Heart disease has been the leading cause of death for Americans for 73 years. Year after year it gets more prevalent as many people continue to indulge in unhealthy lifestyle choices such as physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol use and unhealthy diets.
Creating a workplace culture that supports employees’ physical health goes beyond offering gym discounts or implementing weight-loss, smoking cessation or wellness programs. Inspire your employees to keep their heart healthy through preventive measures. Encourage them to get up and walk around or take an exercise class instead of spending 8 hours in a sedentary position. Keep healthy snacks in the office as an alternative to motivate them to choose healthy. As an employer, the health of your employees should be of top concern.
Here are some ways to encourage heart healthy habits at work.
Offer health insurance
Provide healthy foods at meetings
Allow flex time for physical activity.
Pass tobacco-free policies.
Provide blood pressure monitors.
Use stairwell enhancements and point of decision prompts to encourage stair use.
Provide bicycle parking.
Require healthy vending options.
Conduct health risk appraisals (HRA)
Provide onsite tobacco cessation classes.
Provide lunch and learns, posters, brochures, and other educational materials.
Organize walking groups before and after work, or during lunch and other breaks.
Implement physical activity challenges and contests.
Provide discounts to fitness centers and classes.
Host healthy recipe contests.
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Kristen Russell
Kristen founded Fall River Employee Benefits as the culmination of her insurance industry career as an actuary, underwriting executive & consultant. As an Assistant Vice President at Great-West Healthcare (now part of CIGNA), she managed a $1 Billion block of health insurance. She also worked as a Senior Consultant at Reden & Anders, consulting to insurance companies and large employers throughout the country. Ms. Russell received a Bachelor of Science, Business Administration in Actuarial Science, is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and achieved Fellowship in the Society of Actuaries through a rigorous nine-year series of exams.
Kristen grew up in Iowa but has lived in Colorado since 1993, currently living near our office in the Lower Highlands neighborhood near downtown Denver. She enjoys bicycling, hiking, traveling and has a special passion for non-profit volunteering. She is married to an incredibly talented photojournalist, has two adult stepdaughters and an adorable Border Collie/Lab mix named Chaco.