Small, scrappy, and healthy: Workplace wellness tips for small businesses | Oscar Rx | hioscar Blog | Oscar
Small, scrappy, and healthy: Workplace wellness tips for small businesses
6 New York-based small businesses share their tips for keeping employees healthy and happy at work.
Workplace WellnessTips for Small Businesses
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On Monday, Sean calls out sick with a cold. On Tuesday, Anna pulls her back and is out for the rest of the week. Then on Wednesday, Jasmine misses the first part of her shift waiting in line at the pharmacy to pick up her cholesterol medication. By the end of the week, the remaining staff is burned out after covering for their coworkers.
The point of this story isn’t to throw shade at people for missing work. The point is to show how health-related employee absences can have a big impact on the productivity and morale of the whole team. The good news is that, as an employer, you have the opportunity to play an important role in your staff’s overall well being.
Rolling out a formal wellness program may seem impractical if you run a small business. Big corporations may have the time and money for extravagant team spa outings or free onsite fitness classes – but scrappy companies trying to stay in the black don’t.
Regardless of your HR budget or headcount, there are lots of creative ways to foster healthy workplace habits. Here’s how 6 New York-based small businesses keep their teams healthy and motivated.
Encourage active lifestyles and minimize temptations.
“Wellness is a whole lifestyle for us. Companies talk about it, but we try to live by example. We ride our bikes to work and make it easy to park your bikes here, so other people are encouraged to if they want to as well. If we leave to workout, staff feel like they can and should.
We try to encourage/support each other. We have a #perspiration Slack channel where everybody posts their fitness activities, similar to a sub-reddit community. Many of us are quite active. Jessie and I cycle, Jens boxes, Laura is a legit crossfitter, Ryan and Ian surf (in NY!), and Patrick is a triathlete. And we've made it so that its real easy to say, ‘I'm leaving to go work out.’
We also follow the Google M&M experiment (opens in new tab) learnings - keeping healthy snacks in clear containers and the bad stuff (like M&M's, Snickers, etc) are in kept in opaque containers. But, we still have them!“
“Recently, we brought in a mindfulness meditation expert, Pandit Dasa (opens in new tab), to our office as one of our team community-building events. He walked us through the importance of mindfulness in the midst of our busy work lives. He also led us through a meditation exercise.”
The PolicyGenius team attends a mindfulness workshop.
“We also partner with a company called Exubrancy to bring monthly chair mini-massages to our team. There is nothing better than stepping away from the grind to get some tender-loving care! The 5-minute massages go a long way to keep our employees feeling rejuvenated throughout the day.”
“We have a healthy snack program, which consists of fruit, yogurt, and nuts, to encourage healthy eating habits in the office. Employees are encouraged to stay active during the day with a game of ping pong or a walk in Madison Square Park. (We have lots of office dogs for people to take out!) There’s also an arcade console for people to take a mental break and refocus.
“This summer, we’ll be offering yoga classes on the roof, participating in local races around NYC, and staying active by volunteering at different organizations.”
*Maggie Conte, Director of People & Culture at Ceros (opens in new tab), an interactive content creation software company in Chelsea*
Treat your team like family.
“The team is constantly playing with our dogs, be it fetch, running, or long walks. When hiring someone new, I always let the person know this is a very active job, and that they’ll be playing with the dogs all the time.
A few happy clients, ready to play
"I also try to develop close with each and every member of my team, where we talk about everything from eating habits to self-improvement. This close-knit family environment makes the dogs feel more at peace and keeps everyone happy.”
Organize team outings to promote a healthy body and mind.
“Audicus keeps its employees healthy by offering lots of options to unwind, relax, and build relationships with the rest of the team. Seasonal sports leagues like volleyball and kickball not only encourage team building and communication, but also give everyone a chance to get their blood pumping and get some fresh air!
“We've also offered meditation classes through MNDFL for a more zen team activity. We make it a point to offer a host of team events each month (anything from Yankee's games to Paint Nights to Happy Hours) so that there's something for everyone.”
*Patrick Freuler, CEO of Audicus (opens in new tab), an affordable digital hearing aid company in Lower Manhattan*
Foster self-care and relationship building.
“I want Museum Hack to be an awesome place to work, and a big part of that effort is building in opportunities for healthy balance and benefits. As we’ve grown (now ~60 people), we’ve created roles that include vacation time, health insurance and more. That’s the basics. But what about doing more?”
“When you’re a small, bootstrapped company like we are, it can be a difficult decision to add non-mandatory benefits like free meals, laundry, and childcare that mega-tech companies are famous for. One benefit I’m really proud we could add is massage credits. Our full-time team members in NYC can go for regular messages to relax and recharge. This opportunity for self-care is important because most of our team is either on their feet at the museum, or working from the computer.
The Museum Hack team, bonding at a company outing
"Here’s another example: We LOVE doing company retreats. We’ve taken team members on cruises, to a resort in Mexico, and to closer locations too, like a weekend in Philadelphia or an outdoor retreat center. These trips are a great opportunity for collaboration and team building!”
*Nick Gray, Founder and CEO of Museum Hack (opens in new tab), a Manhattan-based tour company that offers team-building tours of the world’s best museums in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Philadelphia.*
