5 WAYS TO THRIVE AT WORK
Imagine a workplace culture that promotes not just physical and mental health, but thriving in life as well as work. More and more companies are doing just that, says Renee Moorefield, chair of the Wellness at Work initiative at the Global Wellness Institute and founder of the firm Wisdom Works. She’s helped global brands including Coca-Cola, Nike and Merck expand their workplace wellness programs beyond health checks, gym memberships and weight-loss support to actually create a less stressed and happier workforce. When that happens, Moorefield says, “People don’t just go home feeling better than when they showed up—they thrive.”
Companies that take their employees’ health seriously—and don’t just pay it lip service—benefit as well, says Ron Goetzel, director of the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Great Place to Work Institute found that the top 100 companies in the U.S. for workplace culture had 65 percent lower employee turnover. Plus, their stock market returns were two times higher than those of industry peers.
Here are some of the well-being boosters that forward-thinking companies and their leadership are embracing.
GET ENERGIZED
Silicon Valley tech giants and digital startups are leaders in workplace health. That may be thanks to their employee pool of millennials, who’ve been vocal about how work, fun and health should mix.
At its campus in Mountain View, Calif., Google offers everything from kickboxing and on-site swimming pools to a slide for people who want an energy thrill getting from floor to floor. Over in the company quad at Zappos, you’ll see people playing tetherball, volleyball and shooting hoops on Recess Tuesdays. On other days, as part of Zappos’ Wellness Adventures initiative, wellness coordinators randomly pull people away from their work to go and do something fun instead. It could be trampolining, laser tag or taking a quick golf lesson.
STAND UP
“I’m a big fan of adjustable desks and standing stations that vary the physical level of how you sit, work and stand during the day,” says Michael Roizen, M.D., chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute. Treadmill desks are his favorite. “Chick-fil-A’s Wellness Center has treadmill-desk rooms, where you just sign up, take your laptop and walk while you work.” Roizen practices what he preaches: “When I jump on a conference call, I jump on my own treadmill desk.”
TAKE A NAP
Remember when sleeping on the job was a no-no? The truth is, 29 percent of workers fess up that they’ve literally fallen asleep or become very sleepy at work, according to the National Sleep Foundation. But all it takes is a 20-minute nap to rejuvenate recharge, which is why we have nooks and crannies optimizing every square foot to create hideaways offering a sense of sanctuary,” says Michelle Cleverdon, workplace strategist for Workplace Solutions at Capital One. At its C1 Labs in San Francisco, sleep nooks reached by ladders take advantage of lofty ceiling space.
BUST STRESS
“Work stress is such a critical issue,” says Cleveland Clinic’s Roizen, “that businesses and companies who take measures to implement stress relief in their wellness programs come out ahead—not just with heathier workers and reduced health costs, but more loyal workers who love their jobs.”
To help combat stress at work, Roizen wants employers to focus on reducing stress and related mental health issues and pay more attention to the physical workspace: noise, air quality, lighting and overall office ergonomics, which alone or in combination can cause stress and discomfort, detrimentally impacting a person’s ability to be healthy at work and at home, let alone focus on being productive.
TAKE A PLANT TO WORK
Adding greenery purifies stale air, especially from furniture, which can “offgas” formaldehyde. The best lowmaintenance plants: spider plants and philodendrons.