As business owner, it is important to recognize our staff as one of our top priorities. You may think it is enough that you are compensating them with a fairly decent salary, but that’s where you make a huge mistake. Your business is being run by actual people, not robots, which is why it is also necessary to look out for their health and well-being. After all, a healthy workforce means a more productive company. More production means more sales. And sales are good for the business.
According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, four of the 10 most expensive health conditions that plague U.S. business owners are related to stroke and heart disease, which includes high blood pressure and heart attack. Pair this with an unhealthy work environment and you get a recipe for business disaster.
The good news is that it’s not too late to learn how you can make your workplace more heart-healthy.
Identifying staff needs
First of all, understand your own work environment by identifying your workers’ needs. Once this is out of the way, you will then be able to determine what needs to be done and which programs should be prioritized. A simple approach to this step is to create a simple focus group to help identify current health issues within the team as well as ideas and preferences that will help the program be more beneficial. Another method is to conduct wellbeing surveys among your employees to help determine specific health behaviors and health-related interests. Do keep in mind that while doing so, don’t forget to ensure employee confidentiality at all costs.
Developing an action
Now that you know your employees’ primary needs and interests, use these as a guide to creating the type of activities you choose. You will be surprised to know that you don’t need an expensive program to keep your employees in good health. Here are some interventions and activities to try:
- Get them moving. An 8-5 desk job can encourage a sedentary lifestyle, which does not yield great results for one’s health. Now we all know how exercise benefits the heart and body, so encourage your employees to be more active. You can start slow by inviting them to short walks during lunch breaks or go big by conducting a team building activity every end of the week.
- Offer healthy lunches. Business establishments are often within easy reach of fast food outlets and supermarkets, which is every worker’s go-to lunch source. Why not offer free lunches with healthier food? Choose heart-healthy lunches that include fish, veggies, and fruits in place of the usual burgers and fries. If you’re not so excited about the thought of free lunches, make way for your employees to have easy access to a canteen that offers healthy food within your establishment.
- Open a window or two. Working in an enclosed environment can take its toll on anyone. Aside from placing plants in the office, go the extra mile by opening that window and allowing natural air to move around. Fresh air, and a hint of sunshine, is truly good for the heart and mind, improving your blood pressure and heart rate. While you’re at it, why not provide a blood pressure monitor with a 4500/300 Welch Allyn blood pressure hose for everyone in the office to use? After all, constant health monitoring is key to disease prevention.
Being proactive on employee health and safety
Aside from poor employee health, drugs and alcohol abuse is just bad news for your business as it leads to absenteeism, injuries, fatalities, low employee morale, and lost productivity. Aside from initiating heart-healthy activities for your team, there are other programs that also focus on your employees’ well-being. After all, health does not only refer to the body but also the mind. You may launch a drug-free workplace program that requires a random blood drug test among your workers to ensure that their work environment is safe and healthy for everyone.
A healthier workplace does not only benefit the people who work in it but also improve your organization as a whole. Investing in your employees’ health also means investing in your business, and who would want to miss the chance of hitting two birds with one stone?
