We spend most of our working week in the office and it can often affect our health after a while. If you want to make sure that you and your workers can stay as healthy as possible throughout the year, there are some ways you can change the office for better health all around. If you are thinking of practicing healthy habits in your life this year, here are some of the top things you can do to make the office a better place.
Have a water station
The first thing you can think about doing in the office this year to promote the health and well-being of your staff is to add a drinking water station either in the office itself or in your kitchen area. By providing fresh spring water for everyone in the office, you are ensuring that people can stay properly hydrated during the day and this can be a huge help to the mood, health, and productivity of your office as a whole.
Provide healthy snacks
Instead of a vending machine in the kitchen that provides your workers with chocolate and crisps, think about buying a vending machine that offers healthy snacks in the kitchen. For example, you can have a fruit bowl on the side which is refilled every few days, some plant-based milk and healthy cereal in the kitchen, and even bags of skinny popcorn and things like nuts and seeds for people to help themselves to. When healthy food is right there in front of people they are much more likely to eat it.
Think wellness
When you are stuck in close quarters with your team day after day and working on a stressful job, your mood can rapidly go down and your motivation will go with it. One way to combat this is to use an afternoon each week to provide your office with yoga lessons, wellness classes, and meditation. Offering things like this to your workers can be super valuable because practicing relaxation such as this can be hugely beneficial to your health and well-being. It can raise people’s happiness, lower stress, and allow people to bond in a setting other than the office for a little while. You may find it surprising how much benefit you get out of this.
Encourage exercise
When you are in an office all week it can be easy to neglect exercise and this can cause you and your workers to develop health issues and put on weight throughout the year. As an employer, you will not only want to make sure that your employees work, but you will also want to make sure that they are healthy and happy. You can do this by offering exercise classes throughout the week or even buying some gym equipment for the office and placing it in one of your spare rooms. It will give people the opportunity to stay fit and healthy during the week and it can have a positive impact on their health.
Create an outdoor space
Everyone needs a bit of fresh air and calm now and again, and the office can get pretty stressful at times. To make sure that your employees have somewhere they can escape to during the year, you can create a garden area outside which stimulates one’s senses and uses color and texture to make people feel relaxed. Plant things such as lavender, buddleia, and herbs for the smell. Bright plants like poppies and cottage flowers for color, and larger bushes and trees for texture and safety. Having a quiet garden area is great for the well-being of yourself and your employees so make sure to take the time to create one this year.
Use standing desks
We all know that inactivity isn’t good for the body and sitting down for hours and hours each day can have an impact on your health. To combat this, you can give your employees standing desks as an option if they fancy working and stretching their legs every so often. Have a small station in the office with 4-5 standing desks so that if people feel like they need to get up for a while, they can move over here and work for a few hours until they feel they want to sit down again.
Clear your air
Ventilation is so important in the office and you really will see a big impact on the space as a whole if you take the time to clear out the ventilation system in the office. People of all ages, sizes, and health requirements will be working in your office, and those who have respiratory conditions such as asthma can be particularly vulnerable if you don’t have clean air to work with. To ensure that your air is clear, be sure to get a new system that will allow everyone to breathe easily, as well as minimize the risk of bugs transferring to everyone in the office during flu season.
Add a plant or two
Plants can be a great addition to the office and not just because they look pretty. As you know, plants produce oxygen, and this can be a great thing to have in the office because you will have plants producing fresh air for people to breathe in every single day. You can also count on plants to make you feel less stressed because it has been proven that plants can make us feel calm throughout the year. If you want to make sure everyone is relaxed while working, you can give each member of your team a small succulent to keep on their desk as well as have larger plants in the office. This will give your employees something positive to learn as they keep their plants alive throughout the year and this can be a fun side project for them in the office. Your space will feel clear, fresh, and relaxing.