A healthy team is a productive team. Employees who take care of themselves miss less work due to sickness and find themselves able to make meaningful, creative contributions at work. It's not enough, though, for leaders to simply encourage healthy habits.

Serenity Gibbons, the local unit lead for NAACP in Northern California, asserts that leaders must make wellness a priority. With New Year's resolutions still fresh, now is the time to focus on wellness at work. Keep reading this issue of Promotional Consultant Today for Gibbons' five tips for building wellness into your workplace.

1. Set your space up right. Your work environment has a lot to do with your workplace culture, says Gibbons. If it's chaotic with messy desks and people constantly dropping in, your workers will feel scattered, too. While you likely can't relocate your team, you can make the most of what you have. Gibbons recommends setting up a meditation space with soft lighting. You could also incorporate standing desks, which have been proven to lower obesity rates, reduce back pain and improve energy levels. If your budget allows, add noise-canceling headphones and ergonomic chairs to the shopping list.

2. Talk about what happens after work. Do you know how your employees like to relax after work? Drinking a couple of beers and lounging on the couch may feel good in the moment, Gibbons says, but alcohol overuse and sedentary behavior come back to bite. At an all-staff meeting, take the initiative. Talk about how you wind down after work. Describe the healthy techniques you use and explain that you want to reduce or eliminate your unhealthier choices. Gibbons says you could also suggest alternatives to workers who may not know about them. For example, yoga and herbal teas can relieve stress in healthy ways.

3. Put peer groups together. Work is hard in the best of circumstances. When you don't feel connected to the people around you, it can feel impossible. In fact, some researchers have compared a weak social circle's toll on health to smoking a pack of cigarettes per day, says Gibbons. Use peer groups to remind team members that they're not alone. Although some employees may get social support outside of work, don't assume all of them do. Set up groups so everyone fits into at least one of them. If you have a women's support group, create one for men's issues as well.

4. Reward people for unplugging. Overworking can lead to everything from Type 2 diabetes to musculoskeletal dysfunctions and mental health issues. The trouble is that many workers don't unplug, even when they're supposed to be off the clock, Gibbons says. Encourage people to unplug by keeping workplace devices at work. When they go on vacation and don't call or check email, award them an extra day or two of PTO.

5. Make a mental health policy. When employees are physically ill, you probably encourage them to take sick leave. But if they're anxious or depressed, they're probably still expected to come to work. Make it clear that you want workers to take care of their minds, too. Gibbons suggests that leaders develop a mental health policy and distribute a copy to every team member. The policy should cover not just benefits like time off for therapy appointments, but also accommodations for workers who experience ongoing symptoms.

Wellness matters if you want your team members to perform at their best. Consider the ideas above to make wellness a priority at your workplace this year.

Source: Serenity Gibbons is a former assistant editor at The Wall Street Journal and the local unit lead for NAACP in Northern California.