November is National Diabetes Awareness Month.

According to the World Health Organization, the number of adults living with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980 to 422 million. Since work is such a bit part of our lives, (you’ll spend approximately 92,000 hours of your life at work!) there are some ways your organization can support health and wellbeing—especially to decrease the chances of developing pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

If you’re part of your organization’s leadership, here are some tips for you. If you’re an employee, consider sharing these with leadership—or YOU can start a healthy movement at your workplace. 😀

Make it okay to move! Encourage stand-up meetings and walking breaks. Offer programs that get people moving, and perks like bike racks and showers.

Provide healthy food options. If there are vending machines, ask if they can be stocked with healthy foods—if you’re ordering lunch, go for quality over quantity.

Get rid of soda and sugary drinks. Harvard Public health says these are a major contributor to the obesity epidemic. A typical 20-oz soda contains 15-18 tsps of sugar and about 240 calories.

Evaluate your company’s stress levels. As a leader, if you have strategies and tools in place, take a good look at where everyone’s at— and then act on them. As an employee, keep tabs on your stress levels and also what triggers high stress. If you need to ask for help, do it. You’re worth it.

Leadership should walk the walk. When people see leaders are committed to healthy behaviors, employee engagement is higher. And if you’re not an official “leader” in your company, be a leader in the movement to make your workplace more healthy.

Knowledge is power! Find out more about diabetes here.