5 Health and Wellness Tips For Employees

One of the most common excuses most employees point to when it comes to wellness relates to not having the time or the energy to do what it takes to be healthy. This is particularly true for employees who work from a fixed workstation. By sharing these five health and wellness tips for employees, you can ensure they stay healthy:

#1 Take Regular breaks

One of the most important things you can do during the workday to stay healthy and in shape is to exercise. But given your busy work schedule, going to the gym might not be an option. However, it’s important to remember that exercise doesn’t have to wait until the end of the day. Scheduling walking meetings or walking to get lunch is a great idea – not only are you burning calories, but you’re de-stressing and refreshing.

#2 Pack a lunch

The second important tip to stay healthy at work is nutrition. Taking control of how much food you consume and the kind of food you eat at work is vital to a healthy lifestyle. The easiest way to control your portion sizes and food selection is to pack your own lunch. Just as we are taught as kids to eat everything on our plate, the portion size provided is often what dictates how much you eat. If you pack the right amount of food and proper serving sizes, you take control.

#3 Pay attention to posture

Tension neck syndrome (TNS) can occur when the neck and upper shoulders are held in a fixed and awkward position for an extended period of time, according to NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences). This is common in the workplace, especially for people who routinely talk on the phone for a large part of the day or type extensively. TNS can cause neck and shoulder pain, muscle tightness, and muscle tenderness and can lead to more complications and pain down the road if the posture isn’t corrected.

#4 Reduce eyestrain

For employees who work at a computer, it is common to have to look at a screen almost half of their waking hours. This extended period of staring can give headaches, dry eyes, or blurred vision. The easiest way of fighting this problem is to take regular breaks using 20-20-20 rule. It means that after every 20 minutes, shift your eyes to an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

#5 Look for signs of stress

Lastly, but most importantly, it is important to pay attention to mental health. This has become a prominent topic over the last decade as employers have taken more initiatives to understand and support mental health in the workplace. Signs of a stressed employee include tiredness and irritability, reduced work quality, indecisiveness, poor judgement, and physical illness resulting in headaches, nausea, aches, and pains.

If you are wondering how to encourage your employees to adopt these health and wellness tips, try CircleCare. This corporate wellness app provides companies with a platform and tools to motivate their employees via positive reinforcements and rewards to establish and maintain healthy lifestyle choices.