The average adult will spend a third of their waking hours at work. That’s a lot of time spent looking at pictures of your cubicle partner’s cat and begging the office printer to spit out your spreadsheet. And while the COVID-19 pandemic taught us about social distancing and how to mute ourselves on Zoom, it also reinforced a truth that has long needed to be acknowledged—employee wellness is essential to maintaining a productive workforce.
It also just makes sense. Research shows that employees who are in good physical, mental, and emotional health are more likely to deliver optimal performance in the workplace than employees who are not. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 7.8 million workers missed work in January 2022 because they had an illness, injury, or medical problem or appointment, up from 3.7 million in January 2021. And the number is rising.
As offices have reopened and employees have returned to their desks, companies are seeking new ways to facilitate a healthy working environment that promotes success. But fostering wellness in the workplace doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Here are some simple ways to keep your employees healthy, happy and successful:
- Focus on culture. It’s truly as simple as it sounds—companies with a “people first” culture retain more loyal and productive employees, which in turn improves business outcomes and propels company growth. Employee wellness–and well-being–is at the heart of people first culture. This can be as simple as creating open dialogue between leadership and employees. In one survey of 600 enterprise-level organizations it was determined that organizations who regularly listen to and act on employee feedback are “three times as likely to meet or exceed their financial targets as those that don’t. These organizations are also ten times as likely to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction, 11 times more likely to have high employee retention, and 20 times more likely to say they adapt well to change.” When workers believe they are valued and important to the overall success of the organization, everyone wins.
- Encourage physical activity. Create incentive programs that foster and prioritize movement, in and outside the office. Make it fun! Reward workers for steps taken, encouraging them to take a break from their desks and move their bodies throughout the day. Offer standing desks or flexible seating options. Establish an office walking club at lunch time. Promote alternative commuting options such as walking or biking to work
- Provide access to healthy choices. An office with clean filtered drinking water promotes hydration, which in turn, safegaurds against illness. Hydration options like Michigan Clear Water’s bottleless water coolers reduce employees exposure to microplastics and other forever chemicals, while our touchless water dispensers eliminate cross contamination and reduce germ spread. Another option to promote health? Examine the vending machines in the break room for healthier alternatives to traditional chips and candy.
- Help them quit. Smoking, that is. Helping your employees quit smoking not only saves their lives, it also saves money in the form of lower healthcare costs, increased workplace productivity and fewer premature deaths. According to the American Lung Association, “smoking-related illness in the U.S. costs more than $600 billion a year, including over $241 billion in direct medical care for adults and $184 billion in lost productivity”. The Freedom From Smoking Program is a low-cost resource for employers who wish to be a partner in helping their workforce quit smoking.
- Be flexible. As corporate culture adjusts to the long reaching ramifications of the pandemic, one thing is certain—flexibility is key in fostering a happy, healthy workforce. Offering hybrid working scenarios, flex hours and employee sick time are easy ways to encourage worker autonomy and well-being. Many studies indicate that flexible scheduling promotes productivity and actually INCREASES employee engagement. According to Forbes, decades of Gallup research shows that when employees are engaged, “their performance soars. In addition, highly engaged workplaces claim numerous benefits like 40% fewer quality defects, 41% lower absenteeism and 21% higher profitability.”
With our bottleless, touchless water coolers and state-of-the-art water purification systems, Michigan Clear Water is your partner in workplace wellness. We make it easy to provide fresh, healthy drinking water to your employees without the waste! Michigan Clear Water offers a wide variety of cost-effective hydration solutions. Call us at 248-924-3550 and schedule your free 7 day trial today!