Four Ways to Lead the Wellness Movement in Your Office

It takes just one person to lead a movement. In this case, we’re talking about the movement toward creating a healthier, happier workday. If this is something that is important to you this new year, we can help you get started on being the wellness champion for your workspace. Here are four ways to help you lead the wellness charge at work.

Lead by example. 

Go ahead and make the first move, literally. If your whole office is stuck in a sitting slump, take the initiative and build a healthy workspace for yourself—put your laptop on a simple riser and kick your chair out of the way—you’ll break the ice and make the idea more accessible (and obvious!) to your coworkers. Other ways to lead a wellness movement by example include asking people to attend walking meetings and taking stretch breaks throughout the day.

Talk to HR. 

Lots of companies have some form of wellness benefit or perk that allows you to customize your office or workspace to maximize ergonomic benefits. See what programs are already in place at your company, and find out how you can help more people use them. Your company knows that a healthy employee has much more value than an unhealthy one, and will often step up to help you create a workspace conducive to health and productivity. Approach your office manager or HR, ergo, or facilities department to see how you can work together to make healthy changes around your company.

Get a doctor’s note. 

Whether you’re suffering from back pain, looking to better manage your weight, or just generally want to prevent the onset of afflictions associated with a sedentary workday, your doctor can help you explore options and legitimize your choice to increase your physical activity throughout the day. It makes sense to talk to your doctor about how changes like adding a standing desk and more movement to your workday can contribute to your general health. You know that you’re making a healthy choice by adding movement to your workday—a doctor’s note proves it!

Share your experience. 

Now that your healthy workstation is up and running, go ahead and spread the word. There’s no better way to lead than to help other people take the same steps that you did. Take to social media or the break room to share your experiences. Once others learn about the steps you took and the result of your commitment to workplace wellness, it’s only a matter of time before more people start coming out of the woodwork to join you.

Share your story of how you helped lead the wellness movement in your workplace. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or email!