You spend at least eight hours a day at work, and in between those hours, your tasks can get demanding. The quality of food and nutrition you take in may be the last thing on your mind when you’re too drained and busy, but it’s also one of the most important things that keep employees in their top shape, physically and professionally.
Part of creating a healthy work environment is making healthy food options accessible to your employees. Healthy office snacks for your startup can boost your employees’ work ethics, particularly in the following aspects:
Fights lethargy
The body’s performance is intrinsically linked with work performance. So when the body feels lethargic, it’s inevitable that work quality also suffers. Healthy eating first works on the person’s physical body and then the mind. Along with this, it is essential to feed the body with good and healthy food to keep the body feeling active throughout the day.
Healthy and nutritious snacks boost the body’s immune system, increase energy, and reduce stress. In short, this type of food helps you fight lethargy. The more active and less lethargic you feel, the more you can churn out productive and efficient output at work.
Engages employees
Busy schedules and mounting workloads can make your employees feel disengaged with each other, even during meal times. Some would head to the cafeteria to munch on burgers and pizza, while others go to the vending machine to inject some caffeine into their bloodstream.
However, if you make healthy eating a collective effort for your company or organization, you are bringing awareness that unhealthy eating habits somehow drive your employees apart. Healthy eating at work helps open up discussions, particularly when employees take the time to eat together. They feel more engaged during meal times and are more likely to feel connected during work hours.
Instead of letting employees take their snacks to their desks and sit on their computers, encourage them to take their break times together so they can stretch out their muscles and enjoy communal eating. Not only will they be making healthy food choices together, but you are also creating a nurturing and engaging company culture where employees become better members of the team.
Prevents employee absenteeism
Absenteeism in the workplace due to illnesses present many repercussions. Absent employees may suffer from a paycheck reduction, while the present staff may need to take in additional workload. As a consequence, company performance also suffers.
Healthy eating in the workplace helps prevent absenteeism. Employees who make healthier and sounder food choices tend to have overall healthier body metrics from their body mass index, blood cholesterol, and sugar levels. As a result, healthy eating also helps prevent lifestyle diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, and more.
Healthy eating helps employees reduce absences at work, therefore making them more productive and efficient members of the company.
Increased productivity and energy
Finally, healthy eating in the office improves the energy of your workforce which, in turn, also increases their productivity. Did you know that some of the convenient foods like soda and pizza give the body a temporary energy boost, only to feel tired and sluggish a few hours later? Such unhealthy food provides the body with a false sense of “fuel.” They fill you up, but they don’t necessarily fuel you with sustained energy that the body needs until the last working hour.
On the other hand, healthier snacks like granola, fruits, and nuts are turned into glucose at a more stable pace, giving the body fuel over time instead of fueling the body once and in short bursts. These healthy foods keep your energy at peak for a more extended period, as well as allowing you to focus better at work.
Conclusion
Healthy eating can’t be emphasized enough, especially in a high-pressure environment like the workplace. It may be tempting to give in to convenience and go for unhealthy food options, but these foods don’t do much to your energy, productivity, and efficiency. Instead, eating bad food at the office (or anywhere, for that matter), only puts you at higher risk for obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other health conditions.
Take a long hard look at your eating habits at work and see whether they’re contributing positively to your work ethics. Chances are, the healthier you eat, the better employee you become. Start refining your meals and snacks at work, and opt for those that make you a healthier and more productive part of the company.
