A company’s greatest asset is not its physical assets such as land and buildings, or its liquid assets, such as its cash balance or its latest profit figures. Responsible bosses will instead tell you that a company’s greatest asset is its staff.
The benefits of looking after your staff include:
- If they feel that you look after them, they are more likely to pass on the love by treating the customers they deal with sympathetically
- Satisfied employees are generally more productive
- People who enjoy their work are less likely to take sick days
- Happy staff are less likely to leave the company, reducing the amount you need to spend on recruiting and training replacement staff
- Happy staff are more likely to give you positive ratings on relevant websites – so many job applicants search sites such as Glassdoor these days
Looking after your staff can mean:
- Treating everyone equally, and with respect at all times
- Understanding that everyone is human, and occasionally makes mistakes. The most committed employees always seek to learn from their mistakes
- Allowing them the opportunity to get involved in additional tasks and projects
- Providing fair opportunities for internal promotion
- Letting them know their achievements are appreciated
- Giving them appropriate incentives to go above and beyond the basic requirements of their role. Examples might include: days out, gifts etc.
- Ensuring the office is a safe and welcoming place to work
- Providing relaxation spaces, games rooms, eating areas, TV rooms etc. that can be used at lunchtime, before work and during breaks
- Encouraging them to volunteer and to take part in charity and community projects outside of work. Some companies provide additional annual leave to staff who get involved in voluntary work
- Promoting their health
It is the last of these – promoting employee health – that most concerns Fruitful Office. Its baskets of fruit are delivered to an increasing number of offices in the UK, Ireland, Holland, Germany and Belgium every week, significantly boosting employee wellbeing.
Following the introduction of regular fruit deliveries to their office:
- 11% of staff said they were now able to work more productively
- 79% said that the fact their employer was providing the fruit made them feel more valued as an employee
- 81% said having fresh fruit readily available at their office had “improved their quality of life at work”
- 70% were eating more fruit than would have been the case had their office not been receiving fruit deliveries
- 45% reduced the number of unhealthy snacks they consumed following the introduction of fruit deliveries
A fruit basket from Fruitful Office always contains a wide range of fruit. Examples of the health benefits of different types of fruit include:
- Vitamin C (found in strawberries, clementines and satsumas, and peaches and nectarines) can boost your immune system
- Vitamin A (found in apples, strawberries and peaches and nectarines) can improve your vision and reduce skin dryness
- Anti-oxidants (found in apples, grapes and plums) can improve circulation and reduce skin wrinkles, and can even reduce your chances of developing cancer
- Natural sugars (found in bananas and grapes) can boost energy levels
- Potassium (found in bananas) can regulate your blood pressure
- Melatonin (found in cherries) can improve sleeping patterns
- Fibre (found in figs and pears) can improve your digestion and regulate cholesterol and sugar levels
- Fructose, glucose and carbohydrates (found in in pears) can reduce fatigue
Other ways to stay healthy at work include:
- Walking or cycling for at least part of your journey to work. Some companies participate in cycle to work schemes
- Taking the stairs instead of the lift. If your office is on a higher floor, how about walking up several floors before getting the lift the rest of the way, and then taking the stairs all the way down when you leave?
- Visiting a gym before or after work, or at lunchtime. Some companies have membership arrangements with local gyms
- Going for a brisk walk at lunchtime. There are real benefits to getting some exercise in the middle of the working day, and thus boosting your performance during the afternoon
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