6 Ways to Create Your Healthiest Work Environment

by Claudia Rimerman, Senior VP Corporate & Group Wellness, Spafinder Wellness 365

The buzz today is around creating a culture of health in the workplace, where employers are allowing, even inspiring, their employees to feel better every day. This includes combating home- and work-life stress, promoting proper nutrition and physical activity, and nurturing workplace relationships, among other things. It’s something employers are becoming involved in, and employees can support the effort by modeling it themselves and encouraging their peers to do the same. So how can it be done? Here are a few ideas!

1) Create the work environment that makes you feel best. Some people like bright lights, some overhead, others desk lamps. If it’s too loud, put on headphones and if it’s quiet, put on music.

2) Employers who give options for healthy work conditions engender happy, dedicated employees. It’s great to offer tools like a sit/stand desk, and an ergonomic review of each workspace to be sure it’s efficient and supportive. Employees can pep up their own space with a plant, inspiring artwork, or photos of friends and family.

3) The workplace can encourage proper nutrition by providing healthy options at meetings, in the break room or lunch room, and in vending machines.

4) People are tribal, and most of us thrive on social interaction. A healthy work culture includes space for conversation, such as a welcoming lunch room or shared workspace. Group activities like company-wide lunches, birthday celebrations, and pre-holiday gatherings are also great for fostering relationships.

5) Combine the need for social contact with the need for movement.  Take your colleagues for lunch-hour walks, host standing or walking meetings, get a group together for morning yoga or midday stretches, you can even form a company team for a mud-run or ski challenge.

6) The more you give, the better you feel – and if you can exercise your philanthropic muscles at work, you feel better about your colleagues and employer. Some employers offer paid-time-off while employees volunteer at mentoring programs or other activities. Other companies sponsor group activities like book drives, walk-a-thons, and corporate runs.

Some trends are worth skipping, but this one is definitely worth joining! Give it a try today!