Healthy Workplace
Dear Readers,
Did you realize that your employees’ health is directly tied to your bottom line? Employee health is tied to job productivity, sick days, mental health, and even worker’s compensation claims. The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment has successfully worked together to encourage healthier options within local businesses. We talked with Megan Foreman, who leads the LiveWell Program at the Health Department. The question posed today is: as a local business owner, what can you do to create a better and healthier business for your employees?
Josh: People are busy and budgets are tight for small business owners, even though we all know that being healthy is important. Do you have any recommendations for small business owners to create a healthier work environment?
Megan: Yes. There are actually a lot of low-investment options that are easy to implement in the workplace that can create a healthy workplace.
A few ideas are:
- Add a fridge and microwave to your worksite so your employees can bring healthy meals from home, rather than hitting the drive-thru
- Eliminate soda and vending machines; instead install water coolers or automatic ice machines
- Hold walking meetings for small groups to brainstorm or tackle a single issue
- Establish a comprehensive tobacco-free policy, and define that this includes all tobacco products
- As a reward to employees for going “smoke-free”, consider incentives like giving out reusable drink containers to encourage water intake or creating an outdoor meeting space with a table and a few chairs
- Purchase a tabletop blood pressure monitor for less than $40 at Walmart and encourage your employees to check their blood pressure on a weekly basis
Josh: Those are great suggestions to encourage sustainable lifestyle changes among employees. Creating healthy environments is truly important aspect for any business owner to consider. What do you think Pedro?
Pedro: I agree that wellness is really important. We know that a healthy, productive workforce positively impacts a business’ bottom line. Diabetes particularly affects our Latino community. 1 in 3 people are prediabetic, but I’ve heard that statistic is even higher among Hispanics.
Megan: That’s true, Pedro. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 50% of Hispanic adults will develop diabetes in their lifetimes. That’s 1 in 2 people—it’s really staggering when you think of the complications from this disease. But type 2 diabetes can be prevented with lifestyle change—eating healthy and exercising. If individuals need help and support to make changes, they can join the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a year-long, evidence based lifestyle change program for prediabetic adults (adults whose blood sugar is high, but not high enough to warrant a type 2 diabetes diagnosis--yet.)
Pedro: Great. So how do small business owners take advantage of the Diabetes Prevention Program?
Megan: You can educate your employees about the program. DPP is covered by many commercial insurance plans, Medicare, and is also available for free for people who qualify. Businesses can even bring the class on site if you have 10-12 people who are ready to commit to lifestyle change. Goals for participants are to lose 5 to 7 percent of starting body weight and increase physical activity minutes to 150 per week. Studies show that reaching these goals cuts a person’s chances of developing type 2 diabetes in half. That’s pretty good!
Josh: I think it is amazing how tweaks to one’s lifestyle can add up to a big difference in the long-run for employees and businesses alike.
We’d love to hear from you. We are offering $100 to the reader whose question is selected next. Please submit your business questions to together@lead.bank
