4 Ways to Create a Healthier Workplace

Building friendships to foster a healthier workplace

When you think of health in the context of your job or your company, the first thing which springs to mind is probably health insurance. Or you might think of wellness benefits, such as gym memberships. But having health insurance or wellness benefits is only one part of actually being healthy. As we’ve seen in my previous posts, there are important elements of health which can’t be prescribed in pill form and are likely to be overlooked by your doctor.

Having a network of friends has more impact on your health than many of the conventional measures of healthiness. No matter what the current state of your health, you can improve it by making deeper social connections.

What better place to create a strong social network than at work? The elements of good health are in the building. All you need are people you see and work with every day.

Here are four simple, low cost, high impact changes which any workplace can make which will keep the entire staff healthier, and in turn keep health costs low and decrease sick days.

Encourage friendships

I know it seems like I’m stating the obvious, but many offices subtly discourage employees from forming strong, healthy and healthful friendships.

In an office with an “all work, all the time” attitude, fueled by constant low-grade panic about looming deadlines or sales goals, where chatting with coworkers is seen as a waste of time, friendship becomes nearly impossible. Employees spend their days tethered to headsets or corralled into small cubicles, like veal, rushing to meet their productivity goals, and never have an opportunity to connect with the people around them.

The way employees reward and compensate employees can stifle friendships as well. A competitive workplace where coworkers are pitted against each other for bonuses or promotions, and where one employee’s success comes at the expense of her coworkers automatically creates barriers to forming friendship.

Research shows that office friendships make employees healthier and more productive. Rather than decreasing productivity, office friendships boost it. All while improving the health of employees.

Encourage employees to relax at work

When I say relax at work, I’m not talking about casual Fridays or flopping on a couch with a beer in the middle of the afternoon. I’m talking about teaching employees to notice when they need a break and giving them permission to take a pause or blow off steam during the workday.

In my years of working with people as a physician, I’ve found that people don’t recognize the symptoms of mounting stress in their bodies. They don’t feel their pulse quicken or their breathing become more shallow. They don’t register that they are involuntarily tensing their muscles or tightening their shoulders. They don’t see the warning sign behind the clenching sensation in their throats or stomachs.

For many people, experiencing physical symptoms of stress such as these is normal, everyday occurrence; it’s just part of being at work. Most people do their best to ignore these sensations, often at the expense of their own health.

This tension isn’t just unhealthy. It creates illness and decreases the quality of a person’s work.

Learning to detect the physical symptoms of the stress response is easy, though it can take some practice. And there are simple techniques which can decrease tension in two minutes or less which are equally easy to learn. Relaxation training should become part of every office, something every employee should learn and be encouraged to use whenever needed.

Share talents

Each of us has a hidden talent. You may not think so, but trust me, you do. There is something which you do easily and well which other people find difficult or impossible.

But how often do we know about our colleagues’ talents?

Sharing your talents or personal passions, and learning about those of your coworkers builds connection and greater understanding of and appreciation for each other. Understanding and appreciation are the basis for the type of personal relationships which improve health.

Laughter

When was the last time you heard laughter in your office? I mean loud, unfettered, joyful laughter, not simply a polite chuckle. If you’re like most people, you may not remember when. Many offices are laughter-free zones. Workplaces rife with competition and deadlines don’t just squash opportunities for friendship, they stifle laughter and all the benefits it brings.

Laughter has been shown to relax the entire body, short-circuiting and reversing the stress response. It boosts the immune system, improves blood flow through the heart which protects against heart attacks, and decreases chronic pain.

Laughter works fast. All the beneficial changes to the body are triggered with just a few minutes of laughter. Even better, the effects last for hours.

You don’t have to wait to find something funny to laugh. The body benefits from laughter no matter how it is triggered. Though it may seem awkward to laugh for no reason, once you get started, the laughter takes on a life of its own.

Creating a workplace which promotes the health of its employees doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Simple acts, such as sharing a talent or laughing together, have real, measurable benefits.

So when you think of healthcare on the job, think outside the box. You’ll be healthier for it.