Looking to promote a staff wellbeing program and create a desirable working culture? Here are 5 tips modern business owners are adopting to really make a difference to their staff’s wellbeing.
Let’s face it, businesses get stick for the airy-fairy ‘perks’ they list on job descriptions. Most employees couldn’t care less about beanbag chairs and your supply of craft beers (in a mini-fridge that everyone’s too scared to open).
What today’s workforce do want is a working culture that supports their health and wellbeing.
You can meaningfully support your team’s mental and physical health by incorporating these 5 tips into your office’s wellbeing programme.
Walking Meetings
How about getting out of the boardroom and into the park as a perk! Intense meetings in stuffy offices do nothing for your team’s enthusiasm or energy levels.
Instead, opt for walking meetings, and take your team out for some fresh air and exercise. Studies have shown that walking meetings have lots of benefits for employees and employers.
Encourage Healthy Snacks
Without acting like your mum, try to create a working culture that encourages healthy eating. A wellbeing program should revolve around encouraging your employees to embrace a diet that energizes their body and mind.
There are lots of ways to do this. If you have a vending machine, fill that bad boy with natural foods and beverages, or team up with a local fruit supplier to bring seasonal treats into the office.
Encouraging staff to eat in a designated dining space also reduces desk snacking, which means your team are less likely to be grazing all day and will probably take the lunch break they need, in order to be most productive.
Incentivise Taking the Stairs
For those who are able, make taking the stairs more appealing by using step count challenges! Pair this activity with the Sweatcoin app so your staff can reap monetary rewards for their daily activity.
Sweatcoin converts your daily steps into digital tokens which can be traded in for a whole host of merchandise with over 300 partners – everything from anti-gravity yoga classes to iPhones. You can even use your points to raise money for a charity which is ideal for company fundraisers.
Designate an Office Calm Space
No one’s immune to a mid-deadline panic. Designate a quiet spot in your office to act as a calm space, where staff can sit and relax, meditate or practise mindfulness.
Make sure the space is light and airy, preferably by a window. Add greenery to this zone to really reduce any lingering anxiety. Our surroundings have a huge impact on our mood, and hectic communal offices aren’t always conducive to mental wellbeing.
Have an Office Dog Policy
We’re not suggesting you turn the office into doggy-daycare, but allowing dogs into the office can be wonderful for your team’s mental health.
Animals have a calming effect on us, which is why many universities and hospitals utilise therapy dogs to reduce stress. If your staff have dogs that are toilet trained and well behaved, let them bring them into the office occasionally. The pups can even join your walking meetings.
