Unless your workers are elite athletes training for Olympic glory, you may not even notice that nutrition is among the major influences on their performance at work. Sure, we all know that those snacks at break time are not doing a lot of good to their nutrition journey. At the same time, there are not exactly many healthy food choices at most workplaces, and sometimes, employees tend to settle for something fast, cheap, and easy to eat, especially on tight schedules.

Poorly stocked cafeterias and vending machines are mostly the only on-site food options most employees have. If we were to conduct a survey, you would be surprised to discover that a lot of workers in America are unable to take a full lunch break. In most situations, the alternatives are candy bars and bags of chips to eat hastily while working.

In this article, we will look at why your company should consider incorporating nutritional education into your workers’ wellness plan. Specifically, we will look at how employee nutrition can save your company funds and improve their productivity while reducing the risk of developing chronic illnesses like diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases that are associated with unhealthy eating.

Lastly, we will provide some ideas on how to implement these nutrition education programs and some policies that will help motivate your workers for the betterment of the company.

‍Why Business Owners and Managers Should Care about Nutrition In The Workplace

‍Proper nutrition plays an essential role in the mental performance of employees. Workers fueling their brains with nutrients will prevent them from memory problems, fatigue, and the inability to concentrate for a long time. These problems can also contribute to a significant drop in productivity levels.

Enhance Employee Morale

Just like how nutrition is connected to increased productivity, having good nutrition services can enhance employees’ morale. This tells them that you are committed to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being and their desire to live a quality life both inside and outside the office. Workers who feel valued and appreciated will be more likely to remain loyal and positive towards the company’s culture.

Improve Recruitment and Retention

People are looking for organizations that care about their overall well-being and provide benefits that will support their healthy lifestyle. Including nutrition in their wellness plan will differentiate you from other companies, and you will attract the best talent. Once you signal your commitment to supporting your workers’ personal growth and development, it will increase their level of job satisfaction, further enhancing engagement and retention.

A Few Strategies for Encouraging Nutrition Awareness In Your Team

The choice of food for most individuals is a personal matter. If one worker enjoys eating extra-large pizza every day for lunch, changing that habit is not something you can achieve within a short frame.

However, a lot of workers turn to bad eating habits simply because they lack healthy options around them or the accountability that accompanies being in an environment where being healthy is seen as a positive thing. Either way, you can still provide positive solutions by incorporating nutrition education into their wellness plans.

Depending on the location of your business, your employees may be in a good desert for most of their day. For instance, if the company is located in an industrial park and there is a nearest restaurant or grocery store 10 minutes away, most workers will probably not like to spend their one-hour lunch break trying to deal with traffic from Monday to Friday, if they don’t wake you to prepare lunch, they will most likely make do with whatever option is available in the cafeteria.

To help your workers adopt better nutrition habits, you can start by preparing a wellness program for them. Usually, this is a lot better with experts like Sarah Lynn nutrition taking the lead on nutritional care and benefits for their health and productivity. Once that is achieved, you can follow other ideas like:

• Partnering with a local caterer to provide discounted or reasonably healthy meals at the cafeteria.
• Furnishing worker’s break rooms with refrigerators, toaster ovens, stovetops, and other essential cooking items that will motivate them to bring their healthy meals from home.
• Replace traditional vending machines with healthy snack options such as nuts, raisins, and healthy fruits.
• Organize a weekly team lunch at a healthy food restaurant close to the office.
• Schedule programs on how to improve their diet and the health benefits of eating nutritious meals all the time.
• Create sessions that will enlighten them on how to manage stress because, most times, the sole reason employees eat unhealthy food is stress. Once they are stressed, they are rarely inclined towards a healthy lifestyle. By counseling about stress management, your employees will have enough knowledge on how to deal with their stress by turning to healthier food options.

Read https://savethefood.com/articles/10-easy-tips-for-meal-planning for more information on meal preparation tips and share them with your workers.

Bring Nutrition to Work With Sarah Lynn

As mentioned earlier, you can consider working with an independent third-party contractor that will help incorporate better habits into the workers’ wellness program. The Sarah Lynn nutrition team consists of registered dietitians with years of experience practicing functional nutrition therapy to prevent chronic illnesses or reverse chronic medical conditions through dietary and lifestyle changes. They will educate your workers with a scientific-based research approach and provide genuine and authentic care in every case.

Conclusion

There are many benefits of incorporating nutritional education into employees’ wellness plans.

First, it improves employees’ health, increases their productivity and morale, improves recruitment and retention, and reduces healthcare costs. When you are ready to take this step, what you need to do is first make it easy, then consider working with a professional dietitian to incorporate nutrition programs into your employee’s wellness plans.

Once that is achieved, what you need to do next is to replace all traditional vending machines with healthier options and organize a weekly team lunch at healthy restaurants. Remember, once your employees feel healthy, it will be easier for you to achieve your goal.