Canadian workers spend an average of 60% of their waking hours on the job. Knowing that, it’s not surprising that your business’ work environment has a significant impact on your health and the health of your employees.

Developing a health-supporting workplace doesn’t have to be a lot of work or cost a lot of money – and in the long-run it can actually help save you money through reduced absenteeism and increased productivity.

Here are a few easy, low-cost steps you can take to help your employees make healthier choices:

1. Put Healthy Eating Options on the Table

When food or drinks are provided at meetings, be sure to provide healthy options. Help keep your meetings focused by ordering foods that are tasty but low in sugar.

2. Incentivize Healthy Activities

Provide incentives for employees to quit smoking by organizing quit and win contests. Find out what prizes would motivate employees and talk to major suppliers and clients to see if they will donate to this cause.

3. Be Flexible

Offer flexible work hours to accommodate medical appointments for screening and medical exams.

4. Promote Physical Activity, Even During Work Hours

Support flexible working hours to allow employees to take advantage of physical activity opportunities. Allow individuals to take an extra half hour twice a week at lunch to walk, swim, attend a fitness class, etc.

5. Promote Work-Life balance

Encourage employees to take their allotted vacation time, and create a culture that does not expect employees to respond to emails 24/7.

As a business owner, you have the opportunity to create a culture where your employees’ health is valued, supported and promoted. Aligning employee wellness with your business operations and strategy is a key to attracting and retaining top talent and creating a more productive team.

If you’d like to learn more about how to create a healthy workplace, register for the upcoming WellnessFits seminar, the first in a series of three.

These seminars are designed to guide you through the process of developing, planning and implementing a workplace wellness program that meets the unique needs of your small business.