings will allow the employer and employee to come to a compromise to help increase the morale at the office and create a healthy workplace.