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Running a Healthy Office

Research says healthy offices are more productive and take fewer sick days.

By Carlos FoxPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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If you run an office, you have to do more than just make sure that your employees are clocking in on time and hitting their deadlines. You also should be taking reasonable measures to ensure your employees are healthy and well. Experts say employee wellness programs can be beneficial in several ways, but only under certain conditions. One of those conditions requires that the leadership team is truly supportive of these efforts. If you want your employees to take long lunches to workout, you can’t scold them for getting back to the office at 1:30 instead of one. If your employees are eating better and exercising, they’ll be more productive and take fewer sick days. Here are some more tips for making sure you have a healthy office environment in every way possible.

Provide drinks.

While you may already provide the occasional healthy snack, you should also supply your workers with some options that keep them hydrated. Almost every office has a soda vending machine. That’s fine as a treat sometimes, but it’s not ideal. There’s numerous evidence that sugary sodas increase the risk of developing conditions like heart disease. Such drinks can also make your employees feel slow and lethargic, and slow and lethargic employees are more likely to nod off at their desks than finish those monthly reports.

The healthiest drink for your employees is water. If your office tap water is great, you can install a water cooler. While cool water is nice, an ice vending machine is even better. It will cost a little more, but the cost will be worth it in the long run. Most modern ice vending machines can also dispense filtered water as well, which would allow you to kill two birds with one stone.

Ice machines used to be infamous for breaking down and jamming up, but modern ice machine technology makes that much less likely in 2019 than it was 10 or 20 years ago. You can get the ice machine installed and, for the most part, not worry about it.

Offer treadmill desks.

We all know what jogging can do. But jogging is also a hard, high-impact exercise that doesn’t work well for everyone. On the other hand, sitting down all day at your desk isn’t great for your health either. We’re not meant to spend eight or nine hours planted in an office chair, staring at a laptop. If you already offer breaks that allow employees to get up and walk around the office for a few minutes, then that’s a good first step. But you may also be able to do a little more than that and really improve the health of your employees.

Treadmill desks allow people to stay current on their work while still moving around. They don’t have to power-walk either. A slower pace will allow them to stay active while still doing things like responding to their emails and even taking phone calls. Humans are healthier when we walk a few miles a day. Unfortunately, because of weather or other factors, many cities aren’t very walkable. A walking treadmill provides an elegant solution.

Of course, treadmill desks should be optional. Some employees may have health conditions that prevent them from using the desks, while others may prefer to get their exercise after work. There’s more than one way to get your daily steps in, so you shouldn’t interrogate employees who decide they’d prefer to stick with a traditional desk. Treadmill desks are also more expensive than the traditional office and chair we’re all used to. But if you have room in your budget, getting a treadmill desk or two can end up being a very worthy investment for the health of your employees.

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