Share
Marina Olson, Account Director, Global Sales, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, HSMAI Sales Advisory Board Member
As the New Year unfolds, it’s the perfect time to embrace healthy habits —especially when it comes to integrating those habits into your work routine. I brought this topic of discussion to the HSMAI Sales Advisory Board to hear what these leaders and their companies are doing to thrive and flourish in their personal and professional lives in 2024.
Organizational Wellness Strategies:
- Financial Incentives: Offer insurance rebates for employees who participate in health-related activities like flu shots or annual checkups.
- Fund Wellness Apps: Integrate platforms like Noom for diet tracking and Nectar for mental health and peer recognition.
- Fitness Opportunities: Offer online fitness classes, paid gym memberships, or reimbursements for personally purchased fitness-related memberships or classes.
- Step Challenges: Encourage physical activity through year-round step challenges, perhaps supported by company-provided step counters.
- Health and Wellness Teams Channel: Create a dedicated communication channel for sharing wellness tips and resources.
- Walk and Talk Meetings: Promote meetings that encourage walking when screen sharing isn’t necessary.
- Flexible Fridays: Implement no meeting or summer Fridays, ending work midday or halting internal emails after midday on Fridays.
- DND Days: Schedule 2-3 “Do Not Disturb” days per quarter to allow employees to catch up on work without interruptions.
- Networking Off-Site: Stress the importance of maintaining relationships outside of in-office meetings, particularly for remote employees.
- Scheduled Physical Activity: Encourage employees to block out time for walking or workouts on their calendars.
Personal Strategies for Individual Wellness:
- Customized Work-Life Balance: Recognize that balance varies per individual and take the time to find your own unique equilibrium.
- Consistent Workouts: Try starting the day with exercise or plan out a time that works best for you.
- Calendarized To-Dos: Suggest replacing traditional to-do lists with calendar entries for better time management and avoiding over-commitment.
- Time Blocking: Block your calendar with focused work time to enhance productivity.
- Set [and keep] Boundaries: Create and maintain personal and professional boundaries.
Navigating incentives without intrusiveness is key to fostering a positive, health-focused workplace culture. To achieve this, it’s crucial to emphasize optional participation, ensuring employees understand that while wellness activities are encouraged, they are entirely voluntary. Maintaining a pressure-free environment allows individuals to engage in health initiatives at their own comfort level, respecting personal preferences and boundaries. This approach ensures that wellness programs are supportive, not mandatory, aligning with the diverse needs and lifestyles of all team members.
Recommended Reading:
Reading Creating a Culture of Wellness in a Remote or Hybrid Environment
Discussion Questions:
- What are some things that your company is doing to encourage healthy habits in your remote workforce? Do you have a plan in place for 2024?
- Tracking progress and quantifying healthy habits can be motivating and create accountability. What metrics or tools could be used to measure individuals’ or teams’ remote work health habits effectively?
- Should companies incentivize these habits, and if so, how can they do so without being intrusive or promoting unhealthy competition?