Healthy Snack Boxes Monthly

Our boss was one of those people who went on a home gym craze during Covid. He didn't talk about it much on Zoom but we could see his face slimming down and his shoulders and chest getting bigger.

With this whole pandemic going on, there have been plenty of adjustments to keep Pluggin’ Tugs running, which included remote working from home and virtual consultations with clients.

Though he'd been silent about his recent health kick, Chris wanted to discuss healthy packed lunch ideas for work when we were having our weekly staff Zoom meetings. We still have to meet at the office on Mondays.

So our company, Pluggin’ Tugs is a hair restoration and transplant company for men, in case you’re wondering. We also service women too, but the target audience is really men. In fact, most of the guys on staff can use the costly service, myself included. We all just gotta put in the two years for the 50% off.

Anyway, Chris also wanted to look into companies that offered healthy snack boxes monthly. This was all in part of the Workforce Wellness program, a way for Pluggin’ Tugs to pay lower medical insurance premiums for their employees if they participated in the program.

Pluggin’ Tugs was also quite gracious in providing goodies from its healthy snack subscription box, which included a myriad of nuts, dates, granola and raisins. Even though it wasn’t really about hair transplants or quality hair extensions, we’d figure we’d appease him. It doesn’t hurt to be healthy and most of us could lose a couple of pounds while we’re at it.

We are now transitioning back to how our operations were, with orders from corporate to return to the office. Before adjourning, Chris tells us that he’s excited to see all of us in person and that there will be changes - positive changes - that will be implemented by next week.

Now that we're back in the office, we know why. Chris has been exercising constantly and he's decided we should all join him.

At first, we all thought it was just an empty statement, that there was no action behind those words because we still have Pluggin’ Tugs to sell but changes did come, starting with what was discussed at our last Zoom meeting.

It was subtle at first, with Chris organizing our first meeting back to brainstorm snack box ideas for adults.

“Shouldn’t we talk about Pluggin’ Tugs marketing plan for this month?” I asked. “We need to ramp up sales to increase last year’s numbers again.”

“How about healthy snack boxes for adults or healthy lunch box ideas for adults?” he queried, completely ignoring me.

My co-workers all murmured in agreement, their heads bowed.

My buddy Freddy snorts in reply and points at the postscript on my agenda. Pluggin’ Tugs will not be discussed in today’s meeting.

Miffed, I looked down and saw nothing that was remotely about hair plugs. All items listed included removal of non-healthy items, physical activity required for all employees and meeting with an on-site nutritional consultant weekly.

There are no more chairs in the office, only standing desks, exercise balls and yoga mats. Even motivational gym posters were plastered on the breakroom, office and bathroom walls.

This was getting serious. Even what we ate was taken into consideration. All office vending machines that were normally filled with soda and chips are now replaced with water and vitamin supplements.

We used to have staff bring in goodies on Fridays. That entailed homemade cookies, cakes and candies. No more. Unless they were considered healthy, no enriched flour, sugar or excess sodium was allowed. So no one brought anything anymore. There was nothing to look forward to at the end of the workweek. And you guessed it. Staff morale was down.

Chris wanted me to look into a healthy snack box no subscription required. That would be easy if they offered a snack delivery service. Either way, it was still the snack box delivery gift that he wanted us to take advantage of, which was a free annual magazine subscription to Muscle Health. Chris also figured this would solve our Friday goodie dilemma and cheer up the staff spirit. I typed in Pluggin’ Tugs for the magazine subscription instead of Chris’ name.

Every 20 minutes, a bell rings and we have to stand up and do 20 squats or push-ups.

It was hell. Even during a virtual consultation with a client, I had to comply, executing pushups while I was on a Zoom call.

With all the required physical activity, more of my coworkers headed to the kitchen to quell their cravings. Freddy, who’s tall and portly, is usually the first to dig into the package of graze snacks.

The graze snack box included trail mix with nature’s candy - bits of dried apples to satisfy the sweet and salty cravings. It was the only thing that resembled anything like skittles.

But there was nothing left in the kitchen.

Freddy looked at me shocked.

“Dude, there’s nothing left in there. It’s all gone.”

A bell rings. Both Freddy and I dropped to the floor to do pushups.

We finished our exercise with the graze boxes delivered soon after. Apparently, Chris had made sure the breakroom would need to be replenished every day, with the secretary having ordered more the day before.

Sweating, Freddy grabs a couple of packages, his face relieved. “Nevermind, I’m good.”

The bell rang again.

“Hot dog,” Freddy swears.

And we both hit the floor, doing another 20.

There's a pull-up bar in every doorway and Chris makes us do a pull-up whenever we pass through one.

I pass through a lot of doors, doing a few pull-ups here and there but the one time I don’t, Chris catches me and orders me to do 5 more. I must be in his crosshairs for the rest of the day because he asked me what my findings were when looking into the best healthy snack subscription boxes online.

I told him I couldn’t find monthly snack subscription boxes listed because I was working on securing a Pluggin’ Tugs sale. He didn’t look amused. A bell rings and both Chris and I start on our pushups.

“Hank, I told you. This is part of the Workforce Wellness everyone needs to be serious about,” he said effortlessly.

“You don’t understand that as we are trying to increase sales, we are also trying to decrease expenses too and Pluggin’ Tugs spends a lot of money because our employees look like you and Freddy.”

Despite my huffing and puffing, I frowned at his comment and said nothing. I forwarded him a website that offered the best snack subscription boxes along with protein drinks and continued on with my sale.

Several people filed complaints about the excessive physical activity and backhanded comments made by Chris. HR tried to get him to stop, but he swears he's just "encouraging" healthy habits.

Sure, Chris has the best intentions. In fact, he insisted on getting everyone’s healthy lunch ideas but it’s getting a bit ridiculous. Since we’ve been physically back in the office, we have not discussed anything related to Pluggin’ Tugs.

In fact, most of our meetings included assignments looking into healthy snack boxes for employees. Chris wanted to partner with health and wellness companies and was close to doing so with one that offered a free organic food subscription box for every bulk purchase.

We were sure corporate would put a stop to it because it wasn’t anything related to hair plugs or increasing sales but Chris reasoned it’s part of the Workforce Wellness program. He’s just ensuring that all employees start a healthy lifestyle and make the right choices that will create a positive change in the office.

He’s also implementing a contest for anyone who has the least body fat percentage for their weight for a free Pluggin’ Tugs hair transplant for free.

I would protest, but it's easier to just go with it. Plus, my Covid tummy has disappeared.

Because of this, I lost at least 25 lbs and I can make it up the stairs without huffing and puffing anymore. So guess what? I can fit into my jeans again.

Plus, my wife thinks I’m sexy. She says I look like Jason Statham.

As for Chris, the partnership with a health food company, Urthbox has been good. In fact, Urthbox reviews have been favorable with more repeat customers signing up for an urthbox subscription at the initial purchase.

The referral has even boosted Pluggin’ Tugs organic visits with new customers inquiring about our services from our website. We get at least 50 new customers each month. Go figure.

So Chris was right. It is a positive change for the better.

I think I’m gonna keep doing this. I can do another 15 lbs. You know, try to get the ab definition going.