Food prices are soaring at the checkout counter leaving everyone’s mouth drop. In turn, leaving our carts (and wallets!) lighter. We’re facing dietary quality challenges during this time, making it more difficult than ever to eat healthy.
What can employers do to support mental health at work?
Given the higher prices we are seeing for practically everything these days, employers can support better nutritional options for their employees in two ways. First of all, we can create a co-op buying arrangement and make “bulk buying deals” with local suppliers (you know, support local small business and vendors), or even further explore foodservice options on behalf of a group of employees. Secondly, we can subsidize the purchase of certain food items OR award incentive points that can be redeemed for rewards (which may be difficult to track).
We can focus efforts of developing and implementing health interventions to provide a more tailored or customized approach because we have sound clinical practices, supported by health coaching principles bundled up within digital solutions. And they truly are superior because of the comprehensive and integrated approach they bring by including sleep, physical activity, nutrition and even stress management strategies.
There are many advances in chronic disease management linked to healthy weight management and behavioral modification and we find an ever-growing remote work force is more likely interested in being coached digitally than ever before… Pre-pandemic, employees seemed to prefer in-person health interventions. But, now, they understand healthy outcomes can be met virtually as well and they’re more open to hybrid solutions now more than ever.
Photo by Eduardo Soares on Unsplash
Dr. Jaime L. Pula is the author of her newly released book titled, ‘Rise Above: A Playbook On How-To Keep Energy Flowing.’ She can be reached at jpula@artofhealthsciences.life. And she enjoys connecting on LI at: www.linkedin.com/in/drjaimelpula001/.