Know Your Numbers Week: Supporting better health in the workplace
Know Your Numbers! Week takes place from 7th to 13th September and provides an important opportunity to raise awareness of blood pressure and encourage people to take a more proactive approach to their health.
For employers, it is also a useful opportunity to think about how workplace wellbeing initiatives can encourage employees to understand their health and make positive lifestyle choices.
At Hands On At Work, we believe that preventative wellbeing can play an important role in creating healthier workplaces. Providing employees with accessible information, practical advice and opportunities to focus on their health can help make wellbeing part of everyday working life.
What is Know Your Numbers! Week?
Know Your Numbers! Week is an annual campaign that encourages people to have their blood pressure checked and understand what their numbers mean.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, often has no obvious symptoms. This means someone can have high blood pressure without knowing it.
Understanding your blood pressure can therefore be an important part of looking after your health and identifying potential concerns early.
For employers, Know Your Numbers! Week provides a natural opportunity to promote health awareness and encourage employees to take proactive steps towards their wellbeing.
Why is blood pressure important?
Blood pressure measures the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood around your body.
Blood pressure is recorded using two numbers.
The first number is systolic pressure, which is the pressure when your heart beats.
The second number is diastolic pressure, which is the pressure when your heart rests between beats.
A consistently high blood pressure can increase the risk of serious health problems, including heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.
The NHS recommends that adults over 40 have their blood pressure checked at least once every five years, although more frequent checks may be recommended depending on individual circumstances.
If you are concerned about your blood pressure or general health, speak to your GP or another appropriate healthcare professional.
Why cardiovascular health matters in the workplace
Cardiovascular health is an important part of overall employee wellbeing.
Our working lives can influence many of the lifestyle factors associated with heart health, including physical activity, diet, sleep, stress and alcohol consumption.
Busy workloads and sedentary working patterns can sometimes make healthy habits more difficult to maintain.
This is where workplace wellbeing initiatives can have a positive role to play.
Employers cannot make health decisions for their employees, but they can create an environment that makes healthy choices easier and provides employees with access to useful information and support.
How can employers support employee health?
There are many practical ways organisations can encourage employees to take an interest in their health.
Encourage health awareness
Awareness campaigns such as Know Your Numbers! Week can provide an easy starting point for conversations about preventative health.
Sharing reliable information about blood pressure, cardiovascular health, nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices can encourage employees to think about their own wellbeing.
Provide nutritional education
Nutrition plays an important role in overall health.
Workplace nutritional webinars can give employees practical information about balanced eating, hydration, healthy food choices and the relationship between diet and wellbeing.
Educational sessions can be particularly useful because they provide employees with information they can apply both at work and at home.
Encourage physical activity
Regular physical activity can contribute to better cardiovascular health and overall wellbeing.
Employers can encourage movement through simple initiatives such as walking challenges, active breaks, wellbeing events or promoting opportunities to move throughout the working day.
For office based employees, even small changes to working habits can help reduce long periods of sitting.
Support stress management
Stress and cardiovascular health are closely connected to overall wellbeing.
While some workplace pressure is normal, prolonged or excessive stress can affect both physical and mental health.
Stress management and resilience workshops can help employees understand the causes of stress and explore practical techniques for managing pressure.
Employers should also consider the underlying causes of workplace stress, including workloads, working hours, organisational change and staffing levels.
Encourage preventative health
Preventative health is about taking action before a potential health problem becomes more serious.
Encouraging employees to attend routine health checks, understand their blood pressure and speak to healthcare professionals when they have concerns can help promote a more proactive approach to wellbeing.
Workplaces can support this by making health information accessible and creating a culture where looking after your health is encouraged.
The importance of healthy workplace habits
Creating a healthier workplace does not necessarily require major changes.
Small, consistent actions can make a difference.
These might include encouraging employees to take regular breaks, promoting movement during the working day, providing healthy food options at workplace events or giving employees access to wellbeing education.
The most effective approach will depend on the needs of your workforce.
Some employees may benefit from nutritional information, while others may engage more with physical activity, stress management or mental health support.
Offering a variety of employee wellbeing initiatives can help organisations reach different people and support different aspects of health.
How Hands On At Work supports workplace wellbeing
At Hands On At Work, we provide flexible workplace wellbeing services designed to support employees and complement existing health and wellbeing strategies.
Our services can help organisations use awareness campaigns such as Know Your Numbers! Week as a starting point for wider conversations around employee health.
Nutritional Webinars
Our nutritional webinars provide practical, accessible information that employees can use to make informed choices about food, hydration and healthy lifestyle habits.
Sessions can be delivered virtually, making them suitable for hybrid and geographically dispersed teams.
Wellbeing Events
Our workplace wellbeing events can bring a range of health and wellbeing activities together, giving employees an opportunity to focus on their health during the working day.
Workplace Massage
On site workplace massage provides employees with an opportunity to step away from their usual working environment, relax and recharge.
Massage can be incorporated into wellbeing days, employee appreciation events, conferences or regular workplace wellbeing programmes.
Health and Wellbeing Initiatives
We can help organisations create engaging wellbeing programmes that reflect the needs of their employees.
From nutrition and stress management to mental health and physical wellbeing, a varied programme can help make employee wellbeing part of everyday workplace culture.
Know Your Numbers, Know Your Health
Know Your Numbers! Week is a useful reminder that understanding your health can be an important first step towards looking after it.
For employers, it is an opportunity to encourage employees to take a proactive approach to their wellbeing and provide practical resources that support healthier choices.
A healthy workplace is not about expecting employees to be perfect. It is about creating an environment where people have access to information, support and opportunities to prioritise their wellbeing.
Supporting a healthier workplace
Whether you are planning a Know Your Numbers! Week initiative or looking to develop a wider employee wellbeing programme, Hands On At Work can help.
Our flexible workplace wellbeing services can be tailored to your organisation, your workforce and your wellbeing objectives.
Want to bring health and wellbeing support to your workplace?
📩 Email: info@handsonatwork.co.uk
