Broccoli Cake

Food...we all need it, we usually like it, sometimes love it and we are often emotionally attached to it. We can associate certain foods with celebrations or they may trigger memories of a specific event, or time in our lives.  Changing the food environment at your worksite sounds relatively easy, but is it?  Not in KS, and likely not in many states. 

Food has been a “dangerous” topic in almost every WorkWell KS community.  In every workshop we share a  Heifetz & Linsky quote, “to lead is to live dangerously because when leadership counts, when you lead people through difficult change, you challenge what people hold dear…”   Food definitely falls into this category.  Making changes to the food environment can be difficult and may require leadership to be successful.

For some reason discussions about change the food environment becomes a battle between cake and broccoli.  Why the extremes? Changing your worksite food environment doesn’t have to mean going raw, organic, vegan etc. or becoming the “cake police”, snatching cake out of the hands of folks and replacing it with  broccoli.

MAKE THE HEALTHY CHOICE THE EASY CHOICE AT YOUR WORKSITE.

Many people feel more comfortable with the “baby steps” approach, or just adding healthy options to begin with. Take a moment and imagine your worksite and you placing a tray of birthday broccoli next to the birthday cake and letting everyone choose which they would like.  If those are the contenders, my money is on the cake.  Granted, some people may decide to crunch on some green goodness, but how many and how likely is that? Why would you as an employer make it more difficult for an employee to be healthy? That is not to say that those approaches cannot be effective.  You must know your culture and your employees to determine the best way to implement changes.  What will be the most effective for your organization?

There are simple changes that can be made that will better serve your worksite wellness plan. Implementing healthy food policies or following identified guidelines for food provided to employees, allows you to create a healthy food environment.  (Please note that this says healthy, not gross. Communication methods and how you roll out food changes to employees can also be important.  Some people may associate the word “healthy” with that raw broccoli they dislike. It is really about providing your employees with food that is fresh, tasty and helps them feel good and energized for the day.) 

DIGGING A LITTLE DEEPER

As an employer you are working hard to improve employee health and to create a healthy work environment.  Are your efforts and messaging consistent?  Let’s say you are encouraging employees to be more physically active and are allowing them to have walking meetings and  take daily walks, only to return to a break room full of donuts, cookies and pop, are you supporting their healthy behaviors and/ or lifestyle changes? Are you truly creating an environment that allows your employees to be healthy?

The food environment you support at your worksite can impact the overall culture that you are fostering.  WorkWell KS has a number of resources and contact so support you in making changes to your food environment.  Please connect with us if this is something you are interested in addressing at your worksite.