How to Incorporate Physical Wellness into Your Workplace: A Guide for Employers

Every day, many Americans follow the same strict schedule: wake up, go to work, come home, repeat. While some may be fortunate enough to have flexible jobs, others find themselves in positions that keep them sedentary and inactive throughout the day.

We can all imagine what it would be like to be stuck in an office job we don't enjoy. Cubicles, fluorescent lighting, ringing phones, and a bubbling water cooler. Some days during the winter, you may not even see the sun for most of the day depending on the work hours.

However, as an employer or business leader, you can significantly improve the quality of life in your office by promoting physical health. This article covers several effective strategies:

• Promoting an overall healthy lifestyle at work
• Creating outdoor spaces for breaks and meals
• Organizing team step-counting challenges
• Incorporating ergonomic and biophilic design
• Offering standing desk options
• Providing healthy food choices in workplace cafeterias

The Stats: Why Workplace Wellness Matters

Before diving into specific strategies, let's examine why workplace wellness matters.

According to a CDC press release from 2022, 1 in 5 Americans do not participate in physical activity (running, walking, biking, weight lifting, etc.) at least once per month. The evidence for doing some type of activity every once in a while to improve your health is overwhelming.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that physically inactive people have a 20–30% higher mortality risk compared to active individuals. As Ruth Peterson, MD, the CDC's Director for the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, states:

"Getting enough physical activity could prevent 1 in 10 premature deaths. Too many people are missing out on the health benefits of physical activity, such as improved sleep, reduced blood pressure and anxiety, lowered risk for heart disease, several cancers, and dementia." Sources: WHO and CDC

Incorporating physical wellness and showing you care about your employees' health can help fight this problem in the United States.

With these statistics in mind, let's explore specific strategies for workplace wellness.

Strategies for Incorporating Physical Wellness

1) Create Outdoor Spaces

There have been several studies done over the years regarding the effectiveness of working outdoors. Some argue that it can be better due to greenery improving other aspects of life, while others argue it could be distracting and confusing to some employees. Regardless of whether you are open to allowing work outside, an employer should strongly consider opening an outdoor space for break times.

This space could be used for eating, socializing, or incorporating healthy micro workouts, which we here at Frankly have touched on before.

Using Micro Workouts to Increase Fitness: Unleashing the Power of Short Bursts of Exercise

In today’s fast-paced world, finding time to exercise can be a challenge. However, with the emergence of micro workouts, individuals can now incorporate short bursts of exercise into their daily routines. Micro workouts, also known as mini workouts, incidental exercise, or (Frankly’s favorite!) “exercise snacks”, are brief bouts of physical

Frankly, We Can HelpKakhaber Bazerashvili

Overall, going outdoors can help the human body relax, recuperate, and get ready to focus again, according to some studies. It is easy to see how an employee being relaxed after half a day of working and being ready again after their break is valuable not only to your company or organization but also great for that person's mental well-being, which should be a top priority for a great leader.

Here's a great paper on exploring the great outdoors and its benefits:

Frontiers | The great outdoors? Exploring the mental health benefits of natural environments

There is growing evidence to suggest that exposure to natural environments can be associated with mental health benefits. Proximity to greenspace has been as…

FrontiersDavid G. Pearson

2) Team Step Challenge

Team step challenges have become increasingly popular in workplaces. In such a challenge, an employee will be randomly given a group of other employees who opted in for the challenge.

A daily goal will be set at 5,000–10,000 steps per day. In some challenges, the team wins by overall steps, so someone may do 17,000 in one day and those extra 7,000 will be added to the team total, though some other challenges simply see how many days the whole team made the goal. The team that wins will receive some type of reward, which will help drive the challenge.

This is a great idea for an employer who wants to promote and incentivize exercise at work, especially when so many people already have a pedometer on them, tracking their steps anyway. This can also promote teamwork between different employees and can help networking, especially at a bigger company.

Quick steps to start a step challenge:

• Make a sign-up and promote it with an incentive for the winning team
• Find the right collaborative pedometer app and set an end date for the challenge
• Randomly select teams and enjoy the challenge!

You can also read more on cultivating healthy habits in your workplace if a step challenge isn't your pace:

Cultivating Healthy Habits in the Workplace: The HR Playbook for Wellness Challenge

As HR professionals, your role in orchestrating wellness challenges is pivotal. In the pursuit of employee well-being, organizations have embraced wellness challenges as a fun and effective means to promote healthy habits among their workforce. These competitions not only improve overall health but also foster a sense of community within

Frankly, We Can HelpKakhaber Bazerashvili

3) Incorporating Ergonomic Workspaces

Good ergonomic design is crucial for employee health. Promoting the use of ergonomic chairs, desks, and other furniture in the office can help physical health and posture.

The importance of a good chair cannot be overstated. The proper chair will help keep the neck, lumbar region, and legs comfortable throughout the day, though this can be paired with another healthy option. It may be worth investing in adjustable standing desks for an office space, since it helps blood flow and also burns a few more calories per hour.

Prolonged sitting can lead to joint discomfort and physical inactivity, while extended periods of standing may cause varicose veins and foot pain. Alternating between sitting and standing throughout the day allows employees to be more flexible in their work routine, potentially reducing these health risks and helping them stay comfortable during work hours.

Read more about ergonomic workspaces here:

Ergonomic Chairs

A properly set up workstation can reduce pain and discomfort, and decrease your risk of developing a cumulative trauma disorder. Overall, your safety and comfort will be positively impacted if your workstation is tailored to your individual needs.

Research, Economic Engagement and Outreach

4) Promoting Healthy Eating

Promoting healthy eating at your company or organization can come in many forms, whether it is simply talking about why it is important or having healthy snacks around the office.

Knowing that eating whole, healthy foods is much better for the human body and its long-term sustainability, an employer would also want to serve healthy food in the cafeteria if the building has one. Having healthy snacks around the office like fruit, nuts, and healthy granola bars can help promote healthy snacking instead of reaching for highly processed food.

There are many different meal plans compared to the ones that may already be in place in your cafeteria that could substitute some unhealthy ingredients in their recipes. Some may just interpret this as lean proteins and salads, but it may be well worth consulting a professional dietician to find more options.

Dieticians can help plan affordable and healthy meals that can be made en masse if you want to implement this approach.

Read more about healthy eating in the workplace:

3 ways to eat healthy at the office

When hunger strikes at the office, it helps to be prepared to keep nutritional goals on the right path.

www.heart.org

5) Supporting Remote Workers

If your job allows remote work, it can sometimes be harder to be healthy at home versus at work. There is less accountability when you're working alone and you may find yourself falling into unhealthy habits.

To combine all that has been said in this article, if you are working at home you should try these things:

• Keeping your leisure space and workspace separate
• Having a comfortable workspace with an ergonomic chair and desk
• Maintaining healthy routines in the morning like a certain time to wake up and do certain things
• Incorporating full or micro workouts before, during, or after work time
• Preparing healthy meal prep like chicken, rice, and vegetables, overnight oats, yogurt parfaits, macro-friendly breakfast burritos, sushi bowls, etc.

Maintaining healthy habits at home can be easy, as long as you hold yourself accountable.

The Impact of Workplace Wellness

Promoting healthy habits at work can be transformative. Many employees may not have previous exposure to healthy lifestyle practices, and the workplace can serve as an introduction to better habits. When health-conscious practices become part of the work culture, they often extend into employees' personal lives.

How Frankly Improves Physical Wellness

Supporting employees by giving them the resources to improve their physical health can have numerous benefits for your team's well-being and your business as a whole. Frankly has an extensive mix of services and includes effective resources that ensure those services are well used. Our services can complement an existing health benefits plan and build out a strong support system for your employees.

To learn more about how Frankly can support your team's wellness journey, book a 15-minute demo. Contact us at sales@franklyhelp.com.