Does Your Workplace Have a Negative Food Culture?

You’ve set yourself up for healthy eating success by removing trigger foods from the house, putting nutrient-dense snacks within reach and meal planning each week. Things are going smoothly at home, but temptation looms in the office. What do you do when the food culture of the place you spend the majority of your day isn’t quite in line with your personal health goals? What's an employee to think when the company outwardly promotes health but fills vending machines with salty snacks and treats employees to donuts regularly?

Research has shown that healthy employees are more productive and take less sick days. Workplace illness and injury costs U.S. employers more than $225 billion annually. Even though companies know it’s important to keep their employees healthy, sometimes the workplace environment is not always as supportive as it could be–despite what employee handbooks and pamphlets might have you think.

Many companies play tug of war with themselves without even realizing the struggle employees face. There is a disconnect when a company uses educational pieces to promote healthy eating in the workplace, but the physical and social environment do not support that message. No matter what healthy eating tips or education is given to an employee to promote well-being, there will be very little if any adherence if the workplace doesn’t practice what they preach. Some red flags that the workplace environment is not conducive to a positive nutrition culture include:

• Not taking a full lunch break or eating at the desk and working at the same time
• A lunchroom that is not clean or large enough to accommodate the number of employees with regards to refrigeration, seating or microwave use
• Vending machines that contain a selection of high-fat, high-sugar items or the employee can’t read the nutrition information before making a purchase
• Candy dishes throughout the office
• Employees are rewarded with food, or work anniversaries and birthdays are celebrated with treats

Improving Your Own Environment

While a conflicting nutrition culture at work may be your reality, remember that you are still ultimately in control when it comes to your health. If Taco Tuesday or Donut Friday are a weekly occurrence at your workplace, use these simple tips to ensure that healthy eating remains a priority in your day.

1. Pack snacks. Instead of hitting up the vending machine when you’re low on energy, bring a few healthier options. A snack that contains healthy fat and protein–such as nuts, yogurt, or cheese and crackers–will keep you satisfied until mealtime.
2. Take a different route. If you know Sally keeps candy on her desk and you can’t resist a handful when you walk by, avoid the temptation and go another way.
3. Brown bag it. Packing your lunch gives you control over your food choices. You’ll save calories and money when you pack instead of buy.
4. Take a walk. If you’re tempted to eat the cookies you know are on the conference room table, use your break time to get up and walk around the office. Suggest a walking meeting to a colleague or spend part of your lunch hour exploring a walking route near your building to create some distance between you and the tempting treats.

Improving the Environment for Those Around You

Talking to your boss or human resources about improving workplace nutrition culture might seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. If you recognize the signs of a negative food culture, you can become a nutrition champion and make a significant impact on the health of your co-workers by providing some simple suggestions and leading by example.

1. Become a healthy living leader. This could include starting a healthy lunch group, a monthly healthy recipe swap or a lunchtime walking group. Finding like-minded people who similarly aim for a healthy diet is crucial for sticking to a plan.
2. Survey co-workers to see what they want and need. Instead of guessing what changes would be the most effective for your company, ask! Take your findings to the decision-makers so changes will have the biggest impact.
3. Suggest organizational changes to support good health. Ask for refrigerators in break rooms to make packing lunch more convenient, request healthier vending machine options, aim to better promote employee wellness programs or establish incentives for participating in health-related activities.

Positive workplace nutrition should be accessible to every employee regardless of their workplace status. The message at all levels should be that proper nutrition at work is essential for personal health, professional health, job achievement and company success. Company leadership can start by evaluating the organization’s current nutrition wellness conditions in two areas:

1. Physical environment: This could include a designated lunchroom; adequate refrigeration and microwaves with a regular cleaning schedule; an available sink, soap, paper towels and utensils; and nutrition information available for cafeteria and vending machine items.
2. Social environment: Developing a culture where management encourages employees to take their full lunch break away from their desk and uses a non-food reward system, and where office meetings offer healthy food choices.

Once changes are put in place, it’s a good idea to periodically survey employees to see what positive changes they have noticed. While monetary incentives are nice, the ultimate goal is not an external reward, but instead what has been learned from creating a positive nutrition culture. Hopefully, with time, employees will be able to report that a healthier diet has resulted in more energy, better sleep, biometric improvements, increased productivity, healthier eating habits at home and more positive feelings about the workplace. The end product is a healthier and happier workforce, resulting in a more productive and successful company.