The office is the place that you spend most of your waking life. 9-5, 5 days a week. But rarely is it the epitome of health. Often it’s a place of function, with vending machines full of crisps, sweets and chocolate and a battered kettle in a kitchette for the free instant coffee and tea, a microwave and possibly a toaster. There is constant pressure from Government and media for employers to make their places of work a healthier place. A big challenge for HR departments dealing with a diverse workforce of ages, cultures and beliefs.
So what is the first thing that the powers that be will put on their list of health drives? More often than not it is the office fruit bowl. There is a prevailing belief that fresh fruit equals health. The 5-a-day message has sunk in hard and fast, however, due to a lack of clarity there is no guidance on the ratios to fruit and vegetables and the answer is different depending on whom you ask.
From my point of view, fruit is not the answer to everything. Fruit is an easy solution as it is sweet, and most people will eat a grape or two, banana or an apple. However, it is my belief that the portions per day should be more like eight a day minimum, with a ratio of 2:6 fruit : vegetables – not something that many wish to hear. We are creatures of habit and many will turn their noses up at the majority of vegetables, shudder with fear of the prospect of not eating potatoes. So a fruit bowl is an easy answer.
While I’m not saying that it’s a necessarily a bad thing, an office with one is definitely better than one without, but I feel that there ought be more thought around it of what goes in it and the surrounding refreshment issues. A fruit bowl is not the panacea to workplace refreshment health, more thought is required.
The main issues around fruit bowls:
- Rarely do they contain seasonal produce: seasonal produce is important as it means that the nutritional value is at it’s highest point. Our bodies require certain nutrients to help us through the seasons, and whilst eating pineapple in Autumn seems normal now, it is infinitely better to be eating apples, pears and plums fresh from the trees.
- Food Miles: due to economies or scale and the global nature of the food business, we see fruit from Chile, Kenya, Israel, USA, Spain etc gracing our tables. The produce is picked unripe and then stored in artificial conditions giving it a resounding lack of taste and texture. When force-ripened, the nutrients that make the fruit so beneficial are non-existent.
- Organic fruit: Most fruit will be purchased from major suppliers and will be ‘conventional’ i.e. sprayed. There is a common thought that organic or unsprayed equals expensive and the office wants the easiest option. The apple is one of the most highly sprayed crops, same with delicate fruits such as berries. So even though you might be eating these fabulously beneficial fruits, you’re also ingesting chemicals that the body has to detoxify and eliminate to halt the damage that they can create in our bodies.
So is the fruit bowl really the healthiest option – or is it a bowl of nutrient lacking, chemically altered produce that could potentially do us more harm than good?
My challenge to offices is to review their current landscape and see what they can do to improve their employees health creatively. It is about balance and awareness, Health by stealth. Think creatively to meet budgetary constraints and not ring-fencing around fruit alone.
A few ideas to increase health in the workplace:
- Invest in an organic fruit delivery service: such as Organic Delivery, Riverford or Abel & Cole.
- Encourage a reduction on caffeine dependency: buying herbal infusions that taste nice. Great brands include DragonFly, TickTock, Clipper, Pukka, Teapigs and Yogi .
- Remove fizzy drinks as standard. Replace with freshly pressed fruit juices such as Chegworth Valley Farm.
- Flavour water with slices of citrus and cucumber for a refreshing drink. Have jugs and glasses placed strategically throughout the office.
- Limit sweet treats are limited to once a week and link to a business objective such as timesheet completion.
- Halt the holiday sweet practice: who wants soggy aniseed biscuits from Germany?
- Think cleverly about meeting refreshments: Do you really need breakfast when a meeting starts at 9am? Most people would have normally eaten beforehand. Provide a menu for lunches and order specifically per person.
- Wholegrain breakfasts: Free porridge, muesli or wholemeal/granary toast.
Image by Rocker_44
