Protecting your employees’ health and wellbeing at work is crucial. Since adults spend about one-third of their waking hours at work, the workplace can be a prime spot to develop and maintain healthy goals. Healthy employees mean a healthier business, with fewer sick days, lower staff turnover, and boosted productivity.
Employers can make a big difference! From encouraging healthier eating and promoting physical activity, to helping manage stress levels. There are plenty of ways to support your team’s health and wellbeing.
Why is good nutrition important to employees?
Healthy eating is key to our health and wellbeing. We all know this, but sometimes our actions don’t match our intentions. Life can get busy and stressful, making it tough to stick to a balanced diet during a hectic workday.
When we don’t eat well, studies show that poor diet can lead to more sick leave and impact our mental wellbeing. For instance, skipping breakfast can leave you feeling weak, tired, and less focused.
That’s why it’s essential to get the right balance of nutrients to fuel our bodies and keep everything running.
Support from the workplace.
Healthy snacks at work can be a fantastic addition to your employee’s diet. They provide an energy boost and essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals. Plus, they can help prevent overeating at lunch by keeping hunger at bay.
However, be mindful of unhealthy snacks, which often contain extra fat, sugar, and salt. Choose wisely and try not to eat too many.
Encourage your team to stay healthy at home too. You could send out emails with healthy eating tips or take turns suggesting new recipes or ingredients that everyone can try and share their experiences.
Mix it up and make sure everyone feels included in your healthy eating goals. As a leader, setting the right environment is crucial for changing the culture and promoting a positive focus on health and wellbeing in the workplace.
Big changes can be challenging, but small tweaks or nudges can help employees stay healthier at work. Encourage your employees to think about the aim or objective of their actions.
By setting goals, they can become more motivated, gain a sense of purpose, and build confidence. And remember, how they set and think about their goals is important too.
Encouraging your employees to set achievable goals.
If goals are too high, motivation can drop over time. Instead, focus on small steps to reach a goal rather than aiming for something that feels unachievable right away. Bigger goals can come later.
There’s plenty of theory on setting effective goals, but some key principles can be shared with your employees. To help them achieve their health goals, encourage them to create goals around activities they enjoy or are interested in.
For example, if an employee enjoys running and wants to increase their physical activity, they’re more likely to succeed by going for a run rather than joining a fitness bootcamp. This is called intrinsic motivation. Research shows we’re more likely to succeed with goals driven by intrinsic motivation (things we personally enjoy) compared to extrinsic motivation (external rewards like money or punishment if we don’t achieve it).,
Without setting goals, employees can limit their chances of success. By setting goals, they can be more motivated, have a sense of purpose, and gain confidence too.
If you’re interested in helping your employees to stay healthy and on track with their nutrition goals, Bupa has a new offer. For companies of between 100 – 500 employees, get up to £2,000 in your first year of business health cover for nutrition plans on schemes starting between 1 January and 1 March 2025. Get a quote before 1 February. T&Cs apply.