Creating a healthier workplace doesn't always require a major wellbeing programme or a significant budget. Often, small changes made consistently can have the biggest impact on the everyday employee experience.
For office managers, the challenge is finding practical ways to encourage healthier habits without creating another project or adding more work to an already busy schedule.
Here are five simple changes that can be introduced in less than five minutes.
1. Make healthy snacks easier to reach
What people eat during the working day is often influenced by what's available and convenient.
If the only options in the office are biscuits, sweets or crisps, employees are more likely to reach for them when hunger strikes. Making fresh fruit readily available provides an easy alternative without asking employees to change their routines. For offices looking for a simple way to do this, office fruit boxes can provide a regular supply of fresh, seasonal fruit for the team.
A well-stocked fruit bowl in a communal area can also encourage people to step away from their desks and take a short break.
Quick win: Move healthier snacks into a visible, shared area rather than keeping them tucked away in a kitchen cupboard.
2. Introduce a water reminder
It's easy for employees to get absorbed in emails, meetings and deadlines and forget to drink enough water throughout the day.
A simple reminder in a communal area, a message on your internal platform or encouraging employees to keep reusable water bottles at their desks can help make hydration part of the working-day routine.
If your office has a water cooler or refill station, make sure it's easy to find and accessible throughout the day.
Quick win: Add a simple hydration reminder next to the office water station.
3. Encourage movement between meetings
Not every break needs to involve a walk around the block or a full exercise session.
Simply encouraging employees to stand up, stretch or walk around the office between meetings can introduce more movement into the day.
This is particularly useful in workplaces where employees spend much of their time sitting at a desk or joining back-to-back video calls.
Quick win: Where possible, leave five minutes between meetings and encourage employees to use the time away from their screens.
4. Make the break room a real break
A break isn't much of a break if an employee simply moves from their desk to the kitchen and continues checking emails.
Consider making the office kitchen or breakout space somewhere employees can genuinely switch off for a few minutes.
This could mean creating a screen-free area, adding comfortable seating or simply keeping the space clean, welcoming and well stocked.
Quick win: Put a simple sign or prompt in the breakout area encouraging people to take a proper break.
5. Make healthy choices the easy choices
The most effective workplace wellbeing initiatives are often the ones that don't require employees to think about them.
If healthy food, water and opportunities to move are readily available, employees can make better choices without having to go out of their way.
The role of the office manager isn't necessarily to tell people how to live more healthily. It's about creating an environment where healthier choices are convenient and accessible.
Small changes can make a difference
A healthier workplace doesn't need to start with a major initiative. Small changes to the office environment can make healthier habits easier to build into the working day.
For office managers, the best place to start is often with the things employees interact with every day, the kitchen, breakout areas, fresh fruit, refreshments and the way the working day is structured. It's also a great way to help support your companies ESG goals.
Sometimes, five minutes is all it takes to make healthier choices a little easier.