Supporting your workforce this festive season

Staying healthy through winter while enjoying festive treats is a goal many of us share. But how can support your workforce to fend off common winter illnesses, strike a balance between indulgence and moderation while also remaining active and motivated during the winter months?

Here, we share practical tips for how you could help your workforce to thrive through the winter months. From staying warm and cosy to understanding the benefits of a vitamin D supplement, in this article you'll find plenty of advice to help your employees embrace the season while staying on track with their health goals.

Our top tips for staying well this winter

If you are keen to help your workforce stay well this winter while still enjoying a healthy and happy festive season, consider this advice from our health experts:

Stay warm

While it may sound obvious, as the temperature drops it is important to ensure you are providing a warm and comfortable working environment. Depending on your industry this will look different, it could be making sure your employees are layering up if working outside and ensuring they are having breaks inside with a warm drink or it could be making sure the office or regularly used rooms are heated to 18°C.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that helps to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, nutrients essential to keep bones, teeth, and muscles healthy.

A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities, such as osteomalacia in adults. However, unlike other vitamins that can be gotten from the foods we eat, the majority of vitamin D we get is created by our body when our skin is exposed to sunlight outdoors.

From late March to early April until the end of September in the UK, most people can get enough vitamin D by just getting outside for 10 minutes a day. But, between October and early March, a lack of sunlight means our bodies cannot consistently produce enough vitamin D. This is why the NHS recommends taking a supplement containing 10 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin D through autumn and into early spring.

To support your workforce in understanding if they are getting the right amount of Vitamin D that they need, you could encourage your workforce to add a Vitamin D test to their next health assessment.

Flu vaccination

The flu vaccine provides protection against the flu, a virus that can cause symptoms such as a sudden high fever, body aches, sore throat, headache, cough, and loss of appetite. For those with existing health conditions, the flu can be particularly serious, sometimes even life-threatening, this is why it is important that you remind employees to book in their vaccination as an essential step in safeguarding the wellbeing of your workforce.

Some employees may be able to access a free flu jab on the NHS through their GP surgery if they:

• Are 65 or over

• Have certain chronic health conditions, like diabetes or heart disease

• Are pregnant

• Are the main carer for an older or disabled person

• Live with someone with a weakened immune system

• Are a frontline health or social care worker

If they don’t qualify for the free flu jab, it is still possible for them to access one privately with many pharmacies offering flu jabs for a nominal fee.

Staying active

As the nights draw in and the temperature drops, it can be tempting to stay at home after work and forgo usual exercise. However, it’s even more important to stay active through the winter, as some studies have shown a link between moderate exercise and a strengthened immune system. So, by encouraging your workforce to stay active, you could be supporting them in preventing common colds and other illnesses, which are more prevalent through the winter.

To encourage your workforce to stay motivated during the winter, we recommend:

• Healthy competition – adding a competitive element to staying active could encourage more people to stay active, this could be as simple as starting a workplace step challenge.

• Online exercise classes – if you are keen to encourage your workforce to stay active, you might want to consider offering access to online exercise classes as a work benefit, this way they can stay active from the comfort of their own home as the days get colder and darker.

• Being realistic – encouraging employees to focus on small, achievable goals to help keep them motivated.

• Keeping moving – we know that sometimes it can be hard for people to find time in their busy schedules to stay active, if this is the case in your organisation it could be beneficial to encourage short breaks during the workday for employees to take a 5-minute walk to make movement a regular part of their routine.

Encouraging healthy eating

During the festive season, it’s easy to overindulge in food and drink with parties, lunches out and get-togethers, all of which are usually centred around food and drink – it can be easy to start consuming more calories and less nutrient-rich foods than usual.

To help your workforce to be mindful about their choices, while still enjoying the festive season you could:

• Consider work socials that don’t revolve around food and drink and instead try planning an activity based social.

• If you provide snacks in your organisation, ensure you have a range of snacks that also include some healthier alternative to the normal high-sugar options.

• Encourage your team to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water or herbal teas.

Supporting your employee's mental wellbeing

Physical and mental wellbeing are closely linked, so taking care of your teams mental and emotional wellbeing can help support them in staying healthier overall.

The long nights in winter can have a negative impact on people’s mental wellbeing, with some being affected by seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression. To ensure you are supporting your employee's emotional wellbeing in the same way you would their physical health, we recommend:

• Encouraging your team to reflect on their work, recognising what is going well and talking through any concerns they may have.

• Supporting open conversations between team members and ensuring they know who or where they can go to talk anything through.

• Allowing time for work socials or team lunches.

• Ensuring your workforce take their lunch breaks and have that time away from their desks/work.

Insights about your employee's health

When it comes to workplace health and wellbeing, giving your employees the opportunity to gain insights into their general health can be beneficial in allowing them to take a proactive approach to addressing any issues raised. A Bluecrest health assessment is the perfect way to support your employees to learn about what is happening inside their bodies and giving them the opportunity to hit the ground running in the New Year with any health goals they may have.

Our health assessments provide comprehensive insights into a range of health markers such as full blood count, liver and kidney, heart disease and stroke risk, diabetes check, biometric analysis and much more.

As well as the personal insights your employees receive, as a business you will also have access to anonymised insights about the general health of your organisation, allowing you to spot any key areas that could be impacting your workforce. This gives you more insight into what your workforce could benefit from when it comes to planning your future health and wellbeing strategy.

To learn more about Bluecrest and how we can help you, contact us today.