Encouraging healthy eating for employees is not only a morally decent decision to make by employers, it’s a financially beneficial one to make too and is all part of the workplace wellbeing drive. We have often reported how many working days are lost to ill health, and you can see many of the shocking statistics here.
Furthermore, as the rise of corporate responsibility continues, taking an active interest in the workplace wellbeing of employees contributes to the long term, sustainable growth of an organisation in more ways than one, and is beneficial to the wider community by addressing, and reducing, the wider impact poor health can have on community health care services.
So how, as employers, can we encourage healthy eating in our employees without it sounding like we have become the diet police? Or by making staff feel like we are trying to control every aspect of their lives?
Ultimately of course, it is personal choice what somebody has for their breakfast, lunch or evening meal, but there are ways in which we can support employees make decisions that have a valuable impact on their health and wellbeing for the long term, and here at Wellspace, we are very keen to encourage this!
Want to find out more about how to encourage healthy eating in employees to benefit workplace wellbeing? Read on!
What is Healthy Eating and what are the Benefits to Workplace Wellbeing?
Over the years, there have been so many different diets and quite simply put, celebrity fads. We’ve had the ‘cabbage soup diet’, the ‘master cleanse’, the ‘Atkins’ and the numerous dietary products that have sprung on to our supermarket shelves, so much so, that it can actually be a minefield for anybody who simply wants to eat more healthily.
The celebrity endorsed diets are usually at best, unsustainable, or at worst dangerous! And don’t forget, any new diet that has celebrity endorsement usually means a substantial pay cheque, (for them), to promote these products, so they have to make a profit from people like us to pay them!
What we are talking about are the real, genuine benefits and the overall impact of healthy eating by making it a lifestyle choice, rather than a fad to follow. And this means education and information for employees so that they can still make their own choices but are better informed and are more likely to stick to something achievable.
The benefits to sustained healthy eating are long term.
It cuts down the risk of chronic illness such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke. In addition, it has a positive impact on the three determinants of health as set out by the World Health Organisation; i.e. mental, physical and social health, which in turn has a positive impact on the wider community.
How Can Employers Encourage Healthy Eating?
If you are a company director or a HR manager and you want to encourage healthy eating amongst your employees there are a few options, you can take. Provide water coolers for example so staff can get a drink of water rather than relying on fizzy pop from vending machines, make sure there is at least one healthy option on the menu in the canteen, and if you don’t have a canteen, provide a microwave and a fridge so people can bring in their own food from home, rather than relying on nearby burger vans or the local chippy.
To be honest, these are the very least you should be doing to encourage a positive approach to workplace wellbeing but are actually quite passive and a bit dated.
Many organisations are now realising that to take an active step towards supporting workplace wellbeing they have to change the very culture of the working environment and lead from the front on these issues by introducing Corporate Wellness Programs in to the workplace.
The result of which will see reduced absenteeism, an improvement to employee morale, increased productivity, reduced recruitment and training costs.
But do workplace wellbeing programmes work? Well we have written previously on this, which you can read in our blog here, and how will a program encourage healthy eating?
Well remember when we mentioned education and information? This is exactly what our Wellness App provides.
By connecting with your employees through our revolutionary App, you can provide advice and guidance on a healthy and sustainable diet, that is nutritionally balanced and that will support overall health and wellbeing in a very positive manner.
What Else Can the App Do?
Yes okay, we can hear you now saying well that’s fine, but surely this information is available already on the internet, so what else does the wellness app offer that makes it unique?
The Wellspace wellness App offers employers and employees so much more than simple, nutritional advice.
By joining the Wellspace revolution, you are offering your employees the chance to be involved in a culture that has an over all positive impact on workplace wellbeing through training, information and education around aspects such as the benefits of regular exercise, how to have an improved sleep and personal financial management to reduce stress and anxiety.
The Wellspace App will help to build a positive workplace culture, where employees are motivated, engaged and generally have an improved sense of overall happiness.
On the back of this, the business will naturally benefit from greater productivity, reduced absenteeism and improved creativity from employees. Furthermore, their mental and social health will also improve.
So as you can see, encouraging healthy eating in your workforce, in particular by providing them with the tools to make informed choices, has lots of benefits, and more than adequately meets your corporate social responsibility!
Contact us
So if you are an employer or you work in HR and you want to learn more about the benefits of encouraging healthy eating amongst your employees, or you are interested in how the Wellspace App can be advantageous to your business, you can contact us here for more information, or if you prefer, call us on 0808 178 0748.
We have an expert team of wellbeing professionals who will be delighted to chat to you and offer guidance surrounding an issue that will inevitably take place at some time or other within your organisation!
