Tag Archive for: workplace wellness activities

Prioritizing employee health and driving engagement are critical to the success of a company. Virtually everyone benefits from having healthy employees and one of the best ways to encourage individual health and promote engagement is by offering wellness programs that focus on all aspects of wellness.

By offering wellness activities, employers can give people opportunities to engage in physical, mental, emotional, etc. activities to create healthy behavioral habits. To obtain the highest levels of participation, it’s important to offer a wide variety of activities that appeal to everyone, so get creative!

Here are some workplace wellness activity ideas you can offer both in office and remote employees:

Home Based Activities
At home activities make it easy for employees to engage in wellness in the comfort of their own home. Offering practical, well-rounded activities employees can do from anywhere aids in reducing stress levels which helps increase morale in the office. Some wellness activity ideas include:

• Meditate for 5-10 minutes
• Cook healthy recipes
• Clean areas around the house
• Neighborhood walks
• Participating in virtual bodyweight fitness classes
• Go to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual
• Listening to a podcast

Activities for Remote Employees
For many people, working from home has its ups and downs. Most times, employees enjoy being in the comfort of their own home and being able to work freely. However, constantly being at home can drive stress as it limits the amount of human interaction one has each day. Here are some ideas to help remote employees improve their health and better manage stress:

• Dedicate 2 meetings per week to be taken as walking meetings
• Motivate people to exercise daily (walking, running, biking, etc.)
• Offer nutrition advice from credible sources
• Encourage mindful movement and/or meditation
• Set up a weekly virtual lunch with coworkers

5 Minute Activities
Although it seems short, dedicating just 5 minutes of your day to complete a wellness activity can increase focus, improve productivity, enhance employee experience, and boost morale tremendously.  Here are some quick wellness activities employees can take part in:

• Drinking a glass of warm lemon water in the morning
• Engage in 5 minutes of breathing exercises daily
• Standing & stretching throughout the day
• Call a friend
• Read a nutrition/fitness/mindfulness article

Mental Wellness Activities
As an employer, providing a resource to employees that explains the importance of prioritizing their mental health is extremely beneficial for everyone. Between the stress of work and home life, people tend to push their mental wellbeing to the side. A person’s mental state can affect their entire body and how it functions. As an employer, building a culture that speaks openly about mental health betters the relationship employees have with each another. Some easy ways to promote mental health include:

• Meditation, stretching, and yoga
• Journaling
• Gratitude lists
• Reading
• Prioritize getting enough sleep

Workplace Wellness Activities
The workplace is a place where business gets done, of course, but it should also foster an environment that supports employee’s wellbeing. Worksite wellness is essential to the employee experience and also attracting future talent. Here are some ideas for wellness activities / tactics any employer can use in the workplace:

• Lunch & learn sessions about wellness topics like nutrition, exercise, sleep, hydration, etc.
• Monthly wellness newsletters
• Market local health-related events
• Host monthly lunches where each employees brings a healthy snack or dish
• Offer a rewards program that uses an incentive to encourage employees to take part in wellness activities
• Provide standing desks