Employees spend anywhere between one-third to half of their day at the office, so their surroundings at work are just as important as their home environments in helping to create a healthy lifestyle.
As Business Report notes in a feature from the current issue, company leadership can play a role in encouraging healthy habits by providing incentives or even opportunities to take part in fun activities and group camaraderie. The magazine asked three local executives with some success in their own offices—Starmount Life Insurance Co. President Deborah Sternberg, Baker Donelson attorney Layna Cook Rush and L’Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge human resources director Kizzy Smith—their advice on how to convince employees to stay healthy and be more productive.
Sternberg says that healthy employees can mean lower health care costs, fewer absences and greater productivity. But she notes that employers must do more than endorse a healthy lifestyle. “Promoting a healthier lifestyle means providing employees with a road map and steps to encourage better health decisions and change behavior,” she says. “Don’t forget about financial health and stress management.”
Rush says the employees must see the value in adopting and maintaining healthy habits as well. She notes that the camaraderie and accountability of a group setting among colleagues can be a great motivator.
“Oftentimes, a catalyst is needed to encourage a change,” she says. “Incentive programs such as lower insurance premiums or challenges with cash rewards and prizes encourage employees to participate in wellness programs, but in my experience, continued, long-term commitment to healthy habits are a result of group interaction.”
The final component for employers, Smith says, is to make healthy choices easy and accessible, but most of all, fun. And leadership involvement is crucial. “Your executive team’s participation in health initiatives,” she adds, “will foster an atmosphere for team members to thrive in.”
Read the full feature. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
