Because you don’t interact in person with your remote employees, their physical well-being may not be on your radar. But it should be. When employees are healthy, they are more energized, motivated, and productive. Unfortunately, remote work can be poor for individuals’ health due to easy access to the kitchen, working in places such as fast-food joints and coffee shops, unusual schedules, etc. Let’s discuss a few ways you can help your remote employees stay healthy:

1. Emphasize Sleep

Many remote employees struggle to “leave the office.” Feeling like deadlines are always looming and emails are always unanswered, they may work weird hours and sacrifice sleep just to get ahead. Encourage your employees to prioritize sleep. For instance, require them to set work hours. When those hours have passed, they must shut off their computers and walk away for the day.

2. Encourage Regular Breaks

It can be easy for remote employees to work at coffee shops for hours at a time. Don’t support this behavior. Encourage them to stand up each hour and walk for 10 minutes at a time. Many recent studies have found that a lack of physical activity is worse than smoking and obesity. You may even offer incentives for employees who walk a certain amount during their breaks or participate in a set amount of exercise throughout the month.

3. Send Regular Health Tips

Give employees the resources and knowledge to stay healthy. One simple way you can do this is to send weekly health tips. For instance, encourage them to avoid the tempting sugary treats in coffee shops or offer a list of healthy snacks, such as almonds and hummus, they can keep in their kitchens.

4. Offer Health and Fitness Stipends

Healthy employees are good for your business, as they can lower insurance costs while also preventing sick days. A monthly stipend for gym memberships, yoga sessions, or other fitness classes will help your employees stay fit and healthy. You may offer a certain amount of money each month to cover their fitness costs or ask them to turn in their receipts for reimbursement.

5. Allow Unlimited Time for Doctor and Dentist Appointments

Some employees don’t want to take time away from work for doctor or dentist appointments, so they simply don’t schedule them. To prevent them from feeling overwhelmed and stressed, offer unlimited time off for these health visits. Just make sure your employees don’t take advantage of this time off.

Your employees’ health must be a priority. Even if germs cannot be spread throughout the office, you want your team to stay physically healthy, keeping energy, motivation, and productivity levels at their highest.