A culture of health can maximize benefits for your organization. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a culture of health is defined as “a working environment where employee health and safety is valued, supported, and promoted through worksite health and wellness programs, policies, benefits, and environmental supports.”
No matter your role in your organization, we all have responsibility in supporting a healthy culture, and we can all be workplace wellness champions. Here are seven ways to impact the culture of wellness in your workplace.
- Lead by example. People often mimic the behaviors of those around them. Consider how you might be able to boost your health and the health of your colleagues. Planning to head out on a walk for lunch? Invite your coworker. Packing a healthy lunch? Bring an extra fruit or veggie to share. Wellness can be a part of an everyday lifestyle.
- Support others in their wellness goals. Changing behaviors to live a healthier lifestyle is a big challenge. A wellness champion will support and encourage these goals, large or small. This means being someone others can rely on in both easy and difficult times.
- Recognize healthy behaviors. Honoring and recognizing those who are practicing healthy behaviors, especially those who are trying to make lifestyle changes, can make a big difference. It helps people feel seen and motivated to keep working toward their goals.
- Walk and talk. Try to schedule walking or standing meetings, whenever possible. This will help create a more active culture in your workplace.
- Bring in healthy snacks. You can help make the healthy choice the easy choice by swapping out doughnuts, pizza, and candy with healthy snack options. This will instill a healthy workplace culture as well as provide employees with healthy snack ideas.
- Offer on-site wellness programs. Whenever possible, advocate to bring wellness programs on site, such as biometric screenings, flu shots, or lunch and learns. It'll let your colleagues know that health is important to the organization and makes it convenient.
- Make time for fun. Having fun is an important part of our mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Find ways to get colleagues together, away from work projects. This can help build camaraderie, as well as boost mood and productivity.
Learn more
You can download the Create a Culture of Health fact sheet (PDF) from CHCOC.gov.