Much of the daily consumption of food and beverages takes place in working hours, either in the company or at home through teleworking. This circumstance has motivated the main Spanish companies to become aware of the importance of adequate nutritional habits.
According to the data of the HR Best Practices Survey 2021 From Top Employers Institute, 81% of certified companies in Spain have nutritional information programs, 9% above the average for the continent. In addition, 76% of these organizations offer employees healthy food options at their facilities, 13% more than the European average.
In these companies, different types of initiatives have been consolidated, such as, for example, conducting training workshops, awareness days or weeks to learn how to manage a healthy diet. In addition, they offer employees the possibility to eat well in the office with healthy menu options (including information on caloric control), fruit baskets or vending machines with healthy products.
The nutrition information programs of the best employers also include innovative initiatives such as competitions for healthy recipes prepared by the employees themselves, nutritional coaching (sometimes with nutritionists in the same company) or gastronomic conferences.
The companies have also adapted to the new hybrid work model and offer information so that employees can eat healthily even when they are teleworking at home, with digital applications with advice on nutrition or the production of videos with simple recipes for cook at home including weekly menu proposals and a paid shopping list.
Healthy eating has also entered the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of Top Employers companies with meetings open to the public, participation in childhood obesity prevention programs or collaboration with health entities to raise awareness among patients about the importance of a healthy diet.
Good nutrition practices are part of the commitment of the best organizations to wellness programs, which are a key business imperative for 94% of Top Employers companies. These programs, which consider health from a comprehensive point of view, group initiatives on diet, exercise, stress management, emotional balance or financial health. “The strategic implementation of this type of program, in addition to helping to improve the health and well-being of employees, contributes to reducing absenteeism, burnout, stress or low productivity problems”, highlights Massimo Begelle, Regional Manager of the Top Employers Institute in Spain and Italy.
Healthy eating, a growing trend
Healthy eating is a growing trend in recent years, which has accelerated since the pandemic began. The consumption of healthy foods (fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and foods low in salt, sugar and fat) has increased by 15% in 2020, according to data from Consum supermarkets.
A fact corroborated in the 2021 study “Health and sustainability mark the diet of the future” by the Spanish Association for Commercial Codification (AECOC), which states that eight out of 10 consumers spend more on healthy eating than before the pandemic.
