End 2020 with a healthier team

Have you ever considered how having healthier employees could lead to a healthier business? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), healthier employees are less likely to miss worktime due to an illness. As a result, they're able to spend more time serving customers and improving your business.

But encouraging your team members to lead healthier lifestyles can be difficult. In 2020, many individuals and families have faced uncertainty and stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Altered work hours, long days at home, and temporary gym closures disrupted many routines and broke up good habits. It's easy to see how your employees might have been affected by recent wellness obstacles like these.

By helping your team get back on the path to wellness, your business and culture could benefit. A healthier team can increase productivity, reduce overall stress, and possibly save your business money.

A successful wellness program that engages your employees throughout the year takes commitment. To help you get started, we've detailed several health initiatives, their benefits, and ways to incorporate them into your own company's wellness program. Let's look at a few strategies that can help you and your team eat right, get active, and stay motivated for the rest of 2020.

Instead of vending machines filled with junk food, offer healthier snack options to help your team make better food choices. Eating snacks that are better for you can assist in controlling your weight, boosting your energy, and can have an overall positive effect on brightening your mood—three things almost everyone could benefit from these days. For more snack-based inspiration, check out this list of more than 40 companies offering healthier snacking options and wellness initiatives.

If some of your employees lack wellness knowledge or experience but want to start living a healthier lifestyle, they may not know where to begin. Create a monthly or weekly newsletter that contains information like at-home workouts and healthy eating tips. By doing this, you provide your staff with guidance and encouragement that'll help them get started and stay on track with workouts and a healthier diet. Over time, the resources you offer can drive employee engagement and satisfaction—building a culture that they look forward to participating in each day.

Helping your employees ditch soda and other sugar-filled beverages is a great way to support healthier lifestyle goals. Trade soda for water or unsweetened teas. Making this switch also reduces your consumption of artificial flavors, sweeteners, and other add-ins that can be detrimental to your health. If members of your team find this habit hard to kick, consider sharing easy and low-cost recipes like fruit-infused water.

With limited gym access in 2020, at-home workouts are on the rise. Why not get involved as a business? While your team may not have worked out together at the gym, now is a great time to consider scheduling virtual workouts or stretching sessions to get the whole team involved. In many instances, schedules can be tricky. To help keep the team engaged, consider pre-recording a separate instructional video that employees can reference when they're available. Although your business may be continuing operations in person, accessible workouts can still be a useful addition for team members who are short on time. For those who have availability outside of work, virtual workouts are yet another way to keep your team engaged and upbeat throughout the rest of 2020 and well into the future.

Everyone loves a potluck—even virtually. Along with the range of delicious food, potlucks provide your employees the opportunity to show off their cooking skills. Encouraging your team to prepare a different healthy dish is a good way to show there are many different options when it comes to eating better. You can keep creativity and variety at the center of your potluck by assigning employees a food group to bring or show off in a teleconference. This allows everyone to swap recipes and see that having a healthier diet can be fun. As a result, your employees have a new, healthy recipe idea for their family.

Many companies have seen success after offering their employees a variety of wellness resources—and your business could be next. While these tips can give your wellness plan a quick boost, each employee may have their own goals or needs—therefore, it's important to remember that health initiatives aren't a one-size-fits-all approach. It's best to pair your wellness recommendations with accessible resources to help employees find the activities and diets that suit their goals. It's never too early to start thinking about the well-being of your team for the rest of 2020 and beyond.