What You Can Do For Healthier Employees

There are changes you can make around the office to encourage healthy living.Start with these ideas for a more productive, more efficient work environment.

Begin With Stress Management
Stress is a silent killer. It suppresses the immune system, making way for viruses and illness. But stress can be managed with these techniques.
- Teach about exercise. Sweating for 20 minutes a day clears out toxins that build up in the body. The processed food we eat and the way we heat up our food in the microwave can add to free radicals in the body. Sweating helps flush out bad things and cleans out pores.

- A good diet rich in vitamins and minerals also helps get rid of cancer-causing free radicals. Cancer is a number one killer these days, so help prevent it by advocating for leafy greens and colorful vegetables. Replace what is being served in the cafeteria with a colorful, diverse salad bar. Making changes to one meal a day can really help protect the body against disease.

- Teach about cancer and disease awareness. Hold a seminar about things people can do to prevent disease. Make up handouts each month with health facts and prevention techniques. Teach stretches and exercises one can do at their desk to keep blood flowing smoothly.
Get Pumping
Exercise can help lower blood pressure. Sign the office up for gym memberships. You may be able to get group deals. In the end these preventative actions will save on health insurance costs for the whole company. So spend a bit of the budget on the gym.
Stay Up To Date
Invite health gurus to teach wellness seminars. Educate employees about healthy eating and cooking at home. Teach ways do breathing exercises to calm the mind.
- Teach meditative techniques, as well. Meditation can focus the mind and calm the body. It is a good form of stress management, but unlike yoga, you can do it anywhere. Teach meditation routines. One is about gratitude, focusing on all of the goods things in your life. This can help you see the good in others in the office and encourage a positive outlook. Another routine involves relaxing and watching your thoughts come and go. This can really help reduce stress. It can refocus the mind, too.

- Offer free checkups in the office. Do cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose checks. When these levels get out of hand, diseases are more likely to infect the body. So help people know if they are in danger, and teach techniques to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
Give Rewards
Incentives can push those who are teetering on the edge of good health to the right side.
- Set up goals for the company and for each person to lose a healthy amount of weight by the next big company event. Record progress along the way and reveal the winners there.

- Give out pedometers to track steps and weight scales for home measurement. Give out free weights, as well, and even health magazine subscriptions. To stick to a smaller budget send out regular emails regarding good health and fitness. Reminders can really help out.
Beat The Common Cold
Do not let viruses into the office. Set up hand sanitizing stations and ways to clean up before lunch. Offer free vaccinations and encourage employees to stay home when they feel ill.
Sometimes people feel bad staying home from work. Set up a no tolerance policy for coming into work sick. Those who are ill appreciate the paid time off and those who are well appreciate not getting sick. So remind everyone during cold and flu season to stay home if they catch something.
Do what you can to make the work environment a safe place to achieve wellness.