Four quick and easy tips for a healthier business

In recent years, businesses have become all about getting “more for less”.

It’s never a good idea to push your team. Tired, dehydrated, and unfit staff are less productive and more of a drain on your resources than anything.

Here are some ideas to help you keep your staff and profits healthy.

1. Make sure your team is comfortable

Ergonomics is the key. Think about it: you and your team are likely to spend about eight hours a day in the office. It’s vital that your employees have everything they need so they can keep working.

For instance, think about the chair you are sitting on. The chair is a big deal. Does the chair support your posture? Is it comfortable to sit in? Having bad posture can reduce your lung capacity and also lead to other health conditions.

So it is really important that your team have what they need so they can keep going throughout the day. This could be lighting, equipment or stationery, it would be ideal to make your business feel like home for your team.

2. Make sure your team eat and drink

Dehydration is one of the biggest productivity killers on the planet. Make sure your team has easy access to water by providing water dispensers; the worst thing would be to provide nothing. An office fridge is also a good idea so people can bring their own favourite drinks from home.

A working lunch often leads to people skipping food, and you can bet the 4pm dip will show its ugly face every time! Finder.com.au has organised a lunch roster with a variety of meals in rotation.

This is a great opportunity for the teams to get away from their desk and catch up with the other teams. For some employees, lunch is the best time of the day to discuss new and innovative ideas and, most importantly, see how employees can help each other.

3. Take breaks from the computer

This is a very well-known tip, but too many companies ignore it. If your team works in front of computers all day they need to take regular breaks. Staring at a screen for long periods doesn’t just damage your eyesight in the long term, it also causes headaches and tired eyes in the short term.

Even if someone’s away from their desk for a few minutes or so, you’ll probably find those small breaks make a major difference to their overall performance and mood.

These little breaks from the office also give them a few minutes to relax, unwind, and reboot for the next set of challenges the day may throw at them.

4. What you can do to maximise productivity

Keeping your team in tip-top shape is great for your business. Furthermore, as a leader, it is necessary that you keep your team focused on their objectives to move forward.

Some tips to do that include:

• Weekly plan/agenda – Ask your team to send you a weekly agenda so you can give them feedback. It is also vital to review that agenda at the end of the week to see how they have progressed.
• Be available for catching up – Being available to chat with individual team members is a great chance to help them overcome any challenges they are facing.
• Encourage group meetings – Meet up with your entire team and find out what is working best and what needs to be improved.

This approach to leadership keeps up the healthy relationship with your team and helps them focus on the business objective.

Not only will they be much healthier and more productive but they’ll be thankful to you as a boss for looking after them so well.

This was written by Fred Schebesta from Finder.com.au who also worked with his team to identify some unhealthy habits.