Nutrition is integral to a employee’s productivity and performance at work. This is due to the other benefits of a healthy balanced diet including improved cognitive function, better concentration, more energy, decreased stress and anxiety.
Its key for employers to support employees to maintain a healthy balanced diet because employees who opt for predominantly unhealthy food choices are 66% more likely to be less productive than those who actively make healthy choices. Total health-related employee productivity loss accounts for 77% of all such loss and costs employers two to three times more than annual health care expenses.
Fostering healthy eating habits in the workplace:
Provide nutrition education- wellness support and programmes should offer personalised support for employees regarding healthy lifestyles due to the diverse range of nutritional needs.
Limit unhealthy snacks in the break room- You should provide employees access to healthy snacks such as fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthy snacks. Swap your unhealthy food and drink provision for fresh healthier options.
Fun nutrition challenges- these challenges and incentives make maintaining a healthy diet engaging, enjoyable and rewarding. This can also encourage friendly competition between colleagues. Ideas include salad lunch days, host challenges around giving up unhealthy snacks and use existing challenges like dry January and Veganuary.
Supporting nutrition for remote employees:
Digital meal cards- encourage your employees to choose healthy options whilst providing them financial support.
Virtual lunch and learns- can foster learning and professional development. You can even have discussions around nutrition and diets. For example, you could do a cooking and meal prep support session. A Fitness or physical activity related session will also support your staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Find out more here- https://www.wellright.com/resources/blog/exploring-the-link-between-productivity-and-food-in-the-workplace
