Being happy is an important aspect of health and wellness.

When you’re not happy, your body feels it. It’s challenging to stay productive and focused, and you’re a lot less likely to make healthy choices when you’re feeling unhappy.

Because happiness is so vital to wellbeing, the United Nations declared March 20^th the International Day of Happiness. It’s a day to recognize and celebrate the importance of happiness in lives of all different people around the globe. 

The International Day of Happiness should remind employers of the value of a happy workplace. Since many Americans spend a good portion of their time in the office, it’s important that they work at a company that prioritizes employee happiness. A principal responsibility of an employer is to create and promote a happy work environment. A happy work environment is not only good for a workforce, but it’s good for the bottom line, too. According to LiveHappy.com, unhappy employees cost employers $300 billion each year in lost productivity.

Wellness coordinators don’t always get the recognition they deserve. They are responsible for a variety of tasks, as well as the preparation and evaluation of wellness initiatives. As a wellness coordinator, your attitude can not only make or break employee participation but can impact how well an employee does throughout the wellness program. Taking a positive, proactive approach to your wellness program can make wellness initiatives more popular and effective.

Being a proactive wellness coordinator means taking action when it comes to your wellness program. A proactive wellness coordinator will reach out to employees, encourage them, and empower them to make healthy changes in their lives. Taking a proactive approach to employee wellness is more effective than a reactive approach for many different reasons:

• Health and wellness is an ongoing process – there is always action to be taken.
• Activity is contagious, so the more effort you put into employee wellness, the more your co-workers will, too.
• A positive, proactive approach sets employees up for success by providing a strong foundation that helps employees develop motivation, excitement, and momentum. 

March is National Nutrition Month! One of the easiest ways to celebrate is by adding more vegetables to your diet. Veggies are very underrated when it comes to their health benefits. By simply eating more veggies on a daily basis, you can improve your diet, eating habits, and overall health. 

Veggies are loaded with powerful nutrients. They are high in fiber, antioxidants, and other essential nutrients, while also being low in sugar and calories. Veggies are also very satiating, so they’ll keep you a lot fuller than fake food will. Some of the most important health benefits of eating more vegetables include: 

• Better gut health
• Reduced risk of chronic diseases (like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease)
• Healthy skin
• Weight management
• Mood-boosting
• Improved immune system

Unfortunately, many Americans don’t take advantage of the amazing health benefits vegetables have to offer. In fact, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, the average American only consumes a total of three combined servings of fruits and vegetables daily. This is concerning because it’s recommended that adults eat between 5 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables each day – depending on age, gender, physical activity levels, and overall health. You can use this Vegetable Chart to find the right amount for you. 

Spring is almost here! That means it’s time to “spring forward.” Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 11^th at 2 a.m. While it’s exciting to think about longer days and warmer weather, Daylight Saving Time can sometimes be a difficult transition for many full-time employees. 

The loss of an hour can take its toll. In fact, the week after Daylight Saving Time has an increased rate of car accidents – which are often blamed on sleep deprived or drowsy drivers. A study by the University of Colorado at Boulder found an increase in fatal motor vehicle accidents the first six days after the clocks spring ahead. The study reported that in the first six days of Daylight Saving Time there were 302 deaths and a cost of $2.75 billion over a 10-year period.

Springing forward is much more difficult for your body than “falling back” is in November. Getting sleepy before bedtime becomes more difficult due to the changes in the amount of daylight, which can throw off your circadian rhythm (your body’s internal clock). When sleep cycles are disrupted, it can take about a week to start getting back on track. Losing even just an hour of sleep can cause drowsiness throughout the day that can lead to accidents or difficulty concentrating at work. 

Your attitude in the morning sets the tone for the rest of your day. If you walk into work feeling grumpy, chances are, you’ll walk out of work feeling grumpy, too. Having a negative mindset at work can lead to added stress, trouble concentrating, and irritability – and none of those are great for your work performance. Arriving to work with a negative attitude can also hold you back from forming any positive social connections in the office.

 While we don’t always have complete control over our physical surroundings, we are capable of controlling our mindset. Developing a positive mindset before the workday will help you stay productive, optimistic, and mentally healthy – no matter what the day throws at you. So, instead of swatting at your alarm clock and spending your morning dreading the work ahead of you, try out these tips to help you set the mood for a positive workday: 

Many employers have realized the positive effects of implementing a flexible work environment. That means that many full-time employees spend time working from home on either a full-time basis or an as-needed basis. As of 2016, 43% of U.S. employees reported that they spent at least some time working remotely, according to a study by Gallup. With telecommuting becoming increasingly popular, it’s essential for employees to learn how to stay healthy, happy, and productive while working from home. 

Working from home has many perks. A 2016 study from TINYpulse surveyed over 200,000 employees across all work arrangements to find that remote workers claim to feel happier, more valued, and more productive. While these are all great perks that contribute to employee wellness, working from home can also make it a bit more difficult to practice healthy habits during the workday.

Between access to a kitchen filled with unhealthy snacks, long hours, and the temptation to work from bed all day, remote working can present some challenges for living a healthy lifestyle. To help combat this, we are sharing nine tips and strategies to help remote employees practice healthy habits during the workday.

Employee Appreciation Day falls on Friday, March 2nd this year. If you haven’t taken advantage of celebrating Employee Appreciation Day in the past, now is your chance to do so! Expressing gratitude and letting your employees know you appreciate them is one of the best ways to keep employees engaged and motivated in the workplace. 

However, many employees don’t feel appreciated by their employer or company. A report from Globoforce found that 40% of surveyed employees claimed they weren’t recognized at all over the past year. This is unfortunate because both employees and employers benefit from employee appreciation and recognition. Employees who feel appreciated tend to be more loyal to their company, view their boss as trustworthy, and feel more satisfied with their role. 

If you haven’t planned something special for your employees yet, no need to worry. Check out some of these ideas to show your employees that they are appreciated:

With the startling prevalence of heart disease in the United States, it’s crucial that employers start addressing the importance of heart health in the workplace. According to a 2017 update by the American College of Cardiology (ACC), cardiovascular disease accounts for approximately 800,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. This is about one out of every three deaths. Unfortunately, the amount of adults with heart disease is estimated to continue to rise in the upcoming years.

A recent study by the American Heart Association (AHA) revealed that heart disease might cost up to $1 trillion annually by the year 2035. The study projected that by 2035, 45% of the total U.S. population will have at least one health complication related to heart disease. The study also reported that the ongoing rise of obesity and diabetes affecting the nation is a contributing factor to the estimated increase in heart disease. 

The AHA study projects that by the year 2035: 

• More than 123 million Americans will have high blood pressure
• More than 11 million will have a stroke
• About 24 million will be diagnosed with coronary heart disease
• Almost 9 million will have congestive heart failure
• More than 7 million will have atrial fibrillation (a serious heart rhythm disorder)

It’s no secret that what you eat significantly impacts your health.

Your diet can either fuel your body or drag you down.

Consuming a diet that is mostly made up of “fake food” (or heavily processed food products) can harm your health with its excessive sugar, calorie, and fat content. By cutting back on fake foods and focusing on a diet filled with real foods, you can reduce your risk of chronic illness, feel more energized, and keep your body happy and healthy.

A new study published in the British Medical Journal gave some new insight on the negative impact that ultra-processed food has on one’s health. A group of French scientists studied the diets of more than 100,000 people and found that eating ultra-processed foods (like cakes, chicken nuggets, instant noodles, and mass-produced bread) put people at a higher risk of developing cancer. A 10% increase in the amount of ultra-processed food consumed was linked to a 12% increase in certain types of cancers. The study also found that processed foods make up about 50% of the average person's diet in several developed countries – which could be contributing to the rising cancer levels.

An increased risk of cancer is just one of the many reasons why heavily processed foods can be dangerous to your health. A diet high in processed foods is also linked to obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and nutrient deficiency. This is why it’s important to strive for a healthy, balanced diet filled with more real foods and less fake foods.

Engaged and motivated employees are the heart of a successful corporate wellness program. They tend to gain more from their company’s wellness initiatives and serve as an example for other employees in the office. This is why HR professionals and wellness professionals are always on the lookout for new ways to maintain and increase employee engagement throughout the year. 

Keeping employees engaged in your workplace wellness program is no small task. Employees can easily lose steam and motivation once wellness activities become repetitive and unchallenging. And without employee engagement and participation, a wellness program would be worthless.

So, whether you’ve had your wellness program up and running for years or if you’re launching your program for the first time, try out these seven tips to help keep your employees engaged in your wellness program all year long: