Are Your Co-Workers Sabotaging Your Nutrition During the Holiday?

The email comes out at noon. “To celebrate your hard work this week, there are cupcakes, and lots of holiday treats in the breakroom at 3:00 pm today.” Does this sound familiar?

The universal reward for hard work always seems to be food: cake and ice cream, a catered lunch for in-service training sessions, pizza for the overtime crew, bagels and cream cheese to brighten up a bleak Monday morning…and the list goes on and on. With co-workers baking their favorite holiday treats or picking up a yummy treat at the local bakery and bringing them to the office, it’s challenging to stay on track with your healthy nutrition routine, especially during the holiday.

Even though we’re talking about our co-workers, we may be “sabotager’s” as well. Food seems to be a quick easy way to reward our co-workers because it is generally well received. In a world where two thirds of our population is overweight or obese, we need to find different ways to let our co-workers know that they are appreciated without sabotaging their healthy eating routine and more importantly, their overall health.

There HAS to be something other than food, doesn’t there? Money is almost always acceptable but the small amounts that would be individually generated to replace a free dessert or snack would be so minimal that their reward value would be insignificant.

You can show meaningful appreciation in different ways. Each co-worker is unique and differs so much that one person’s pleasure is another person’s pain. You can make a big impact by customizing the reward for each individual. Be Creative!

Here are a few ideas:

1. How about the gift of time? Give your co-worker a coupon to take on one of their tasks for a few days. Not only would this be meaningful, but it would also show that you truly appreciate what they do.
2. Write a handwritten note, expressing your appreciation for the value that your co-worker adds to the team. This is a great way to build camaraderie and strengthen your team’s dynamics.
3. Create a “You’re Excused” pass for each co-worker. The pass can then be used to excuse small transgressions (this could be anything). Think about the fun that you could have with these passes and the potential team building that it would accomplish!

I’m sure that your creative juices are now flowing. Now you can avoid the guilt of sabotaging your co-workers’ healthy nutrition routine during the holiday. Instead, you can think of ways other than holiday treats to show your appreciation.