Posted by Michael Boer on 19th June 2015.
With the summer months upon us (although looking out of the window, you wouldn’t think so!) there has been a massive panic to get your body “summer ready”! This is never an easy process; there are so many diets and quick-win workouts that are flying around like wild gossip – but how does this affect the productivity of your team? We all know that the fit and healthy are less likely to suffer from fatigue, can concentrate longer and bounce around the office running off their endorphins – but so can I, with a bag of sweets, a chocolate bar, and two-sugar coffees!
Recently a number of people in our office (including me) have taken up diet plans. This is probably the worst thing I have ever experienced. I spend more time thinking about chocolate that I care to admit. Having said that, my manager should be happy because according to the Telegraph, from the results of last year’s Britain’s Healthiest Company awards, poor lifestyle choices made by employees cost British companies £58bn in lost productivity. To encourage employees to maintain a healthier life style and to support employees who are working on self-improvement does make a big difference. This could be as simple as setting up pedometer teams with prizes for the most distance covered, or having multiple purchase deals on salads or healthy food snacks in the canteen. Lego famously removed all processed sugar from their sites and replaced it with fresh fruit and vegetables for the staff to snack on. An organisation who won the small-size company Healthiest Employee’s Award offer VitalityHealth insurance to their employees. This insurance plan is all about rewarding people for good healthy choices – the more healthy someone is, the more rewards they receive.
A number of the companies we recruit for offer gym memberships and cycle-to-work schemes which we hope results in more and more people running off their endorphins rather than chocolate and two tonnes of sugar. One of our clients has signed their employees up to boot camp twice a week, and as a result their office is apparently always vibrant and full of energy – it’s refreshing to see.
On that note, I’m not going to be starting a lunch-time running club anytime soon but there is something to be said for encouraging a healthier outlook on life whether it be via food or exercise. And it doesn’t need to cost much to implement.
