In 2015, Daiwa Securities launched a healthy eating initiative for its 13, 000 employees in Japan. Employees were urged to stop eating when they felt 80 % percentage full. It lasted only 30 days and was part of an attempt to improve the health and fitness of employees. Another expected benefit was a boost in productivity. The company appointed a Chief Health Officer, a former career investment banker, who had once collapsed and nearly died of overwork. Results were good.
Companies with in-house cafeterias should encourage their employees to select their lunch in the morning before cravings kick in after an exhausting meeting. Team or group commitments to healthy choices can be also deployed – claims the website of business school INSEAD. That way, points can be scored collectively by choosing healthy meals.
Give employees smaller plates
How Google does this? The company encourages healthy eating by strategically locating fruits and vegetables in the entrance to its cafeterias. It also gives its employees smaller plates, since most people are terrible at estimating their portion sizes and hides the candy from view. That contributes to eliminating overeating.
Get employees to commit
Many people are willing to make a one-time decision that pre-commits them to a healthier behavior. One way of improving healthy behavior is to offer a financial incentive. There is a less intuitive approach that puts the bonus at risk and asks participants to pre-commit to increasingly purchase healthy food. If they don’t manage that, their bonus for that month disappears.
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