Posted by
Sara on
Friday, January 10th, 2014 with
3 Comments
Over 25 million Americans have diabetes — that’s more than 8 percent (and the number’s rising). 15 million have a food allergy of some kind. 1 percent of the population suffers from the severe gluten intolerance known as celiac disease, while nearly a third of all Americans report that a gluten-free diet appeals to them.
Especially in January, during the height of diet season, it may seem like no one in the office is going to be up for a cheesy slice of pepperoni pizza!
Food allergies and sensitivities are on the rise.
Image source: flickr user Transguyjay
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Posted by
Sara on
Thursday, January 9th, 2014 with
2 Comments
At most business conferences, there’s no meal as predictable as the box lunch. A little cardboard square containing a deli sandwich, bag of chips, and a cookie — maybe an orange, which no one will eat, because it’s too messy to peel and consume while trying to take notes.
Attendees take their box, grab a can of soda, and head back to their seat, because there’s another PowerPoint presentation coming up. Suddenly, a sense of deja vu washes over: haven’t we all been there before?
Keep conference-goers engaged, even at the lunch break.
Image source: flickr user Championship Catering
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Posted by
Sara on
Wednesday, January 8th, 2014 with
Comments Off on Bringing the Office Happy Hour into the Break Room: Building Bonds After 5:00 Comments
The office happy hour is back. Not the, “Hey gang, let’s head to the bar” kind of happy hour — that never went away. Rather, there’s a growing trend of happy hours in the office itself: rather than heading to a nearby pub, employees will congregate in the break room and share a few craft beers from the office fridge at the end of the workday. Blame it on the cultural influence of the hard-drinking ad execs on Mad Men, or even on the young, male-skewing startup scene in San Francisco. Whatever the reason, it seems like workplace happy hours (and office kegerators) are here to stay.
But isn’t drinking on the job a bad thing? Not necessarily, according to the companies who are making a habit of hosting weekly in-office happy hours. The trend has certainly taken off in the tech and social media worlds, where fast growth has translated into long hours and extended workweeks. Many employers see happy hours as a way to offset the added stress that can be unavoidable in such fast-paced environments.
Are office kegs the new Ping-Pong tables?
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Posted by
Sara on
Tuesday, January 7th, 2014 with
Comments Off on How Family-Friendly Policies (and Family-Friendly Meal Breaks) Can Impact Your Business Comments
Between discussions of what it means to “lean in” or whether working women really can have it all, the cultural conversation about family-friendly workplaces has never been louder. Working parents, especially mothers, report an increasing struggle to balance the demands of the office with the time and energy required for raising children. Nearly 40% of working moms admit to feeling rushed every day. Given that employee happiness and satisfaction are key to a productive, stable staff, many companies have begun implementing family-friendly policies in the office to make life easier for the parents who work there.
Working parents report increased stress.
Image source: flickr user Gilzee
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Posted by
Sara on
Monday, January 6th, 2014 with
Comments Off on Reinventing the Office Party: Why Your Workplace Should Celebrate National Popcorn Day Comments
The holiday office party is an annual tradition: gathering staff members together to celebrate the winter holidays with a lavish meal and free-flowing cocktails is a way that many employers say “thank you” for a year of hard work. Now that it’s January, many employers have checked “office party” off their to-do list and are ready to move on.
Not so fast. It may be time to reinvent the office party, and consider making festive celebrations a regular occurrence in the workplace! As research shows, showing employee appreciation is key to keeping workers happy and satisfied. Additionally, the social bonds reinforced at office parties help boost workplace friendships and morale. Why not capitalize on those invaluable benefits and stage festive celebrations all year long?
Holidays like National Tortilla Chip Day are perfect for spontaneous celebrations!
Image source: flickr user Projectline Services
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Posted by
Sara on
Friday, January 3rd, 2014 with
2 Comments
Do you ever notice a sense of listlessness, lack of concentration, or just general loss in productivity at the office? Before you begin to worry about motivation and company morale, look at what your employees are having for lunch. Research shows that employees’s eating habits can have significant impact on their productivity.
A 2012 study in the journal Population Health Management found that employees who ate an unhealthy diet were 66 percent more likely to experience a loss in productivity than their counterparts who regularly consumed fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The difference in diet was more likely to make an impact on productivity than exercise habits (50 percent) and smoking (26 percent).
Employee productivity can be highly influenced by diet.
Image source: flickr user WeKCo
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Posted by
Sara on
Thursday, January 2nd, 2014 with
Comments Off on Looking for Healthy Lunch Ideas? Consider the Criteria of the DASH Diet Comments
Never heard of the DASH diet? Congratulations — that probably means you don’t have to worry about your blood pressure. However, if you’re trying to start the new year off right when it comes to your eating habits, you may want to take note. The DASH diet has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the top overall diet for three years running, thanks to its flexible meal options and emphasis on heart-healthy foods like whole grains, vegetables, and moderate amounts of lean meats. While its main goal is to help stave off hypertension, don’t think of it as an old-person diet: studies have found that following the DASH diet’s high-fiber, moderate-fat, veggie-centric recommendations can also naturally lead to weight loss — even in teenage girls.
Want to take a cue from the DASH diet when it comes to your own eating habits? Here are a few of the primary guidelines of the award-winning diet, along with a few healthy lunch ideas plucked right from the eating plan’s official recommendations (one added bonus: since the DASH diet was primarily developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the reading materials and recipes are free to access).
Make veggies the star and meat the accessory.
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Posted by
Sara on
Wednesday, January 1st, 2014 with
Comments Off on New Year’s Resolutions at the Office: How Employers Can Support Workplace Wellness Goals Comments
We know the statistics are bleak: out of the roughly 40% of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions, only 8% actually keep them. Nonetheless, we try — and especially when it comes to our health.Eating right and exercising regularly are consistently at the top of the list. And given that most of us spend around half of our waking hours at work, it’s hard to deny that our workplace environment can have a significant impact on whether or not we keep those resolutions.
As the evidence continues to indicate that companies should invest in workplace wellness and employee health, it stands to reason that supporting New Year’s resolutions is worth the time and effort of most employers. Here are just a few ways to take expert tips on keeping resolutions and implement them in the office!
The boss may need to take the first step towards a healthy office.
Image source: flickr user tedeytan
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Posted by
Sara on
Tuesday, December 31st, 2013 with
2 Comments
The annual Google Zeitgeist report of the year’s top search terms can tell us a lot about our collective interests, from the unfortunately predictable most-searched person (yes, it was Miley Cyrus) to our flash-in-the-pan obsession with certain dance moves (remember Gangnam Style?). One particularly intriguing list, however, gives us a glimpse at the food habits onto which we pin our hopes of weight loss and better health: the top 10 most-searched diets of 2013.
10. Flexitarian diet
Literally, a flexible vegetarian. Rather than forbidding meat consumption for ethical reasons, most flexitarian diets encourage eating mostly plant-based foods for better health. As Mark Bittman, who writes a column titled “The Flexitarian” for the New York Times, defines flexitarians: “…those who ate mostly vegetables but also incorporated meat or fish: people who were moving their meat-heavy diets in a more vegetarian direction, as well as vegetarians who were adding meat or fish back into their meals. The word also suggests a regimen that includes more whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables than the Standard American Diet.”
Fish & vegetables are building blocks of both flexitarian and pescetarian diets.
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Posted by
Sara on
Monday, December 30th, 2013 with
Comments Off on Office Dining in for a Wake-Up Call: Calorie Counts Soon Required on Vending Machines Comments
Picture this: as the office clock ticks closer to 3 pm, your stomach starts to grumble and you feel your eyelids getting very heavy. You know that another cup of coffee won’t cut it, and the plastic baggie of raw, unsalted almonds you optimistically brought in for a snack last week still doesn’t sound appetizing. Time to hit up the guilty secret of office dining: the vending machine.
For less than a dollar, you can reward yourself with a little packet of peanut butter M&M’s. But as you step up with your quarters in hand, you notice a new label on the vending machine. It’ll cost you 240 calories for that small bag of candy. Craving a salty snack instead? That single-serving bag of Cool Ranch Doritos will cost you 310 calories — more than a McDonald’s cheeseburger.
Less-than-healthy options at the vending machine.
Image source: flickr user drocksays
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