Health: A direct determinant of productivity at work
The past decade has seen the increased rates of work-related illness caused by increased stress due to odd work hours, lack of work-life balance, irregular meal timings, disturbed sleep-wake cycles and skipping of meals. Such unhealthy habits built over time among employees has escalated the risks of developing occupation and lifestyle related diseases like obesity, hypertension, cardio-vascular disorders and diabetes.
‘Work-from-home’ has become the new normal and it is affecting almost every aspect of our lives including people’s health due to increased stress, lack of motivation to do work and disturbed schedules which has a negative influence on productivity.
A study published by the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine states that, higher health risks are strongly associated with loss in productivity⁴.
Productivity of employees is one of the multiple factors on which an organization depends and is directly related to the health status of its employees. Having said that, it is of prime importance for the firm to have their workforces’ best interests in mind as it is to avoid any risk of diminishing returns to the company as well.
Companies have their interests growing in the ‘Corporate wellness’ sector in recent times due to it’s high cost to benefit ratio and seek it as a long-term investment. Comparative surveys⁵ show that, every minimal amount spent today can increase the marginal benefits of the future. And that’s where corporate specific nutrition / corporate wellness becomes increasingly important.
Corporate wellness programs and interventions contribute to making the workforce healthier and efficient in such a way that can be mutually beneficial for the company as well as the employees. They help in decreasing indirect health costs to the employee and the organization and reducing absenteeism of the employees on work days. They also contribute to increased employee retention, improved health and nutritional status and offer employees with a sense of recognition along with work satisfaction. The goal is to fundamentally build a positive workspace so as to prevent any loss of productive hours which may affect the efficiency of the company.
Likewise, to assist employees voluntarily make healthy food choices that improve overall health and productivity, we at Instahealth also offer custom-curated and online workplace wellness programs ranging from gamified habit building workshops to 1–1 nutrition consultations along with workshops and webinars on specialized topics.
Better health comes when you are ready to help yourself and those around you improve their overall well-being. Below are a few lifestyle approaches that employees can follow to improve their health and productivity:
- Encourage yourself and your colleagues to eat healthy- by choosing a fruit over a high calorie snack, yogurt with berries over sugary drinks, packed lunch from home rather than eating out or carry healthy snacks along & share them with your colleagues.
- Engage in small physical activities and reduce the amount of time spent on your chair by taking a 10 minute walking break to activate your body, doing posture change exercises, doing 5 minute stretches, finger and wrist flexibility stretches and eating lunch away from your desk, walking around the office while talking calls and parking your vehicle away from office.
- Remember to hydrate yourself by setting a timer every few hours to finish at least 2–3 liters of water per day. Always keep your bottle of water where it is easily visible so it becomes a constant reminder for drinking water.
- Be mindful of your posture- Sitting for long hours can cause discomfort in the neck and shoulders and eventually worsens the body posture. This may lead to health related issues like tension neck syndrome (TNS)(6). Changing posture every now and then can be helpful.
- Eat a balanced diet with control over portion sizes / the amounts you eat to be mindful of your diet as well as maintaining a balanced diet to meet your daily nutritional requirements.
Organizations need to step up their game and take charge of both the physical and mental well being of their employees. Given below are a few ways organizations can do so:
- Providing employees with healthier food options and reducing high calorie fast foods and ordering in during meetings & discussions where most of the team members are involved to advocate healthy food choices to them.
- Subsidized costs for healthy drinks and foods served by in-house catering services. Catering services must also make a conscious decision of using healthy ingredients for meal preps and also regulate the quantity of oil used in the meals. Provision of access to fruits, smoothies/ bowls, popcorn, nuts and seeds, whole wheat sandwiches/wraps and yogurt bowls at lower rates will help to popularize healthy alternatives.
- Designated mid-meal snack breaks: Companies providing employees with healthy options is of no use when they do not have the time to eat and hence is the need for designated snack times just like lunch breaks.
For employees working late shifts, companies must have a provision of healthy dinner options at the office. After all, who likes working late on an empty stomach, isn’t it?
- Helping employees to improve their physical activity by encouraging sport activities, fun games, marathons, gym memberships and introduction of standing desks at offices.
- Organizing health awareness days, workshops and seminars (or webinars) every month by inviting nutritionists and fitness coaches to give a talk on corporate health and fitness.
- Organizing mental health awareness programs will help in positive reinforcement of mental health strategies which are crucial for the overall well being of the individuals. Companies must arrange counsellings & stress management programs and conduct feedback sessions to understand and improve the mental health status of the employees.
Key takeaways:
1. Corporate specific nutrition and wellness needs more attention for personal and general welfare of the individuals. Which in turn, improves their productivity and efficiency while it also benefits the organization in terms of financial returns.
2. Individual approaches like healthy eating, maintaining the right posture and stretching exercises while at work, following a balanced diet, choosing healthier food alternatives, increasing physical activity by taking a walk can be done by the employees to improve and maintain a good health status. should be ensured.
3. Organizational approaches such as promoting healthy food choices at the workplace, creating awareness on the importance of corporate wellness can be executed as an approach to improve health and productivity.
References:
- https://www.business.com/articles/corporate-wellness-program-benefits-and-risks/
- https://www.rand.org/randeurope/research/projects/workplace-health-wellbeing-productivity.html
- https://www.webmd.com/women/features/10-tips-to-improve-your-health-at-work#3
- https://journals.lww.com/joem/Abstract/2004/07000/The_Relationship_Between_Health_Risks_and_Work.18.aspx
- https://www.theweek.in/news/biz-tech/corporate-wellness-programme-assochamsurvey.htmlfromNewsdog=1&utm_source=NewsDog&utm_medium=referral
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327205
