Physical environment
Means
Description
Possibility for employees to eat in a workplace staff restaurant or in an agreement restaurant outside the workplace
Increasing the variety of healthy food and beverage alternatives* available at the workplace, for example, in the cafeteria or vending machines
Improving the nutritional quality* of food and beverage alternatives available at the workplace
Making kitchen, kitchenware (for example, microwave, fridge, coffee maker, and tableware), and dining area available for the use of employees that eat packed lunch at the workplace to facilitate cold storing, preparing, heating, and eating meals
Possibility also for (night) shift workers to buy healthy* food at the workplace, for example, by providing refrigerators filled with a selection of ready meals, such as salads, sandwiches, and/or warm meals
Enabling employees whose work includes frequent travelling to have accommodation providing food with high nutritional quality*
Making sure water taps or dispensers are easily available for all employees
Increasing the perceived variety of healthy food and beverage alternatives* available at the workplace, for example, by serving various types of fruit and vegetables from separate serving dishes instead of mixing them together
Decreasing the perceived variety of less healthy food and beverage alternatives* such as confectionery available at the workplace by serving all varieties from one serving dish instead of serving all varieties from separate serving dishes
Attractiveness
Displaying healthy food and beverage alternatives* attractively, for example, fruit and vegetables available at the workplace
Placing healthy food and beverage alternatives* available at the workplace on spots that are salient, easy-to-notice, on eye-level, and easy-to-access; for example, first in the sequence of alternatives served on a buffet, in the middle of a serving tray or showcase, and physically closer to the consumer
Placing less healthy food and beverage alternatives* available at the workplace on spots that are less salient, less easy-to-notice, and less easy-to-access; for example, last in the sequence of alternatives served on a buffet, at the edge of a serving tray or showcase, and physically further away from the consumer
Placing healthy food and beverage alternatives* first on the menu at the workplace staff restaurant or cafeteria
Labelling food and beverage alternatives available at the workplace prominently and consistently with simple, easy-to-understand nutritional labels that take into account the contents of various nutrients: total amount and quality of fat, added sugar and salt, and fibre. Examples of nutritional labels are health symbols, the Nutri Score label system, and traffic light colour coding. In labelling, it is recommended to consult an authorized nutritionist or an equivalent health care professional with an academic degree in nutrition and health.
Making healthy food and beverage alternatives* the default ones, for example, in registration forms used for pre-ordering foods to events and in the serving lines of workplace staff restaurant or canteen
Increasing the convenience of selecting and consuming healthy food and beverage alternatives* available at the workplace, for example, by serving these options ready-to-eat and pre-portioned. Fruit and vegetables, for example, can be washed, peeled when needed, and cut into pieces
SIZE
Increasing the portion, package, and unit size of fruit and vegetables available at the workplace
Decreasing the portion, package, and unit size of less healthy alternatives* available at the workplace
Greater tableware for fruit and vegetables
Increasing the size of tableware used to serve and consume fruit and vegetables, for example, serving trays, bowls, plates, spoons, tongs, and cutlery
Smaller tableware for unhealthy options
Decreasing the size of tableware used to serve and consume less healthy alternatives* available at the workplace, for example, serving trays, bowls, plates, spoons, tongs, glasses, and cutlery
*For more details on healthy food and beverage alternatives with high nutritional quality, as well as less healthy alternatives, refer to Figure 4.
Means
Description
Employers and managers can facilitate employees to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle patterns by cultivating positive attitudes towards wellbeing and health. This way they can contribute to building a social environment in which healthy choices are socially approved, highly valued, and supported by all employees. This starts with using positive words and sharing encouraging thoughts when talking about wellbeing and health.
Employers and managers can facilitate employees to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle patterns by openly approving of and encouraging employees to act in wellbeing-supporting ways both at work and on leisure time, and by motivating employees to use the opportunities the workplace provides for doing this. In practice, this could mean, for example, encouraging employees to have balanced meals with regular intervals to maintain concentration and vitality – and indeed acting as a role model.