Be picky

If you’re planning a workplace Christmas function, make sure you provide healthy food options for your staff. Try to steer clear of deep-fried foods and pastries and opt for fruit and healthy sandwiches instead. Check out Healthy Choices Healthy futures Healthier Catering: A guide to assist workplaces – it’s packed full of healthy catering ideas.

Be aware of the booze

It is often expected that alcohol will be provided at workplace Christmas parties. While it may not always be possible to completely eliminate it, you can ensure alcohol is served responsibly. For example, you could provide a maximum of two standard alcoholic drinks per person as well as provide low and no alcohol options. Alternatively, you could hold the function at a time where alcohol isn’t typically expected, such as breakfast or lunch. The Healthy Workers Alcohol Program provides some great tips on how to manage alcohol at your event.

Bocce anyone?

Instead of a typical Christmas dinner function, why not do something a little different? What about a picnic in the park with various sporting activities like cricket, badminton and bocce or an indoor volleyball competition? These activities provide an opportunity to increase physical activity, whilst removing the expectation that alcohol is provided.

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Keeping your workplace healthy this festive season

A joint Australian, State and Territory Government initiative under the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health

Supported by

It can be a big responsibility organising workplace functions during the festive season. What catering should you organise? What type of drinks should be offered and how much should be provided? What gifts can you give to your staff? Ultimately, we want to reward our workers for the great work they have done throughout the year, but not at the expense of their health, enjoyment and safety. So, if you’re tasked with organising a Christmas/end of year celebration, here’s some useful tips to help you plan:

A joint Australian, State and Territory Government initiative under the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health

Supported by

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Keeping your workplace healthy this festive season

Be a quitter

It’s about this time of year when people start to think about New Year’s resolutions. Why not capitalise on this by providing quit smoking resources or organising a free quit smoking course for those who may be thinking about ditching the habit. Check out Fresh Start to organise a course.

Gifts that keep on giving

We’ve all received a gift from our boss or colleague, thanking us for all the hard work we’ve done throughout year. Sadly, this gift is usually in the form of chocolates or wine which doesn’t assist in building a healthy workplace culture. Try to encourage alternative gifts this year such as vouchers for sports equipment or a healthy recipe cookbook. The Healthy Choices Healthy Futures gifts factsheet is full of great healthy gift ideas.

Don’t forget the basics

During the hype of Christmas celebrations it can be easy to forget about healthy choices. Unhealthy eating and drinking becomes the norm whilst exercise is dropped from the to-do-list. Now is a good time to remind staff of the benefits of healthy choices (e.g. eating healthy, regular exercise) as well as the downfalls of unhealthy ones (e.g. drinking, lack of exercise). You could distribute our Health Works newsletter or put up our information posters to help staff maintain healthier habits before they go away on leave.

A joint Australian, State and Territory Government initiative under the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health

Supported by

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Keeping your workplace healthy this festive season

Body movin’

With the many workplace celebrations that take place during the festive season, it is almost inevitable that workers will increase their food and therefore energy intake. To combat this, it’s important to think about how to get staff to move more. You could start a lunchtime walking group, encourage walking meetings, or start a workplace challenge like the Get on Track Challenge.

Get loose

Although Christmas is a happy and joyful time of year, it can also be stressful. Encourage staff to take their lunch away from their desk and take a short walk outside. Stretching regularly can also help ease muscle tension. You could show our stretching videos at a work meeting, or send the links around to staff for them to view.

Planning to win

As individuals, we usually set next year’s health goals, now. It is no different when planning next year’s health and wellbeing program. If you begin to plan now, it will give you the opportunity to harness staff enthusiasm for a healthier workplace while motivation is at a high, and also ensure that their health is supported throughout the year. We have a suite of resources to help you with this, including: how to consult with staff; how to create an action plan; and a guide to choosing best practice strategies. For more assistance, take a look at our website; or you can contact us by calling 1300 550 271.

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