Promoting Health and Wellness in the Workplace: Smart Advice From Two Small Business Owners
This article was updated on September 12, 2018.
At the start of every new year, many people decide that it's time to adopt a healthier lifestyle. In fact, many individuals set goals to begin working out regularly, quit smoking or develop healthier eating habits. Unfortunately, many fall short when it comes to achieving their resolutions. But this is where small business owners can step in and help their team members continue their positive behaviors. By creating a wellness culture, business owners can encourage their employees to live healthier lives.
Maintaining a Healthy Diet and Lifestyle
In an interview, husband and wife business owners Kathy and Brian Leavitt shed some light on how businesses can build a wellness culture. Brian, the founder and president of Process Innovations, has been selling process equipment in the New England area for over 20 years. And although his work requires him to travel quite a bit, he ensures that he and his staff members maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. While Brian believes that eating healthy on the road can sometimes be a challenge, he stresses that travelers have more healthy eating options today than they did in the past. For example, Brian chooses to eat at restaurants that offer healthy menu selections, and he even makes stops at convenience stores for healthy food items, such as water, granola bars, fruit and yogurt. Beyond a healthy diet, regular exercise and taking advantage of annual wellness visits are other priorities for Brian and his staff members.
Building a Wellness Culture
Kathy Leavitt, the owner of MedAesthetic Salon & Day Spa, is also passionate about staying fit. In turn, she makes an effort to keep her staff motivated and positive about healthy lifestyle choices. She believes that starting off every day and every shift with a positive attitude can go a long way toward creating a wellness culture. Keeping communication positive enables her employees to boost productivity and connect better with each other.
Kathy has also joined a gym and invited her entire staff to work out with her. Kathy finds that the employees who choose to participate have fun exercising as a team and cheer each other on. Kathy's wellness culture initiatives also include spa shows and outside education, such as beauty-related training. She says that she does this not only to help each employee "grow as a professional," but also to "help them take care of themselves so they can take care of [a] client." Kathy also spends time with her employees by enjoying outside activities, such as running or participating in triathlons. Overall, she prefers to treat her staff like family, and feels that communication is essential for small businesses hoping to create a wellness culture.
For those looking to promote health and wellness in the workplace, creating a personal support system is also crucial. Thankfully, it seems as though Kathy and Brian Leavitt already have that covered.
MedAesthetics Salon & Day Spa and Process Innovations was a client of ADP, LLC. at the time of this article's publication.
