SLUG: Albertas Best Workplaces 2015HED: Work HealthyDEK: Healthy employees are happy employeesWant employees that are enthusiastic about what they do, and good at it? Keep them healthy. Marvin Washington, an associate professor of management at the Alberta School of Business says that stress at work is reciprocal with stress at home, which gets brought back to work. He notes that employers have been doing what they can to reduce stress, targeting stressors like unnecessarily strict dress codes, and focusing on how comfortable employees are on the job, so the quality of their work improves.When I grew up, on all kinds of TV shows, the guy would bust his butt at work and drink beers at home, then the next day hed be frustrated and hungover. That was a weird solution, says Washington. It used to be a pattern: stress out at work, go back home and be half as good at work, and hope for the weekend. I think companies are smarter than that now.You dont need to go as far as Google does, providing foosball tables and soft serve ice cream on the job site, but anything to help keep employees motivated, relaxed and stress-free helps. Washington suggests onsite fitness facilities which help people refresh and focus. Even something as simple as a couch for napping does the trick as well.Evandro Bocatto, a professor of innovation, business ethics, and HR at McEwan University says a healthy lifestyle and diet are a step in the right direction to productivity. Eating badly will take a toll on performance because unhealthy workers are less productive, but eating well isnt a magic pill on its own.You have to reframe the question. It should be about how to have optimal performance at life, with work being part of life, says Bocatto. The fact that I eat well doesnt necessarily mean I will have ability to perform better automatically. There are a lot of other factors mediating that connection.Bocatto says employers should strive to give their employees a sense of meaning and the feeling that they are creating or contributing to something great. If employees dont feel that meaning, they face stressors, productivity can take a hit and workplace turnover increases. Work in an environment thats controlling, in a job that makes a person think inside the box, and is not inspirationalis just as bad as not eating well, says Bocatto. If the ambiance is unsafe, and as a worker I feel that I cant trust people, and think theyre treating me badly one day, and well the next, this can create a paranoid state in me.Workplaces that have high levels of stress and low levels of satisfaction among employees can literally make people sick. Burnout and demotivation can ruin a job for workers by damaging mental and emotional wellbeing.Create an environment in which employees can self-motivate, finding enthusiasm and excitement about their work and your employees will respond with better productivity and employee retention. Workers who are encouraged to engage in measured risk taking, for employees who are forgiving of their mistakes, are the most efficient and thankful.