5 Lesser-known Elements of an Employee Wellness Program
Employee Wellness is imperative for a business’s productivity. This means all organizations must design a proper employee wellness program blanketing every important element. But, most often, organizations miss certain elements while curating an employee wellness program. Today, we have a look at these aspects and how to improve it.
What is an Employee Wellness Program?
An Employee Wellness Program or Corporate Wellness Program is an initiative by employers to ensure the proper health of the workforce. This is to increase the health and happiness of a workforce within the office environment. In return, a healthy and happy workforce results in increased productivity and business.
Furthermore, an employer needs a proper wellness program for many reasons other than productivity.
These are increased workforce morale, attracting better recruitment, workforce retention, reduced absenteeism, reduced employee turnover, health risks, etc. Moreover, it also strengthens the employer and the employee relationship.
Having a proper employee wellness program means improving employee happiness and productivity.
Changing needs of an Employee Wellness Program
Though the primary goal of wellness programs was the health risk assessment of the employees, it’s no longer enough.
With time and growing opportunities, employees now have a wider choice of employers. This means they have options. If they feel neglected within an organization, there are many alternatives for them elsewhere.
Mere provision for healthy snacks for work, occasional flu shots, healthy eating, etc, for the employee health promotion isn’t enough.
Workplace wellness programs must go beyond the health benefits of a traditional health plan.
Now, companies must look into other factors as well to succeed with an able workforce. This means that the traditional approach to an employee wellness program is no longer enough.
Employers must dedicate efforts on how to make an effective employee wellness program while being comprehensive. An arrangement that approach an employee wellness program as a complete solution rather than a healthy fix.
To help you further, here are some of the lesser-known elements of an employee wellness program.
The Lesser-known Elements of an Employee Wellness Program
1. Emotional Wellness
By definition, Emotional Wellness means being in tune with one’s emotions, feelings, and thoughts. It also includes managing stress, emotional intelligence, and sound mental health. This is a bit tricky to handle in the workplace as emotions differ from person to person.
But, the emotional wellness of employees is an important part of a unified wellness program. Being emotionally well means a person can operate with a clear mind. This in return optimizes productivity.
To resolve this issue, these are some of the things that an employer must first start with.
Workforce Meditation programs
Breathing Exercises
Mental Health Day
Stress Management Sessions
Mental Health Resources and Education
2. Social Wellness
Social Wellness in a workplace means a sense of belongingness among the team members. In easier terms, it means socializing among the employees.
An employee stays the better half of the day in his/her workplace. It is very important for the employee to feel he/she belongs there. Loneliness in a working environment can bring about a lot of negative energy in an employee’s mind. This often turns to a disconnect which leads to employee attrition.
To counter this, employers must encourage employee engagement in socializing with one another. Get them to spend some time together with one another besides work. This will help in bringing together a happy and friendly environment in the workplace.
Employers can achieve this by implementing these activities into their wellness programs.
Outings and Activities
Book Clubs
Official Celebrations
Social Areas in an Office
Wellness Challenges
3. Intellectual Wellness
Intellectual Wellness means the ability to learn new things, exercise creativity, critical thinking, etc.
Each employee needs to have this freedom of exercising intellectual wellness in the workplace.
One aspect that motivates an employee is the urge to make a difference in the field of choice. The employers must realize this fact and make appropriate provisions to let employees speak their ideas.
In most cases, Managers are the ones pitching ideas. But, sometimes an executive may have a better idea which never gets told because of a lack of communication. This is because of the gap between executives and higher-level management.
Organizations must work out a system to encourage employees to put forward their ideas in an organized matter.
This can be done by
Departmental meetings with higher-level management
Idea Boxes
Critical Thinking exercises
Recognizing and Appreciating ideas with the entire workforce
4. Financial Wellness
Finance is an aspect that troubles every human being alive. Even being such an important part of work-life, many employers fail to account for this. One of the main reasons for employment is to gather finances.
A study published by GreenPath Financial Wellness uncovered the following points. It was discovered that 71% of the employees cite personal finances as their biggest stress. Furthermore, 58% of the studied employers reason financial illness as the major reason for employee absenteeism.
How can a person function productively and feel good at work if such a major aspect is left unattended?
Employers can mend this situation by implementing better financial help in their employee wellness programs. These can be
Financial Counselling
Tuition Assistance
Loan Assistance
Education
5. Spiritual Wellness
Spiritual Wellness doesn’t mean one’s beliefs. In the workplace, it means a sense of content an employee gets that helps him/her find a purpose in life. These can be attaining a proper work-life balance, building positive relationships, accepting and growing with challenges, etc.
This can only happen if one is happy with the work he/she is doing. If an employee is not finding happiness with his/her work, he/she will never reach full capacity.
In this regard, employers need to put on a supporting and wholesome environment where the employees are happy with their work.
This can be done by implementing these routines in company culture.
Meditation and Yoga in the workplace
Retreats
Asking questions about employee views on company actions
Helping maintain a work-life balance
Bottom Line
These are 5 of the key and lesser-known features that most companies fail to install in their employee wellness program. These elements play a key role in multiplying the benefits of an employee wellness program.
Failure to implemeent these elements results in low retention of employees and maximum difficulty with hiring new ones.
An employee spends a better half of his/her life in the workplace. It is only natural that they want to work in a place where they are well looked after. As employers, it is your responsibility to take care of them.
This is because a happy workforce drives a thriving business which ultimately leads to inevitable success.
If you missed these mentioned elements of an employee wellness program, be sure to get to it! While framing your next employee wellness program, go beyond the usual employee perks with healthy food, exercises, nap room, etc.
Be sure that your employees can work in absolute peace knowing their needs other than the health are met. Frame a corporate wellness program that caters to your employee as a whole and not just the health!
We hope you have a happy and healthy workforce!