If you work in an office environment outside your home, take a look around your space and do a quick assessment of what you see. Are there things around you that are calming, refreshing, and inspiring? Or if your office a place that drains your energy and that you dread coming to each day?
From a managerial standpoint, wellness matters in the workplace for the purposes of employee retention, fewer sick days, and greater productivity. Clearly, good health is good for business. But as an employer, it’s also important to consider how your employees are doing both physically and mentally because it’s the kind and considerate thing to do for people that you cared enough about to bring onto your team.
Here are some ways that businesses can make office spaces healthier and more natural for their employees.
Increase the Greenery
One of the quickest and easiest ways to improve the quality of office life is to add more plants around the office. Plants add a touch of nature to inside spaces while absorbing carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen, and creating a calming atmosphere.
Offer Cold and Flu Wellness Packages
When cold and flu season rolls around, make sure that your employees are as prepared as possible by providing them with basic supplies to stay well. This can include simple DIY care packages that contain hand sanitizer, tissues, surface cleaner, and masks.
Provide Healthy Snack Options
Office break rooms are notorious for being filled with unhealthy foods, such as doughnuts, chips, and soda. To promote wellness in the office, stock the fridge and cupboards with healthier options like grapes, celery sticks, mixed nuts, dried fruit, and 100% juice.
Offer an Exercise Program
Corporate wellness programs make physical activity easier and more accessible for employees by cutting costs and offering incentives. Consider partnering with a local gym to offer discounted or free memberships to your employees, or launch competitions that reward employees based on hours spent at the gym or steps taken on a fitness tracker.
Organize Active Team-Building Events
Aside from gym workouts, you can encourage physical activity among your employees by organizing team-building activities that have a physical component. Sign up as a company to run a local 5K race for charity or try something new with a company-sponsored rock climbing class or in-office yoga session.
Improve Ventilation, Lighting, and Cleaning
However, some office wellness upgrades don’t even involve your employees participation and are things that you can handle with your maintenance and cleaning staff. Review cleaning and sanitation protocols with your office cleaners to reduce the spread of disease. Also, speak to your building management team about the ventilation and air quality in your space, as well as ways to increase natural light coming in from the outdoors.
Allow Time for Mental Health Breaks
In addition to physical wellness, employers must also consider the mental health of their employees because stressed out, overworked, or depressed employees can’t do the best at their jobs. Consider allowing your employees to take an occasional mental health day off if they need it, and provide resources about how to deal with stress and other mental health concerns.
Here are some other office-inspired articles that you may be interested to read on the Seagate blog: