Innovative Workplace Activities to Keep your Employees Energetic

Health and well-being is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being – and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. World Health Organization

Today’s highly computerized environment at work places is having serious health disadvantages on employees. It is encountered that chronic diseases including diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, hypertension, obesity, stroke and injuries are increasing among the office based people and employees at an alarming rate.

Employees are not giving serious consideration to their health that has become a major cause of their illness. However, it is employers’ duty to conduct health related programs and activities at work place to reduce the risk associated to employees’ illness and to increase their productivity as well.

It is your vital responsibility to help your employees in getting rid of smoking habits, which is the basic cause of lungs cancer, coronary heart diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Organization’s health promotional programs help in early detection of diseases that help in taking appropriate treatment in the beginning. At an average, employers’ should give 30 minutes of physical activities that are of moderate intensity every day. This will help in reducing sitting time and help them to move. Physical activities are good for heart and diabetic patients, help in controlling weight, reducing obesity and relieving stress.

We have compiled a list of physical activities that will not only reduce employees’ illness but will also add value in completing their tasks and keeping them energetic.

Cost effective physical activities for employees better health:

1. Motivate your employees to use stairs instead of lift or arrange stairs climbing competitions.

Formula: Calories burned (climbing seven flights of stairs) = Metabolic Equivalent (METs) x 3.5 x weight in kilograms ÷ 200 x duration in minutes.

2. Common Rooms should be available for employees to have rest during lunch or break hours. This will help employees to play some indoor games like snooker, watch TV, take a rest on comfortable sofas or take a nap.

3. Do place maps for walking and jogging routes at your workplace. You can have the parking area at a reasonable distance so that employees can have a good walk or jogging when coming to work or leaving from work.

4. Introduce healthy menus and balance diet charts at cafeterias and encourage your employees to have healthy food. Also encourage your employees to have fruits and dry fruits during their lunch hours.

5. Once in a month, have fitness test activity and reward or appreciate healthy people who take care of their fitness. You should also keep track of your employees’ health results and their progress like weight, blood pressure control and exercises.

6. Arrange competitions like fruit eating, jogging marathons, hurdle races and other activities to keep your employees energetic.

7. Arrange cooking classes for your employees so that they can have time to get cooking and health tips from professionals.

8. Execute fitness exercises during working hours, after an hour or two have 5 minutes exercise two times a day. You can also arrange for fitness trail courses like Yoga, meditation or any other exercise to keep your employees active because it will increase their participation, help in reducing conflicts, give more time to interact and above all, let them work for their own health. Office gym is a good opportunity to spend some off time for your fitness.

9. Participate in volunteer activities. You can arrange such activities at your office or factory. You can also arrange a day activity to go out to help people or to support a particular cause, can do fund raising activities or spending a day out at an old age home. Do work for the betterment of society, it will make you feel happy and keep you and your employees active.

10. Arrange recognition and appreciation events to encourage your employees’ participation, you can present certificates or bouquets, small gifts and mention them in your newsletters and place the results on notice board.

The above mentioned list can also be extended depending on your organization, employee involvement and recognition. Most of the employees get bored with the monotonous work structures, sitting in front of computers the whole day; it will make them uninterested and decrease participation level.

Employees who are healthy are beneficial for companies as they remain active during their working hours; they participate and interact with people. On the other hand, employees who are not healthy and indulged in eating junk food are prone to obesity and lower work and performance participation. They are also on the verge of having heart related problems, diabetes and other diseases.

Employees who are healthy and have physical activities or gyms available for fitness are smarter. They have improved factors like:

• Better morale
• High Enthusiastic
• High level of job satisfaction
• Emotionally stable
• Capable to handle work stress
• They are high potential employees with improved productivity
• Efficient at their work
• Healthy
• Feel good at work
• Increase motivation

From employers’ perspective, they also get a number of benefits as:

• Retention rate increases
• Absenteeism reduce
• Higher employee involvement
• Sign of prosperity and growth
• Health care costs can be under control
• Life insurance costs reduce
• Promote safe and healthy environment that would reduce injuries at work place
• It will help employees’ better work life balance
• Reduce the level of employees stress
• Following set business standards and best practices
• Give respect to countries rules and regulations, follow them
• Ethical practice

The above mentioned list is not restricted and there are hundreds of benefits of innovative workplace activities to keep your employees energetic. Some of them are mentioned the article while there are many more to come.