Employee Wellness You Can Really Put Your Heart Into

by Stephanie Hartman

Employee wellness programs can improve productivity and morale, reduce absenteeism and turnover, and even lower healthcare costs. In nearly every way, healthier employees actually are happier employees—with happier employers. And wellness programs are win-win situations that can pay for themselves if effectively implemented and appropriately supported.

If employee wellness is important to your organization, now is a great time to start encouraging your team to get healthy—and heart health is a great place to start.

After all, February is American Heart Month.

Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of illness and death among men and women in the United States? There are several risk factors for heart disease, including age, gender, family history, smoking, elevated LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, and obesity. You and your employees can help reduce your risk by adopting some physician-recommended changes in nutrition and lifestyle.

And a great way to jump-start your own employee wellness initiative would be to participate in the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign during American Heart Month. Create and promote your own “Wear Red Day.” It’s sure to be a fun way to get employees to start thinking about wellness.

NAS PRIDE can help promote your event with some great tools for healthy eating and living, and create excitement around this challenge. I’ve included some promotional product ideas that can really help put heart health top of mind for every member of your team, as well as energize upcoming health-awareness events and your overall wellness program.

Kitchen Kit: Since having a healthy heart often requires some changes in everyday eating habits, a heart-healthy cooking demo might be a great idea. And to reinforce what your employees learn during the demo, why not give attendees kitchen items, such as a handy cutting board, a set of measuring spoons, or an easy-to-store collapsible strainer they can use for making healthy meals.

NAS PRIDE can also package several branded items together, along with a recipe card for a tasty heart-healthy dish. And voilà! You have an extra special giveaway for American Heart Month.

Healthy Heart Pocket Slider: Make crucial health information accessible to everyone with useful heart health tools, such as this branded Healthy Heart scale. With special sections on healthy eating, foods to avoid, heart attack warning signs, CPR, and exercise, this Healthy Heart Pocket Slider is an important tool for anyone committed to achieving and maintaining a healthier lifestyle!

Red Tote Bag with Heart-Shaped Storage Pouch: Here’s a great promotional item that will last a long time, store easily, and look smart. Small enough to fit into your desk drawer, glove box, brief case, or handbag, this clever tote folds easily into its very own heart-shaped pouch.

Pedometer in Heart-Shaped Case: You and your team might be surprised at how many steps your take every day—even the number of miles many of you walk right in your office. Pedometers are the perfect way to measure how much ground you actually cover, as well as the calories you burn. Provide everybody at work with a pedometer and have some fun keeping track of your progress..

The possibilities are virtually endless when you count on NAS PRIDE for all your promotional product needs. Check out the PRIDE catalog and then tell me about your plans for American Heart Month and your 2013 wellness program. Let me know how I can help.

Stephanie Hartman, Account Executive

Stephanie is the Account Executive for the Premium Recognition Incentive Division for Employees (PRIDE). She has been working to provide unique, innovative and effective promotional products for NAS clients since 2001.

You can contact Stephanie by email: shartman@nasrecruitment.com or by phone: 216-468-8168.

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