The Tribune

Most would agree that employee health and well-being is a topic that receives far too little attention in the standard work environment. But amid this global pandemic, worker wellness has become a daily conversation because workplace COVID-19 spread is real.

We spend most of our waking hours at work, and do not always take into account the impact those hours have on our psychological and physiological well-being. Human resources professionals try to stress that “self-care” is good for both the employee and the bottom line. The company’s goal must be to foster healthy minds, bodies and spirits within each team member. Here are 12 useful suggestions for making this possible:

1. Publish a workplace wellness newsletter highlighting the best fitness, nutrition and educational content found on the Internet. The more people know, the greater the likelihood they will make wise and healthy choices.

2. Offer high quality snacks and provide plenty of water in the building. Put the right choices in front of employees. Give options such as natural sugar and almond milk for tea and coffee.

3. Hold a workplace “healthy chef” competition, where recipes are shared and departments become excited about eating and preparing healthy foods. You may also wish to bring a health-focused chef to facilitate this. This can also be tied to programmes such as “the biggest loser challenge”.

4. Hold an office health fair, with free screening and testing. Bring in the health professionals, and allow each team member to get medical advice at no cost to themselves.

5. Assess your ergonomics. Ergonomics is the science of designing work tasks (and work spaces) in a way that limits stress on the human body. For office workers, this means things such as keyboards designed to minimise the risk of repetitive motion injuries such as carpal tunnel, screens that minimise eye strain, and chairs that minimise back pain.

6. Remind people to get flu shots and encourage them to take all relevant vaccinations. Post a list of locations near your office offering flu shots and COVID-19 vaccines on the company bulletin board. In fact, it might be easier to simply bring in a team of medical professionals to have them vaccinated.

7. Convince your staff to form a sporting league, and encourage as many as possible to become engaged and active. Golf, bowling, swimming, softball, basketball - all will keep the bones agile and the body fit.

8. Participate as a company in every marathon, “fun run” or walk advertised. It helps to strengthen ties with the community, fulfills corporate social responsibility and keeps staff fit all at once.

9. Encourage people to take the stairs rather than the elevator.

10. Encourage employees to take their vacation leave, and to remain at home if they are ill for the full duration of their recovery.

11. Encourage employees to use the Employee Assistance Programme if they are feeling overwhelmed and need to talk to professionals. Human resources should also develop a reputation for confidentiality and care for the team, so workers feel encouraged to address their concerns with this department.

12. Provide training for managers on how to create and maintain a healthy and safe workspace for employees.

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.