Workplace Wellness: Supporting Employee Nutrition

How employers can support employee nutrition

October is Healthy Workplace Month in Canada, a great time to look at how your workplace supports employee nutrition. In my Dietitian practice, I often find out that one of the key reasons people don’t consult a dietitian for a nutrition or food-related health issue is that dietitian services are not covered under their health insurance. Food and nutrition play a central role in a person’s health, productivity, and overall well-being. Poor dietary habits don’t only cause problems with an individual’s physical health, poor nutrition also impacts an employee’s work performance:

• Reduced cognitive ability
• Fatigue
• Decreased mental effectiveness
• Irritability
• Lower energy levels
• Reduced ability to think clearly
• Decreased ability to perform your job effectively
• Lower mood and higher risk of depressive symptoms
• Decreased productivity

Employer benefit plans that include insurance coverage for dietitian services are important for a healthy and productive workforce. As a practicing dietitian for over 25 years and a member of the Dietitians of Canada Employee Health Benefits Advisory Committee, I work with companies and HR professionals to address the links between diet and productivity, and what employers can do to improve the health of employees to the benefit of the workplace. In addition to providing workplace wellness programs and counselling to companies via Health Stand Nutrition, I consult with HR professionals on how to support employee nutrition.

Diet is closely linked to employee productivity and workplace performance. It’s not just how much work an employee does, it’s the quality of their work. One large study of nearly 20,000 employees found that those who didn’t regularly eat whole grains, fruits and vegetables were 66% more likely to report lost productivity.

But whose responsibility is it to improve employee nutrition?

Employees want nutrition support

Research confirms employees want better nutrition. But for people in the workforce, much of their day is spent at work where choices may be limited.  Planning ahead helps, and so does a workplace that makes nourishing choices easy. Access to credible wellness information and practical healthy eating resources that take the science of nutrition and translate this into everyday meal planning solutions is key.

Registered Dietitians can help with onsite and online education initiatives and in-person and virtual nutrition counselling in topic areas such as:

• Meal planning for home and on the go
• Optimizing energy, productivity, and mental health, especially during high-stress times
• Corporate travel, eating in off-site camps/lodges, and eating out
• Managing shift work and jobs requiring high stamina and safety
• Weight concerns, emotional eating, and eating disorders
• Pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause
• Heart health, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure
• Diabetes and blood sugar concerns
• Chronic disease and illness
• And more

While many Canadian employer benefit plans now include dietitian services, coverage amounts vary and not every plan includes it. When dietitian services aren’t covered, or employees don’t know they are, the cost becomes a barrier for employees who want to improve their nutrition and health at home and at work.

Workplace food environments matter

Many people want to eat well during the workday, but their work environment doesn’t always make it easy. While at work 30, 35, 40 or more hours each week, employees may have limited options for satisfying, balanced meals and snacks. US research has found that food people get at work, much of it offered free at meetings and social events, tends to be higher in sodium and refined grains and lower in whole grains and fruit.

All foods fit, and donuts at a meeting can absolutely be part of a balanced week. The challenge is when vending machines, meeting snacks and break rooms with limited food storage and preparation space are the only options, which can make it hard for employees to eat in a way that fuels them through the day.

How HR Professionals Can Support Employee Nutrition 

As a Registered Dietitian, I know that individual habits matter. At the same time, most people rely on their workplace for income and to provide important benefits, including health insurance. Human Resource professionals are charged with managing employee relations and advocating for workplace changes that benefit both employees and the employer.

When employee health and nutrition are not maximized, employers have higher health benefit costs and experience more employee absenteeism, safety concerns and lost productivity. Research also shows that happier employees are more productive. In one set of experiments, people who were given a mood boost (including free chocolate, drinks and fruit) were about 12% more productive.

Here are 3 things HR professionals can do to support employee nutrition:

1. Start Onsite Workplace Nutrition Initiatives

While your company may have a general workplace wellness program, what about a specific workplace nutrition program? A Registered Dietitian specializing in corporate health and wellness can help identify opportunities to improve the work environment including:

• Personal nutrition counselling
• Tasty, fun, and healthy menu options for meetings and events
• Productivity consulting
• Workplace diet and lifestyle initiatives such as nutrition challenges, simple healthy recipe shares, and more promote a healthy lifestyle

Our article on encouraging healthy habits explains that when employers provide support for eating healthier, getting more exercise, and becoming emotionally healthy, employees respond positively with higher productivity.

2. Bring in expert-led nutrition education and support

At Health Stand Nutrition, our Registered Dietitians offer employee nutrition services in person in Calgary and virtually, so teams can take part whether they’re in the office, working remotely, or spread across multiple locations:

• Nutrition keynotes, seminars and lunch and learns, delivered in person or virtually, that make nutrition practical and fun, on topics like meal planning, boosting energy and productivity, and eating well during high-stress times
• Nutrition counselling with a Registered Dietitian, available virtually, for preventative health, productivity, and support with medical concerns
• Sound Bites newsletter, a free weekly email with the latest nutrition tips, articles, videos, and recipes from the dietitians on our team

3. Optimize Your benefits plan for the best credible nutrition services  

Check your insurance plan and chat with your benefits consultant to ensure your employees have access to the most reliable nutrition expertise. Registered Dietitians (RDs) are university trained and the only nutrition practitioners that are licensed and regulated (held to ethical standards of practice).

Titles such as Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Certified Nutritional Practitioner, RONP, RNCP, ROHP, RHN, and CNP are not the same as a Registered Dietitian and do not indicate the person is a provincially regulated health professional.

To ensure your employees have access to regulated nutrition experts check your insurance plan and chat with your benefits provider to ensure Dietitians are listed under your benefit plan.

Employees can be sure they are hiring a Registered Dietitian by looking for RD or PDt (DtP in French) behind their name. Dietitian is a protected title, just like physician, nurse, and pharmacist.

For more information on optimizing your benefit plans check out these resources from Dietitians of Canada here.

Learn More About the Link Between Diet and Work Performance

Check out some of my recent popular articles on workplace wellness nutrition:

• How Can Virtual Dietitians Help Employee Health?
• Summer Workplace Productivity
• Employees Are What They Eat: Corporate Employee Nutrition Programs
• Nutrition Often Neglected in Workplace Wellness
• 5 Strategies to Increase Teleworker Participation in Wellness Programs
• Encouraging Healthy Habits Can Save Employers Time and Money
• Workplace Health & Culture: Fueling Productive & Happy Employees with Good Nutrition
• Nutrition for Shift Workers 
• Good Health is Good for Business: Boost productivity by providing healthy meals at conferences and events

Check out our Workplace Wellness Scorecard to find out how your workplace rates with nutrition.

Elevate Employee Health, Mental Health, and Productivity through our workplace nutrition services!

Make workplace wellness education relevant and FUN!

Our keynotes, seminars, webinars, nutrition counselling, and resources help employees feel their best at work and at home.

Since 2000, our experienced Registered Dietitian team has helped workplaces and event planners across diverse industries create credible employee nutrition and wellness solutions, delivered in person and virtually.

CONTACT US to plan workplace nutrition keynotes, seminars, webinars, healthy eating challenges, or in-person or virtual nutrition counselling with a corporate health dietitian on our team.