May marks Global Employee Health & Fitness Month, a month aimed at encouraging health and fitness in the workplace and raising awareness of the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle.
Leading a healthy lifestyle can not only have long-term health benefits, but it can impact your day-to-day mood. Healthy employees are more productive doing their day job, this is due to the chemicals that exercise releases resulting in heightened mental activity.
On top of this, endorphins help relieve stress, meaning employees that regularly exercise will feel less stressed and therefore a bit more motivated.
The benefits of exercising and leading a healthy lifestyle are uncapped, and employers can help immensely.
- Provide employees with a discounted or free gym membership
The gym is a great place for employees to go and unwind from the stresses of the day, whether that be through physical exercise or group classes of yoga. We provide our employees with a free membership to the gym next to our office block, and it serves as a great stress relief tool for all employees at lunchtime, after work, and at weekends.
- Encourage healthy eating habits
Everyone loves a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar, but giving your employees the option to partake in a healthier snack can helo a great deal. Whether this be through a bowl of different fruits, or healthy snack bars such as Belvita or Nature Valley.
Giving your employees the option to choose a healthier alternative can encourage a healthier lifestyle.
- Run a physical activity event
Getting all of your employees to do a physical activity together will not only motivate them to take part and (hopefully) enjoy it but it can help them get out and do some physical activity.
Whether it be a group run, a dance-off, or a yoga class, just get moving! BizClik holds a yearly sports day to get all employees moving but most importantly having fun.
As an employer, you can take great strides to improve your employees’ health and fitness, below are some examples of some great fitness and wellness initiatives:
Salesforce
Salesforce offers a $100 per month wellness reimbursement on top of discounts on gym memberships, weight-loss programs, and massage therapy. In addition to this, many Salesforce offices are equipped with “mindfulness zones” which encourage meditation during the day, or an onsite “Wellbeing HQ” with features such as fitness classes, nutrition counseling, and more.
Asana
Asana provides daily yoga classes, free gym memberships, and catered meals using fresh and locally-sourced ingredients alongside monthly health-focused workshops which enable employees to reflect on their own health habits and make changes to their lifestyles.
Feeling tired? Asana offers “nap rooms” for all employees.
Intuit
The technology giant, Intuit offers employees a “Well-being for Life” program which provides up to $1,000 in reimbursement for health and well-being expenses such as personal trainers, gym memberships, life coaches, and massages.
Accenture
Accenture offers health and wellbeing resources to all employees, the company offers employee assistance programs that provide confidential support for issues like stress, substance abuse, depression, and anxiety. In addition to this support, employees are offered Teladoc services, where they can ask a physician any health-related question 24/7.
On top of all of these great mental well-being benefits, Accenture’s wellness program allows employees to set health goals and offers rewards for completing healthy activities as well as offering special rates and discounts for gyms and fitness centres.
