5 Ways to Kick-Start Employee Energy

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Facilitate Healthier Eating

When people are stressed out, what do they normally reach to for comfort? You've got it: the nearest nourishment available. Unfortunately, that often means opting for unhealthy fast food cheeseburgers, grabbing a couple of cookies from the office kitchen or reaching into a co-worker's jelly bean jar.

Interestingly, our bodies slough off 300 billion old cells every day — and grow 300 billion new ones. If the new cells are superior to the ones they replace, the body becomes more energized (no wonder diet has such a powerful change on someone's energy levels). While leaders can't mandate what their employees eat, they can facilitate healthier (and more superior cell-building) eating by putting a moratorium on communal goodies in the kitchen. As well, rather than taking employees out for fattening, energy-depleting team lunches, consider holding a potluck, and asking everyone to bring in their favorite healthy dish.

No doubt about it: Regardless of the time of year, we remain in a state of exhaustion. Look at some of your most promising employees: Do you remember a time when they were on fire, when they had fantastic ideas, contributed at staff meetings, and regularly went above and beyond the call of duty? And do they now simply appear to be going through the motions?

If you're a business leader scratching your head for ideas, there's good news. In this slideshow, Brady Wilson, author of "Beyond Engagement: A Brain-Based Approach That Blends the Engagement Managers Want with the Energy Employees Need," has identified five simple ways to reinvigorate employees — solutions that not only take up little time, but will energize the brain and body, leading to a higher-performing workforce.

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