Poor nutrition can decrease your employees’ energy and productivity. It can also lead to other serious health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension, which will increase your organization’s healthcare costs.
Unfortunately, poor nutrition and its associated challenges are common in fast-paced jobs where people have no time to spare. That said, you can avoid the problems associated with this issue by using the following hacks to promote healthy eating in your organization:
1. Create a Culture of Wellness
Strive to make healthy eating part and parcel of your company’s values and practices. As a leader, set the tone by adopting healthy eating habits. Your workers will likely follow suit and switch to healthier food options. Alternatively, you can implement such a culture through your management team. As long as the top employees in your organisation subscribe to a culture of wellness, everyone else will eventually feel motivated to follow the same path.
Additionally, introduce nutrition programs for employees from a premium provider like Plus One; they will educate your workers on the fundamentals of healthy eating. You should also ask employees to suggest changes that can help them switch to healthier food choices.
2. Offer Nutritious Snacks and Meals
Snacks can boost your employees’ morale, energy, and performance. That said, avoid offering unhealthy snacks like candy bars, doughnuts, and chips because they can catalyze rapid weight gain and expose your employees to higher risks of complications like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Go with nutritious alternatives like fruit baskets, low-fat dairy products, unsalted nuts, and other healthy snacks. If you have a company cafeteria, ensure its menu has healthy, well-balanced meal options like salads with whole grains and lean proteins.
3. Provide Plenty of Eating Time and Space
According to an NIH report, 1/3 of young adults can’t maintain healthy eating habits because they are too busy and don’t have enough time to sit down and eat nutritious meals. That said, it’s crucial to create dedicated eating spaces and give your workers enough time to enjoy their meals to boost employee health and well-being.
Ensure that the spaces are relaxing and separate from workstations so they give employees the break they deserve after working hard for so long. You can also consider offering flexible meal breaks that fit with employees’ unique schedules.
4. Encourage Meal Prep and Planning
Encourage your workers to plan and prepare healthy meals at home. This will reduce their likelihood of resorting to unhealthy foods when they are busy at work. You can bring in a nutritionist to introduce your team members to the best meal prep guides and easy-to-make healthy recipes.
Furthermore, you should encourage employees with the busiest schedules to consider cooking in bulk and portioning meals.
5. Organize Regular Healthy Eating Workshops
Regular eating workshops will inform your employees about healthy eating and help them learn new ways to optimize their health and wellness. These programs will also allow your employees to seek professional advice on issues like binge eating.
Finally, healthy eating workshops can serve as a team-building platform where your workers interact, learn together, and bond over shared experiences.
Ready to Boost Your Employee’s Health and Vitality with Proper Nutrition?
Your employees can perform better and avoid detrimental health issues by switching to healthy eating. Use the hacks discussed here to encourage this trend in your organization. You should also hire nutritionists to help you create tailored nutrition programs guaranteed to boost your employees’ health and wellness.
Plus One, an Optum Company, can help you recruit the most qualified workplace nutritionists. Contact the company’s team today to get started.