Join the workplace wellness movement

There are many articles out there about the importance of your employees mental health, but what about their physical health?

Do your employees have good nutrition, sleep and exercise habits?

Do they drink four coffees before entering a meeting? Or do they crave sugary snacks to get them through the last two hours of the working day?

Unfortunately these unhealthy work habits are all too common.

Employers have a unique opportunity to improve the health and wellbeing of their staff. By creating a positive, safe and healthy environment for employees, you can increase morale, improve your employees’ work-life balance and, in turn, positively impact your business.

While it is widely known that working is good for people’s health and wellbeing, it’s increasingly being recognised that a healthy workforce is beneficial to employers too. The key to increasing an organisation’s performance and productivity levels is the wellbeing of its greatest asset – its employees. This is why supporting a workplace wellbeing program and encouraging a work-life balance is highly recommended.

According to the Australian Government, healthy workplaces can help to make businesses more productive and employees more engaged. Therefore, promoting and supporting health in the workplace is not only common sense, but it makes good business sense too. 

Here are just some of the facts and figures out there about the positive benefits a workplace health program could have in the workplace:

• It has been estimated that the healthiest Australian employees are three times more productive at work than their colleagues
• The increase in preventable disease and workplace injury resulting from unhealthy living is a major cause of workplace absence or disruption
• Lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, excessive drinking, poor diet, inactivity and excess body weight can contribute to time away from work
• Loss in productivity due to obesity through absenteeism, attending work when sick and premature death is estimated to cost $6.4 billion a year

Employers who run health and wellbeing programs do so because they want to: 

• Improve work performance and productivity 
• Reduce costs associated with absenteeism, presenteeism, disability and workers’ compensation 
• Improve the culture of the organisation and retain existing employees
• Improve the organisation’s image, attract talented employees and fulfill corporate social responsibility obligations

Benefits of a healthy workplace for employees:

• Increase in health awareness and knowledge
• Increase in physical health and mental wellbeing
• Improved morale, job satisfaction and motivation
• Improved opportunities for a healthier lifestyle
• Greater capacity to enjoy life both in and outside the workplace

Promoting workplace wellbeing by offering increased education and support will benefit organisations in the long-term as individuals develop healthier behaviours, both in and out of the office. By increasing levels of happiness, inspiration and motivation in the workplace, you can positively impact the overall performance of your organisation.

Bottom line is: Healthy workers = healthy organisations = healthy business performance.

A productive team is a healthy team, so why not help your team make better lifestyle choices with the Healthy Heart program?

If you need some help in the right direction, the Kineo Healthy Heart program powered by Go1 is the best place to start. The seven healthy heart titles are suited to organisations looking to promote health and wellbeing amongst their employees and create a workplace wellbeing program for their staff. Created by leading subject matter experts in health, nutrition and wellbeing at the University of South Australia, these courses provide learners useful tips and tricks for staying healthy in the workplace. Find out more here.

The need for workplaces to promote and foster physical wellbeing in employees has never been greater.

Learn more about the Kineo Healthy Heart Program today!