A healthy office is essential, especially when maintaining that positive outcome in a busy atmosphere. It will reduce absences, improve productivity, and increase employee loyalty.
How Can You Build A Healthy Office?
There are several different elements to a healthy office environment, the main ones being physical health, mental health, and a healthy environment.
How To Improve Physical Health In An Office
This can be tricky. Not everyone has the physical capability to be physically active, so doing a group lunchtime walk might exclude people with disabilities or physical discomfort.
Instead of forcing people to do something active, model good behaviour by talking about your own fitness journey. Consider allowing local fitness instructors or classes to advertise in your office, and offer discounted gym memberships. You could even give fitness equipment as a reward or gift.
The Wellspace app and portal let employees compete against each other for active minutes. A bit of friendly competition never goes amiss as a motivator!
Improving the physical fitness of your team will help boost their immunity, reduce the risk of muscular-skeletal injury and aches and help boost the emotional wellbeing of staff too.
Paying sick pay allows people who are genuinely ill to take time off and prevent the spread of germs to the rest of your team.
How To Improve Mental Health In An Office
One of the most toxic trends of the last few years in offices is ‘leave your personal life at the door.’ Your employees are not robots. A healthy office recognises that people have complex and busy lives and allows them to feel that.
A really healthy office helps them process it.
Consider flexible working to enable people to fit their job around their life, and not the other way around. This will let those who have a busy school run to decompress and start work when they are ready to be productive, for example.
Make your workplace empathetic. Notice when your team are struggling or upset and offer support, whether that is leaving early or paying for counselling. Treat mental health as you would physical health and allow paid sick leave.
The Wellspace Wellbeing app helps your staff keep track of their mental wellbeing so issues can be spotted before they become serious.
How To Build A Healthy Office Environment
A healthy office environment is crucial to the overall health and wellbeing of your team.
Providing a fridge will allow your team to bring healthy food to work for their lunch or dinner and fresh fruit on offer instead of biscuits will reduce those afternoon sugar slumps. Read more about healthy office snacks here.
A proper workstation is essential. Conduct a DSE assessment and provide any equipment flagged, such as screen raisers. Be sure to invest in decent chairs for your team.
Keep the workplace clean. A commercial cleaner will ensure your office is hygienic. The impact of a clean and tidy workspace and toilets cannot be underestimated.
Wellbeing training can help your team make small changes to their lifestyle that add up to big benefits. We offer a range of training for managers and employees that focus on good habit forming.
Build A Healthy Office with Wellspace
If you would like to build a healthy office at work and with your colleagues, give us a call. We would love to talk to you. Email us on info@yourwellspace.com, phone 0808 178 0748
Or fill in the form on the contact page.
