Getting unhealthy employees out of their chairs

Unhealthy employees are causing healthcare costs to soar, especially if they have a medical condition due to their lifestyle choice. Obesity and smoking top the list of employer concerns and it is no wonder why many employers are implementing wellness programs to help their employees lose weight and improve their health. If you are tired of watching your employees sit in their chairs and waste away, here are some tips to help you encourage exercise in the office:

• Offer extra free time in the day for employees to exercise. Give them another 20 minutes for lunch so they have time to get in a quick workout.
• Get rid of the junk food in the vending machines and replace them with healthy snack alternatives. Your employees that like to snack will have no choice but to grab a bag of carrots instead of a Snickers bar
• Remove all the chairs from your office and replace them with exercise balls. Exercise balls provide employees with a fun way to exercise at work. Instead of sitting in slouching in a chair, you get to bounce around on a ball. This will actually help your lower back and improve your posture. People that use an exercise ball daily will start to notice an improvement in their muscle tone, most notably in their thighs.
• Encourage your employees to stretch often. Sitting for 8 or more hours a day can cause the blood to pool in the legs and other areas of the body. This can lead to heart attacks and strokes. By encouraging stretching, you can help your employees avoid a potential medical disaster because they will make sure the blood is flowing properly by warming up the muscles every 45 minutes or so.
• Start your meetings outside and then work your way back to the board room. Most employees are not getting the proper amount of sunlight their bodies desperately crave. Spend 5 minutes outside with your employees to start your meetings and then work your way back to the office using a walking path and some stairs.

Unhealthy employees need motivation to exercise so you need to target their families as well. If you are implementing a wellness program, send a letter to their home and let their family members know that you need their help and encouragement to get their loved one to exercise to improve his/her health. In the letter, include some of the following tips family members can suggest to encourage exercise:

• Park away from the building so you can get in a short walk every morning and afternoon. Try to park in the lot that is furthest away from the building you work in so you can get in a nice brisk walk each day. Just walking 30 minutes a day will add an additional 7 hours to your lifespan.


• Use the stairs instead of the elevators. While walking up 80 flights of stairs may take awhile, you will thank yourself for doing it. This does mean you will need to show up to work earlier because it does take longer to hike up stairs than to use the elevator. Start out small by hiking up 5-10 flights of stairs until you can hike up all the stairs to your office.


• Desk exercising is another great way to get in a short workout at the office. Take 5 minutes to do some deep breathing exercises. Deep breathing is the perfect way to reduce stress and tension. After you spend time deep breathing, stretch your muscles. Make sure you stretch your arms and fingers since they will probably be doing most of the work.