Hygiene is important all year long, but it’s especially important during flu season. That’s because the flu can spread from person to person by germs left behind on shared objects. That’s why when someone comes to work sick, it won’t be long until you have an office epidemic on your hands.

Some places are more common hotspots for germs than other places. In your office, that includes anything that is shared or touched frequently. This means things like:

• Sink faucet handles
• Microwave door handles
• Fridge door handles
• Any other door handles
• Light switches
• Desk equipment like keyboards and phones
• Coffee pot handles
• Table tops
• Elevator or vending machine buttons

You’ve hit the afternoon lull, and you need just a little burst of energy to push through to five o’clock. You think running to the vending machine to grab a pop is harmless and will give you that kick you need, right? Wrong!

Regularly drinking pop (or soda depending on where you live) and other sugary drinks is a huge health hazard. Not only does pop contribute to poor dental health and obesity, but it even increases your risk to develop diabetes, gout and heart disease.

As the wellness coordinator at your company, you know what we’re talking about when we say things can get crazy. We want you to know that we support you, and what you do every single day is worth it to help your coworkers live happier, healthier lifestyles.

Check out these quotes to keep you pushing, even when the work gets tough:

“The most important things cannot be measured.” –W. Edwards Deming

“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” –Theodore Roosevelt

Evaluating your corporate wellness program is important on multiple levels. Obviously evaluation helps you to decide what in your program really works. Aside from affirming your success, evaluating your program allows you to:

• Try new things with research to back them up.
• Avoid wasting resources on things that simply aren’t working.
• Prove yourself and your success to potential funders or program supporters.

So as you can (hopefully) see, evaluation is important. But it can be a daunting task. Don’t worry too much, though, because there are a number of tools that can help.

It’s time for corporate wellness programs to become human again. Yes, metrics are necessary to help us find out where we’ve been, where we are and where we want to be in terms of goals — but they are not the be-all and end-all of our efforts.

Let me explain.

Your employees drive everything your company does. Without them, you probably wouldn’t be able to do what you do, and you definitely wouldn't be able to do it as efficiently.

Sometimes problems in your corporate wellness program will just jump out at you. Other times, things might seem off, and you’re not quite sure where the problem lies.

Well the first step to solving any type of problem is identifying exactly what that problem entails. If you’re feeling like your wellness program is just not running as smoothly as it should, or if you’re not seeing the results you expected, it might be time to do some digging.

Getting feedback about your wellness program is a must. But did you know that the questions you ask play a huge role in the quality of the feedback you get?

Even if you’re taking everything your employees say and adjusting your program accordingly, you might not be building the best program for your company. When you seek feedback about your employee wellness program, you need to ask powerful questions to get the best information.

If you don’t have a fitness center at work, you might not be aware of exactly what that entails. It’s natural to think of big, innovative companies like Google when you think of onsite gyms. What’s often forgotten, however, is that company gyms can range from large-scale, fully-loaded facilities to a single room with some mismatched exercise equipment.

No matter the resources you have, a workplace gym can be an absolute asset to your employees. The fitness centers that are cropping up at companies all over the country can provide a much-needed outlet for stress, a culture of wellness, and a sense of teamwork and camaraderie among your employees.

To take advantage of the benefits a company gym can offer, you only need to invest in the essentials.

Hopefully you’ve been following along with our garden project this summer. If not, that’s okay. It’s not too late to catch up!

We just want to remind you of the awesome fact that:

You can build a community garden at your workplace!

It might sound daunting, but it’s totally possible. We have the tips and instructions you need to get started in our workplace garden toolkit.

If you haven’t experienced the magic of TED talks, you’re really missing out. There's no better way to start your day than with a cup of coffee and an inspiring TED talk. TED — which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design — features "ideas worth spreading." The speaker series launched in 1984, and there are now more than 2,000 TED talks available. The talks are done all over the world by great minds with innovative ideas.