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The health and wellness of employees in the workplace should be taken seriously and prioritized. It’s important to have programs in place to help improve wellness in the office as a whole. Not only can a wellness program improve the overall health of employees, but it can also cut down on expenses for healthcare, and promote productivity. To get you started, here are some ways to improve workplace wellness.

Keeping Track

The best way to implement and ensure the success of these programs is to keep track of everyone’s progress. It’s important to give them easy access to the health data they need. You can do this by providing them with resources that can help manage their progress and give them steps to follow to in order to maintain that progress. This way, if they have any questions, comments, or concerns, they have a healthy resource to help them through it. Life’s Simple 7, offered through the American Heart Association, tracks heart health progress and healthy diet habits, for example.

Chronic Health Conditions

Another aspect of your wellness program to keep in mind is chronic health conditions that some employees may experience. These can be conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or arthritis. By reaching out to your employees about their personal health concerns or issues, you will be able to address their specific needs and get them the medical assistance they require.

As evidence of the success of these programs, it was found through data collected by RAND Corporation that addressing the specific needs of an employee with a chronic health condition through wellness programs saved PepsiCo almost $4 for every $1 invested.

Weight Management

Another simple way to improve health and wellness in the workplace is through weight management. Many people focus on weight loss when they want to improve their health, which makes it easy, and fun, to incorporate in wellness programs. Your workplace could offer group exercise programs, informational resources, paid healthy lunch days, or discounts on local gym memberships. There are many ways to get the office moving and on the right track for weight loss. Making it a group effort could encourage others to get involved, as well.

When prioritizing workplace wellness, be sure to talk to your employees. Have an open dialogue about health and wellness to talk about the goals they may have in mind or what programs they would like to see. This is a mutually beneficial practice that can not only result in the improved physical health of your employees, but workplace productivity overall.