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5 Simple Ways to Promote Wellness at the Office

Published in Workplace Wellness

5 Simple Ways to Promote Wellness at the Office Image

To be successful, an office wellness program needs to be simple, inclusive, and fun!

There are three reasons why you should keep your new wellness program simple;

  1. It makes it easier for people to join in
  2. It makes it easier for people to stick with the program
  3. And it doesn’t take away too many resources – time and money – from other priorities. If it is complicated and takes a lot of management time, then people will find other priorities and push this to the bottom of the list.

The idea is to make wellness a part of the everyday life at the office; it helps encourage healthy habits which will lead to a healthy workplace. Research shows that promoting wellness at the workplace can improve productivity and an overall positive attitude among employees; however, getting started is sometimes the greatest challenge.  You know it is important, but sometimes programs like the WELL Building Standard is overwhelming, making it hard to get started.

Using the WELL Building Standard Guidelines, here are some simple ways to promote wellness without a lot of effort or budget

1. Promote Healthy Nutrition

2.7 million deaths a year are reported to insufficient fruit and vegetable intake which makes this a top 10 risk contributing to global mentality. Promoting fruit and vegetable intake and decreasing unhealthy food advertising is an easy way to achieve wellness in the workplace.

Feature 38: Fruit and Vegetable Variety
  • 2 varieties of fruits (containing no added sugar) and at least 2 varieties of non-fried vegetables
  • At least 50% of available options are fruits and or non-fried vegetables
Feature 46: Nutritional Messaging

Designated eating areas contain a total of at least 3 instances of messaging intended to achieve each of the following requirements

  • encourage the consumption of whole natural foods and cuisine
  • discourage the consumption of sugary or processed foods, beverages, and snacks

2. Promote Hydration

While most people know perfectly well that water is the way to go, up to 75 percent of the American population fall short of the 10 daily cups prescribed by the Institute of Medicine – which, in medical terms, means that most people in the U.S are functioning in a chronic state of dehydration.

Feature 37: Drinking Water Promotion
  • at least one dispenser is located within 30m of all parts of regularly occupied floor space (min 1 per floor)

3. Promote Active Lifestyles

Biking or walking to work has been associated with lower rates of diabetes, hypertension, overweight, and obesity.

This feature requires that showers and bicycle storage be provided on site or near the building entrance.

Feature 69: Active Transportation Support

The following are provided onsite within 200m of the buildings main entrance

  • Basic bicycle maintenance tools such as tire pumps, patch kits, and hex keys available for use
  • Separate and secure bicycle storage for at least 5% of regular building occupants as well as short-term bicycle storage for at least 2.5% of all peak visitors.

Related article: Office Designed to Support Cycling

4. Promote Health and Wellness Education

A library of information provides an additional educational resource that encourages a deeper understanding of health and wellness behaviors.

Feature 84: Health and Wellness Awareness

Part 1: WELL Building Standard Guide

Explanatory guides allow occupants to familiarize themselves with and benefit from features that are incorporated into the project.

  • a guide (available to all occupants) describing the WELL Building Standard features pursued by the project

Part 2: Health and Wellness Library

A digital or physical library of resources that focuses on mental and physical health and meets the following criteria

  • contains at least one book title or magazine subscription for every 20 occupants (no more than 20 titles required)
  • is prominently displayed and readily available to all occupants

5. Promote Healthy Lighting

Adequate lighting helps combat visual fatigue, headaches, eyestrain and can add to the overall appeal of a space.

Feature 53: Visual; Acuity for Focus

These requirements are met at workstations or desks:

  • an ambient lighting system is able to maintain an average light intensity of 215 lx or more measured on the horizontal plane. These lights may be dimmed in the presence of daylight but they are able to independently achieve these levels
  • the ambient lighting system is zoned in independently controlled banks no larger than 46.5m2 or 20% of open floor area of the room
  • if ambient light is below 300 lx, task lights providing 300-500 lx at the work surface are available upon request

 

To learn more about how you can promote wellness at your office, contact:

Andy Delisi
Envirotech Office Systems – A&D Rep
[email protected]   1.800.411.6585

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