Boost productivity in the workplace

It’s no secret that a healthy lifestyle has a tremendous impact on physical and mental wellbeing. Individuals who exercises regularly and eat well live healthier happier lives and are ultimately better employees! Because of this, it is increasingly popular for businesses to encourage employees to adopt healthy habits. Healthy habits refer to regular cardiovascular exercise, strength training, yoga, nutritious meals, and mindfulness or meditation practices. The health of your employees directly affects their productivity and ultimately the success of your business. Here are 6 reasons you should encourage your employees to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

1. Healthy Employees Take Less Sick Days

The best reason to encourage healthier

employee habits is to reduce absentees! When employees are absent it costs your business money and time, and other employees have to pick up the slack. By encouraging healthy habits employees are less likely to take sick days. Further, during the cold and flu season illness in the workplace can quickly spread. While it is best for sick employees to stay home, it’s even better for them to not get sick at all. Regular exercise and nutritious meals improves the immune system and makes employees less susceptible to illness.

2. Healthy Employees Get Better Sleep

Quality sleep is one of the most underrated components of a healthy life. Quality sleep is vital to wellbeing as it detoxifies, repairs and recharges the body and mind. Without it, employees have less energy, poor mental stamina, and diminished ability to produce quality work. Regular exercise improves sleep quality and ensures your employees are coming to work with a fresh mind and the energy necessary to accomplish their tasks.

3. Healthy Employees Are More Productive

Exercise and nutritious foods are not just important for your body and physical health. Healthy habits lead to better mental health and a healthier brain. Healthy employees are more creative, have better ideas, and have an increased ability to get work done. Employers are always looking for ways to boost workplace productivity and encouraging healthy employee habits is the fastest way to see these results!

4. Healthy Employees Are Less Stressed

Every work environment has it’s stressful moments. Deadlines, projects and paperwork are a normal part of work life. Often coupled with sitting at a desk, over time, mental and physical stress accumulates in the body. Stressed employees are less motivated and less likely to produce quality work. By encouraging employees to exercise regularly they are able to release stress and alleviate tension from sitting in office environments. Reducing stress also improves employee relations and overall employee morale.

5. Healthy Habits Encourage Team Bonding

By encouraging a healthy workplace

you create an environment that promotes connection and encourages accountability.

Adopting healthier habits is always more successful when you have a support system of people working towards similar goals. Exercising together is a great way for employees to bond in non-work related situations and translates to better teamwork for future tasks.

6. Employee Retention and Happiness

Employers with wellness incentives attract and retain high quality employees. Motivated, creative, and highly valued employees often have healthy habits built into their lifestyle already. By having wellness incentives and promoting a work environment that values employee health you are more likely to attract and retain these high performing employees. Retaining valuable employees and therefore reducing employee turnover is more cost effective and creates a positive work environment long term.

So how do you encourage better employee health habits? Create office challenges that encourage employees to bring healthy lunches or log their activity minutes during lunch breaks and after work. Some employers offer health/fitness incentives that cover a portion of the cost of fitness memberships. Others may offer in-office fitness classes, gym equipment, or catered healthy lunches a few times a week. If these options are not available, get creative! Brainstorm with your employees on how you can encourage healthier habits in the workplace. The best challenges are ones that are simple and get everyone involved!