Get your employees walking and reap the rewards

May is the national walking month. How about encouraging your employees to have a “lunch walk”?

Working through lunch breaks has sadly become the norm in many organisations nowadays. Research conducted by Bupa last year highlighted that 64% of employees surveyed claimed they weren’t always able to take their lunch break.

This bad habit can lead to serious implications for both the employees and employer. The lack of a proper break can make employees less productive and more stressed. Consequently, your business performance could be negatively affected.

On the other hand, encouraging your employees to go for a walk during their lunch breaks will help them to return to work feeling happier and energised. Another bonus for them is the opportunity to socialise with their workmates, which helps to take their stress away.

As for employers, promoting a better health and wellbeing culture could:
•    improve employees’ commitment to their work and their performance;
•    increase employee retention rates; and
•    reduce absence.

If working through lunch is a widespread habit across your business, you might need to review your approach to your employees’ wellbeing. A good start is to make sure your line managers are on board with the “lunch walk” initiative, just so employees won’t feel guilty for doing so. Then you could start a step count challenge in your company and reward the winners.

Having a more active workforce is definitely the way forward to ensure employee wellbeing and business productivity.