February is American Heart Month, a time when the US Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention encourages people—especially women—to focus on their cardiovascular health. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women across nearly all racial and ethnic groups in the US, and improving cardiovascular health is just one facet of wellness employers can help employees achieve.

With that in mind, we asked our staff members what they regularly do to keep their hearts healthy, and we got a variety of answers, such as: taking long walks, attending fitness classes, relaxing through painting or knitting, and hiking with their dogs. We’ve included some photos here of our employees’ adorable pups getting their hearts healthy (along with their owners), as well as a painting by one of our talented employees.

Of course, we can and should focus on our health and wellness all year long! Here are some ideas employers can implement to encourage wellness:  

• Include heart-healthy food in your cafeteria or vending machines so employees are able to make healthier choices.
• Install bicycle racks to encourage employees to bike to work.
• Put signs by the elevators encouraging people to take the stairs.
• Hold healthy recipe contests – for example, you could host a potluck and let employees vote on their favorite recipe – and reward the winner with a small prize, such as a gift card for fitness equipment. It’s a win-win!
• Reimburse your employees for a fitness membership and/or fitness tracker to help them stay on target with their health goals.
• Encourage employees to challenge each other with fitness challenges – they can meet the challenges individually, or you can have department or company goals, with proceeds going toward a charity of your choice, such as the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society.
• Rent a blood pressure monitor for employees to have easy access to health metrics.
• Give employees a discount code to use on their first order of a healthy meal subscription service.

When designing a wellness program, it is important to be inclusive. Inclusive programs provide incentives for participating rather than penalties for not participating, and they incorporate activities and goals everyone can achieve (i.e., not just fitness-focused people). Also, think about including programs for emotional wellness as well as nutritional and physical wellness.

We would love to hear what your organization does to motivate employees’ heart health and overall wellness. Do you have a brilliant idea we haven’t thought of? If you have questions about how to begin a wellness program, or what legal issues to consider, please contact us!