We believe in creating a culture of wellness and cultivating positive, permanent lifestyle changes. That's why we were beyond thrilled to hear that one of our longtime clients, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), was launching the new EVEN™ Hotels. This brand offers wellness-minded travelers a destination where they can maintain their healthy lifestyles while on the road. Whether they're on a work trip or enjoying a bit of PTO, these hotels are built with the guests' health in mind. 

Any employee's ears would perk up at the idea of unlimited vacation days. This doesn't come as much of a surprise when you contrast the dream of endless time off with the idea that Americans are working more than ever, averaging more than 48 hours a week according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. 

With fluctuating insurance costs and an economy that’s still in the recovery process, odds are that you’re under a bit of pressure to try and keep health care costs down and productivity high. While we don’t have any clients experiencing problems with high rates of absenteeism, we do believe that encouraging healthy habits and managing stress is a win-win for employer and employee. With that in mind, we’ve compiled this list of seven easy ways your company can support the wellness of its staff and cut down on sick days. 

We’ve come a long way since the standard pedometer. From smartphone apps that can tell you how healthy your food is to a wristband that tracks your activity and sleeping patterns, the “wearable wellness” trend shows no signs of slowing down. According to ABI Research, 13 million wearable devices will be integrated into corporate wellness plans over the next five years – an impressive jump, when you consider that less than 200,000 are currently incorporated.

Morning commutes always seem to be a struggle. Dealing with rush hour traffic, insufficient parking, faulty alarm clocks and last-minute emergencies tends to start the day off poorly and contribute to unnecessary stress. Besides these basic struggles, getting up extra early to sneak in a pre-sunrise yoga class or a quick morning jog can sometimes seem like an impossible feat. There is an exception, however. All of the employees that bike to work all seem arrive bright-eyed, alert and ready to face the day. Before they even get to their desks, they've gotten in some exercise, soaked up a little sunlight and avoided a dreaded highway commute. Today, on National Bike to Work Day, we salute those employees with a list of our 10 favorite reasons to consider commuting by bike. 

You may be aware that your staff is rarely hitting the magical 8-hour mark for their sleep schedules. While your employees' out-of-office time is their own business, a lack of adequate sleep could be affecting your company in the long run. Those cubicle cat naps and overall on-the-job sleepiness cost employers about $100 billion in lost productivity, health care costs and employee absences, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

For more than 30 years, the only option for the flu vaccine has been trivalent; that is, designed to protect against three strains of the influenza virus. Last year, for the first time, a new quadrivalent vaccine was introduced that provides protection against four varieties of the virus. This year will be the first time the quad vaccine is widely available, with the option to get it in the form of either a traditional shot or a nasal spray. 

We think it’s time to cast off the diet mentality, and today’s nationally recognized “No Diet Day” is the perfect opportunity to kick start a healthy, permanent lifestyle change. There’s no need to subject yourself to trendy diets or punishing juice cleanses; and, in fact, most experts would agree that dieting isn’t the best way to lose weight and stay healthy. Instead, we would suggest trying out the principle of “intuitive eating.” 

First coined in 1995 by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, “intuitive eating” is an elegant solution to the diet-obsessed culture we live in. This elegantly complex practice trains you to eat based off of your body’s own signals, relying on instinct and intuition in choosing your day-to-day nutrition. It puts you in charge of your meal and doesn’t position food as a good or bad entity. You don’t have to punish yourself for having that slice of cake, and you don’t have to brag about only having a kale salad for lunch.

When the mid-day slump strikes, it's unlikely that you'll be willing to get up out of your office chair and do a set of burpees in the hallway. If you want to get a little fitness routine in and boost your energy, try these subtle suggestions for exercises you can do at your desk without announcing your workout to your cubicle neighbors!

This year, you have more choices than ever for flu vaccines.

The newest available option, the quadrivalent vaccine, offers protection against four strains of flu virus and can be given as a traditional shot or a nasal spray.

With so many varieties of vaccines on the market, it can be difficult to determine which one will work best for you or your workplace.