This article is written by Anita Modok, Founder of Sydney Corporate Yoga, a Career Money Life Certified Supplier. You can read the original article here.
If your work environment isn’t conducive to your healthy living goals, it can really derail your efforts. For example, Christmas time at some offices can be especially daunting for those trying to eat well. Having appealing, unhealthy foods around all the time can make it difficult for even the most strong-willed person to consistently make good choices.
“For every dollar spent on workplace health promotion programs, more than triple the savings were observed in medical costs.”
Take Google, for example. The search giant provides its employees with unlimited access to free food. This “perk” resulted in many new employees gaining 15 pounds or more. But small changes — or “nudges” as we like to call them — can make a big difference. Merely moving the M&Ms to a less visible location resulted in New York Google employees cutting 3.1 million calories worth out of their diets in seven weeks.
Want to get your boss on board with a workplace wellness initiative? Here is some ammo:
- According to a study in the American Journal of Public Health, for every dollar spent on workplace health promotion programs, more than triple the savings were observed in medical costs.
- In a report by the Health Communication Unit at the Centre For Health Promotion at the University of Toronto, a Canadian company reported $7 in savings for every $1 invested in health-related programs.
- The same report found that health promotion programs in the workplace — including ones that create healthy eating environments — have been shown to increase employee productivity, reduce sick leaves and improve employee retention.
- A systematic review done in 2010 concluded that obese employees are more likely to take long-term sick and disability leaves.
- Finally, employees that eat healthy have fewer chronic diseases and ultimately incur less benefit-related costs. Plus, they retire later.
Now that your boss is convinced that a workplace wellness initiative is worth supporting, read the steps to get you and your colleagues on the path to better health: http://sydneycorporateyoga.com/office-needs-workplace-wellness-program/
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