Ideas to help employees adopt a healthier lifestyle

9 de June, 2023

It is undeniable that the health and well-being of employees has a direct impact on their motivation, performance and productivity.

Given that people are an organization’s most important asset, it must put the well-being of its employees at the heart of its concerns and commit to promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Discover some ideas that you can put into practice in your company.

1 – Prevention

When it comes to health and well-being, prevention is the key word. In this sense, it is very important for companies to carry out preventive initiatives, such as occupational medicine, which aims to promote the well-being of workers in their professional environment.

Make these preventive measures regular and accessible to all employees.

2 – Food

A balanced and nutritious diet helps prevent many diseases and is therefore an essential pillar of a healthy lifestyle. There are many ways to promote healthier eating habits among employees:

• Provide fruit and water in the workplace;
• If you have a canteen, make sure the menus are rich and varied from a nutritional point of view;
• If you have a vending machine, replace less nutritious items (such as cookies, chocolate, potato chips, soft drinks, etc.) with healthier options (fruit, nuts, water, etc.).
• When organizing meetings and events, focus on healthy meals and snacks;
• Facilitate access to nutrition consultations (through in-house educational sessions or a partnership with a nutritionist);
• Share easy-to-make healthy recipes through the company’s internal channels.

3 – Physical activity

Regular physical activity also has long-term benefits, helping to reduce the risk of developing various diseases, reduce stress, improve sleep and much more.

Encouraging employees to be more active can be done in a number of ways, for example:

• Sign protocols with gyms, dance schools, tennis clubs, yoga or Pilates studios, among others, so that employees can attend for free or at a discount;
• Organize regular initiatives in the workplace, such as group classes, walks or other activities;
• Planning tournaments and internal competitions in different sports (soccer, paddle tennis, among others);
• Ensuring the value of employee registrations for races or other sporting events.

4 – Mental health

Physical well-being is obviously important. But we can’t neglect mental health. Stress and exhaustion – whether associated with work or not – can lead to bigger problems in the long term that shouldn’t be ignored.

For this reason, try to promote a pleasant working environment, encourage leaders to practice positive communication and develop surveys to assess employees’ state of mind. If possible, facilitate access to specialized professionals who can help employees with stress reduction techniques or advise them on specific issues they may have.

5 – Work-life balance

Your company’s culture should favor employees’ work-life balance, rather than undermine it. This means encouraging employees to adopt good practices such as:

• Setting limits and working hours;
• Learn to say “no” to requests and tasks that are not a priority;
• Take breaks and don’t skip meals;
• Relax and distract yourself outside of work;
• Take up a hobby and spend quality time with family and friends;
• Take a vacation and disconnect from work matters.

Encouraging employees to adopt a healthier lifestyle has an impact on absenteeism and productivity. But more than that, it conveys that the company cares about its people and is committed to maintaining their well-being.