3 Things You Can Do to Create A Healthier Workplace

You have taken the first steps to improve your own health and wellness – you participated in nutrition coaching, have a gym membership and exercise regularly, and you’re starting to see some amazing results.

More than likely you have even gotten some attention at work because of your own transformation.

AWESOME JOB!

You are so excited about your own results that you feel like you are ready to share these healthy habits with the people at your job!

You want to see them reach their individual goals and start on the path to feeling good.

In fact, paying attention to your own health has the benefits of better teamwork, increased productivity and reduced sick leave, as well as fewer workplace accidents.

But where do you start to change the culture at your workplace? How do you create a healthier workplace?

Here are 3 ideas for you to get people thinking of creating healthier workplaces:

Sit less and move more:

If your job involves a lot of sitting, make it a point to get up and move each hour with your coworkers, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or engage in office mobility. Here’s some quick office workouts you can try with your coworkers:

-Every hour, climb up and down 3 flights of stairs, perform 10 squats by sitting onto your desk chair and standing back up.

-Paper Presses: Find a pack of printer paper or another object that weighs a few kgs. Hold this object at shoulder height and raise overhead. Perform 10 repetitions for 3 sets.

-In between sets of paper presses, challenge your co-workers to join you for lunges: These can be done at your desk, or you can lunge down the length of your office, or maybe from your desk to the printer and back. Regardless – lunge on each leg by gently stepping forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Lunge 10 times per leg.

Pack and eat a healthy lunch:

Maybe your coworkers have seen you packing your lunches and eating them at work. Encourage them to get on board by showing them how to pack a healthy lunch with carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Show them where to purchase meal prep containers. Maybe even set up a meal prep party where you gather to assemble some healthy meals. Creating a culture where it’s the norm for you and your coworkers to pack and eat a healthy lunch rather than eating out is a great way to bond as a team and stay accountable to your health and wellness goals.

Recreate the breakroom and the noon meetings:

Is the office breakroom where all the unhealthy foods live? Do you find that you stay on track all day until you get to the noon meeting with the never-ending chip bowl and cookie platter? Get your team on board by making it the norm to have fruits and veggies in the breakroom, and encourage these healthy snacks during your office meetings. Or redesign the sit-down meeting to a walking meeting without food to encourage more activity and less mindless eating in the workplace.

It’s exciting to be able to share your health and wellness achievements with people you work with. In doing so, you are gaining accountability partners that will help you stay on track with your goals, and help you celebrate your accomplishments. If you have had your own success and need help with getting your co-workers on board, we are here to help!

Click here to schedule a meeting with your nutrition coach to learn ways to bring together a healthier workplace!

Coach Jono