A highly motivated staff brimming with energy is every leader’s dream and a surefire way to meet or exceed goals. Unfortunately, many employees tend to drag themselves into the office. What are you doing to give your team incentives to take better care of themselves?

Do you have an onsite gym or discounted/free memberships to local gyms? What is the quality of your on-site kitchen and lunchroom? Are you making fresh fruits, vegetables, fresh green-based juices and smoothies available consistently? Does everyone on your team have a FitBit or other type of fitness tracker? Have you created contests based on activity levels?

Sleep More. According to Gallup, today’s average American gets 6.8 hours of sleep at night, a full hour less than in 1942. Research reveals 30% of Canadians also get less than six hours of shut-eye. You’ll get more energy at work when you allow your body to rest with eight hours of sleep.

Get Moving. Sitting is the new smoking. Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, a researcher at one of the nation’s leading obesity research centers, says sitting, not weight or exercise, is a key factor in determining a person’s overall health. Get consistent aerobic exercise to oxygenate your system and get a sweat.

Lose Weight. A 2014 by Gallup study found that 27.7% of Americans are obese and over 30 million have Type II diabetes with 1.4 million more diagnosed each year. Often family and personal obligations cause employees to adopt a “grab-and-go” diet, composed of unhealthy convenience foods. If want to lose weight quickly, watch the terrific documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. This film is consistent with my ‘anti baby-steps’ philosophy.

Wellness Program. For many companies the cost of health insurance rises every year and there is no end in site. You can start to reverse that with an effective wellness program and reduce your health care costs, lower sick days, increase productivity and energy at work. Take a proactive role to help your employees take better care of themselves. Hire a firm like my client Quest Diagnostics to test and measure where your employees are now on key health markers.

Get Switched On for Vibrant Energy and Enthusiasm

Set an Example. Pass up processed convenience food and focus on healthy alkaline foods like a kale and spinach-based smoothie and juices, which energize you and provide essential nutrients. Download Chip’s list of alkaline foods.

Get a Blender. Chip’s clients rave about his delicious green-based smoothie recipe. Fire up the blender and start pouring! Now that’s a great way to get more energy [link to “How to Get More Energy” pg in this silo]. Have someone like my client Smoothie King deliver high quality smoothies as a meal replacement or an energizer.

“Because of Chip we now we have a blender in the office, and we are taking turns bringing in ingredients every day to get our fruits and veggies in! Over the holidays, the kitchen was overflowing in sugary treats... now it is filled with fruits and veggies, and we do different drinks each day. Thanks for getting us started … it feels great to have our office food culture be so positive and healthful!”

Tara E. Bishop

Associate Executive Director

NCURA