Employee wellness remains a topmost concern for all organizations committed to employee welfare. Well-designed, quality and employee-driven health improvement programs repay your company in more ways than one.
Employees are the cornerstone of a company’s success and growth. Employee satisfaction and well-being brings down attrition levels considerably, and improves overall productivity. If you want hard data,
Here are a few tips for you to ensure the wellness program in your company is successful and rewarding.
#1. Provide What Is Required and Relevant in Your Organization
Many a time employees feel that they are being pressurized to partake in healthcare initiatives. Many companies have implemented health initiatives far too quickly and drastically.
There have been instances of employees losing their jobs due to resistance to no-tobacco or no-smoking rule at work places. Nicotine addiction is hard to shake off and such rules only push harmful behavior underground and do not really help in employee well-being.
If organizations are planning major steps they need to take employees into confidence and should give advance notice to all employees. Companies need to give assistance and encourage employees to give up harmful behavior. Many employers incentivize employees who have changed their lifestyle habits to comply with new workplace wellness ethics.
Good practices include conducting a survey or study to understand what your employees truly need as part of the corporate wellness initiative. It is important that you understand your audience, which is your talented labor pool before offering them a wellness program. Along with the needs of the employees those of the employer also need to be assessed. Once you are able to properly align the needs of the employees, goals of the organization and the capabilities of the wellness initiative, you can expect to have a quality health program in place.
#2. Craft a Plan of Approach
Once you have a clear understanding of what your company and employees need, comes the next step of finding the right work place wellness service provider. You need to decide on the right vendor who has expertise in providing programs with similar goals and initiatives.
There are many reputed names dotting this maturing landscape. A vendor who spreads himself too thin and deals with a wide array of services may not be able to cater to a small business or startup with very specific needs, requirements and constraints. Choose a vendor who deals with companies and organizations in your niche.
It is important you formulate a fitness plan that caters to the needs of your employees and also takes into account wider organizational goals. Fitness and wellness classes, stress management seminars focusing on family, health, and financial issues, regular and free health checkups, or a combination of above work well in most organizational settings.
In some companies, contests and group activities are held which encourage employees to work towards a common fitness goal, getting welcome rewards in the end. Throwing in a bit of fun and sport into wellness doesn’t hurt.
- Employees at StumbleUpon can get a relaxing massage right in the comforts of their office,
- Everbrite has a room where you can just chill out and enjoy some personal time
- and Zappos has private spots to enable employees catch much-needed sleep.
- Multinational companies like Accenture offer customized online health programs for offsite employees so that they do not miss out on the benefits their employer offers.
#3. Make Wellness a Part of Company Culture
Wellness and health initiatives cannot exist in isolation in an organizational whole. They need to be part of the cultural fabric of an organization. Your wellness programs cannot put employees in a hard place where they have to choose between their work and health.
A health conscious company will try to foster well-being through all its initiatives. In-house gyms and well-marked walking paths on campus encourage employees to stop using work as an excuse for not being physically active. Healthy and nutritious fare is served at cafeterias which taste good and look appetizing. These measures gently nudge employees towards adopting a more wellness-focused lifestyle.
Some of the best companies in the world are mindful of the effects of work-related stress and encourage employees to take appropriate breaks, and give them access to medical services and checkups right in the office premises. Managers and employees in demanding roles find it convenient that they do not have to take a day off or commute long distances since they have all facilities at workplace itself.
#4. Do Proper Groundwork
Wellness programs and corporate health initiatives flourish and yield results only when the environment is right.
Healthy employees may be happy employees, but they need intrinsic drive and motivation to be part of and avail the benefits of wellness initiatives.
Excellent work environment and good organizational policies are essential for a satisfied and contented workforce. A healthy organization is not about in-house gyms and smoke-free worksites, it is more about great employee morale, low attrition levels, minimal politics, friendly HR policies and high productivity. It is crucial your employees feel good about working for you. If they feel cared for and acknowledged, they will be motivated to take care of other aspects of their well-being as well.
A healthy body cannot be achieved without a healthy mind. In addition to access to counselors and psychologists, many companies like KIND Healthy Snacks and Mondo encourage employees to give back to the communities they live in and support charitable causes. Mondo offers up to 5 days of paid vacation annually to employees so that they can volunteer or be part of charitable initiatives.
Social work helps in health and mental well-being in more ways than one. So ensure your corporate health initiatives are as comprehensive and inclusive as possible.
Conclusion
Employee wellness needs to be part of corporate infrastructure like marketing, HR, workplace safety and benefits. The ROI may not be in hard dollars, but it will foster organizational growth, success and stability in more ways than one.
Images: “Yoga meditation on the beach, healthy female body in peace, woman sitting relaxed on sand over beautiful sea sunset, calm girl enjoying nature, active vacation lifestyle, zen spa, wellness concept/Shutterstock.com“
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