Many of us spend up to half of our waking hours in the office. And yet work is making us sick, with 83% of Americans suffering from workplace stress. 

Poor workplace health leads to lost productivity, which has a financial as well as a negative personal impact on individuals. Stress can cause headaches, back pain, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating.

Spending 8 hours per day in an office can take its toll, both physically and mentally. Here are some wellness tips for the workplace to help you be proactive in promoting a healthy environment for your team.

1. Check the Setup

Spending long hours sitting with poor posture can be seriously detrimental to employee health. You should consider an expert ergonomics review for each employee’s desk, chair, keyboard, and monitor.  

Sitting for too long has been shown to be unhealthy. Consider offering stand up desks or even cycling desks or yoga balls as an alternative. Promoting a healthy workspace is critical for office wellness.  

2. Get Active

There are plenty of workplace wellness tips to encourage employees to be more active. Walking meetings, ideally outside, are a great way to help people get some fresh air, exercise, and Vitamin D during the working day.

You might want to consider an employee wellness program, such as the package offered by Lifeworks.com. For example, you could offer discounted gym memberships and exercise equipment as an incentive to promote office wellness. 

3. Be Intentional About the Space 

When people spend so many hours at work, it’s great to be intentional about making a healthy workspace. Encourage your team to organize and declutter their desks, as this supports creativity and productivity.

Plants are natural air purifiers and help to remove toxins from the air. Having greenery in the office also helps to boost productivity and energy and reduce fatigue. 

4. Promote Healthy Eating

Diet is a key part of overall health, so supporting healthy eating is important for office wellness. Encourage colleagues to have a healthy lunch by providing a fridge and equipment for them to prepare their own food, rather than relying on take-outs and convenience food.

Make sure healthy options such as fruit and water are available in vending machines. Be mindful of your decisions around in-house catering too.  

5. Know When to Unplug 

Technology is making it increasingly easy to be connected to work 24 hours a day, but we all know that this is not healthy. Encourage your team to set boundaries around their use of work phones and email, to make sure they get a proper break.

You could also invest in stress awareness training for your managers. This will ensure that they are able to spot signs of burn-out quickly.  

Wellness Tips for the Workplace

Supporting employees to stay healthy in the workplace is so important for productivity, creativity, and overall happiness. Encouraging people to be active, have a healthy diet, and take regular time out from work are key workplace wellness tips to promote office wellness.   

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the site for other great articles on health, nutrition, and fitness, including more health and wellness tips for the workplace.