Helping employees improve and maintain their physical health can reduce chronic illness and absenteeism, lower health care costs and bolster their well-being, according to some studies. From hosting an annual wellness fair for your employees and community to scheduled stretch breaks, there are many tools small businesses can use. Also, the State’s worksite wellness program offers free resources.

 

Ergonomics for workstations

Providing education or assessments to promote good ergonomics and safety can help employees develop good ergonomic habits and prevent injuries.

Tips:

  • May help prevent worker’s comp claims/liability and production downtime.
  • May require purchase of equipment, e.g., sliding keyboard trays, wrist rests, back braces.

 

Promote and provide healthy food

Employers or employees (potlucks) can provide healthy meals during work time or at organization events. Even making healthy beverages and snacks, free or at cost, can influence people’s food habits. Organizational meals can also be an opportunity for promoting inclusivity.

Tips:

  • To accommodate all budgets, faiths, allergies and dietary preferences, potlucks and organization meals need to be optional and provide clear parameters (Is meat allowed? Is pork allowed? Is gluten allowed? Is special dishware needed?) and ask that all ingredients be listed for each dish.
  • Reducing meat in organizational events and menus reduces environmental impact, can also save money and encourage healthy eating.
  • May need to flex schedules or give up some productivity to accommodate.
  • May help promote team-building, including cross-departmental team-building.
  • Replacing the traditional break room snacks with healthy options can encourage better nutrition.
  • In-house education (on-site libraries of health conscious books, posters, lunch ‘n learn sessions, employee newsletter articles and recipes) on the “whys” and “hows” of good nutrition and exercise can help employees adopt healthier behaviors. You can reach employees with low reading skills by including speaker presentations and videos.
  • If you have land available, you can offer it for employee or community gardens.

 

CSA baskets or pick-up sites

Space permitting, you can provide pick-up sites and/or pays for employee memberships for (CSA) community-supported agriculture food deliveries.

Tips:

  • Employer-paid CSAs help reduce employees’ food expenses.
  • Serving as a CSA pick-up site can reduce the need for employee transportation, support local agriculture and also provide a service for community members.

 

Fresh produce

Encouraging employees to swap/share produce and/or grow food in an employer-provided garden space may help promote healthy diets by providing fresh produce and also may help reduce employees’ food expenses and/or their need for transportation to purchase fresh produce.

Tips:

  • May need to flex schedules or give up some productivity to accommodate.
  • May help promote team-building, including cross-departmental team-building.
  • Depending on the level of involvement, there may be an organizational expense.

 

Paid time for exercise

Allowing employees to exercise during paid work time can promote employee wellness and prevent sickness and lost production time.

Tips:

  • Check with your insurance organization re liability for on-site exercise.
  • If some employees cannot use the benefit, it may be seen as unequal benefit or create a we/they schism in the workplace.
  • Establish policies to clarify parameters for usage of time and equipment.
  • Combine your community support with exercise by sponsoring/encouraging workplace teams in pledges walks for charities.

 

Weight loss and smoking cessation programs

Providing information, education and/or activities can help employees address unhealthy habits and prevent sickness and lost production time. Organization-wide education can help reduce the stigma of being overweight, in recovery, being a smoker, etc., and helps promote a non-judgmental, supportive culture.

Tips:

  • Education during break time or mealtime can educate employees on maintaining healthy weight, quitting smoking, or addressing other health issues.
  • Peer support groups and access to resources can help with motivation.
  • In-house group exercises, programs or education may also help provide peer support and motivation.
  • Providing a list of resources can help employees who are new to the area or otherwise aren’t aware of available resources.
  • Scheduling or productivity may need to accommodate in-house programs that use employee time or to accommodate counseling or programs off-site.

 

Addressing substance use in the workplace

When you provide workplace education, resources and/or activities to prevent substance abuse and prevent prohibited substance use in the workplace, you are helping to support awareness and recovery efforts and reduce bias and stigmas.

Tips:

  • Policies need to clarify permitted use of substances during work time and in the workplace (e.g., At organization parties, is it okay to smoke pot? Or drink enough alcohol to be above the legal limit?)
  • Organization-wide education helps reduce the stigma, and promotes a non-judgmental, supportive culture for those working to move toward or stay in recovery.
  • Peer support groups and access to resources can help with motivation.
  • Training may help coworkers and supervisors see the warning signs of substance abuse — and, just as importantly, not make assumptions about substance use.
  • May need to provide flex schedule to allow for personal appointments (counseling, support groups, etc.).
  • Also see Expand your Workforce with Inclusivity and Employees in Recovery – Resources for more tips.

 

Workplace flu shot clinic

Offering on-site flu shot clinics, perhaps in partnership with other nearby employers, can help prevent employee illness and absences.

Tips:

  • May help employees who have transportation or dependent care challenges that prevent them from getting shots outside of work time.
  • May need to flex schedules or give up some productivity to accommodate.

 

Workplace exercise programs/challenges

To help with employee motivation, you can schedule group exercise and/or “challenges” in which employees or departments set personal health goals and use peer support and competition for motivation and support in reaching the goals.

Tips:

  • Can promote team-building, including cross-departmental team-building.
  • May need to flex schedules or give up some productivity to accommodate.
  • If some employees cannot use the benefit, it may be seen as unequal benefit or create a we/they schism in the workplace.

 

Walking meetings

When meetings don’t need on-site equipment, meeting participants walk, indoors or outdoors, while meeting.

Tips:

  • Can promote employee wellness.
  • In small workplaces, may provide better opportunities for private conversations.
  • May need to flex schedules or give up some productivity to accommodate.
  • If some employees cannot use the benefit, it may be seen as unequal benefit or create a we/they schism in the workplace.

 

Gym membership, ski passes, yoga classes etc.

Employer-provided memberships or negotiated group discounts on gym memberships, ski passes, etc. can be an attractive recruitment/retention benefit as well as a tool for encouraging physical exercise. If these aren’t affordable, you can offer to pay a percentage of healthy lifestyle activities.

Tips:

  • May promote employee wellness and prevent sickness and lost production time.
  • Offer a broad range of options to accommodate employees who lack transportation or ability to use a gym, skiing, yoga class etc.
  • Consider collaborating with other employers to offer as a group benefit and increase leverage for pricing discounts.

 

In-house exercise facilities

Providing exercise equipment for employee use can help encourage physical exercise and also make it easier for employees without transportation or equipment for exercising outside of work time.

Tips:

  • May promote employee wellness and prevent sickness and lost production time.
  • Educate employees on proper use of equipment.
  • Check with your insurance organization re liability.
  • If some employees cannot use the benefit, it may be seen as unequal benefit or create a we/they schism in the workplace.
  • Establish policies to clarify parameters for usage (Only during organization’s open hours? May employee’s family members use the equipment? Do employees need physician approval before using equipment?)

 

Install showers

Providing showers for employee use can encourage employee exercise before, during or after work.

Tips:

  • May help employees without homes or access to bathing facilities.
  • May promote walking or biking to work, also reducing transportation costs and environmental impact.

 

Chair yoga

On-site gentle group yoga in chairs can help accommodate varying abilities.

Tips:

  • May need to flex schedules or give up some productivity to accommodate.
  • May need to ask employees to confer with a physician before participating.
  • If some employees cannot use the benefit, it may be seen as unequal benefit or create a we/they schism in the workplace.
  • May need to hire someone to lead the yoga.

 

Massage and physical therapy

On-site or off-site massage or physical wellness therapy can promotes employee wellness and may help reduce stress. The therapy may be on-site, either occasionally as a treat or as a regularly scheduled benefit, or may be off-site with organization-paid vouchers.

Tips:

  • May need to flex schedules or give up some productivity to accommodate.
  • If some employees cannot use the benefit, it may be seen as unequal benefit or create a we/they schism in the workplace.
  • Consider collaborating with other employers to negotiate a group discount.

 

Water bottle refill station

Providing a water fountain or faucet that accommodates typical sizes of water bottles may encourage employees to drink fewer unhealthy beverages.

Tip:

  • May reduce use of paper and plastic containers.