Workplace wellness is a significant contributor to healthy profits and this year has highlighted the importance of employee wellness as an indicator of business health.
Employee wellness programs have become a staple in many companies as a way to attract top talent, keep them happy and productive, and decrease employee turnover.
In fact, 80% of employees at companies with robust health and wellness programs at work feel engaged and cared for by their employers.
What does employee wellness look like in 2020?
Nutrition and Healthy Living
Too often, wellness programs are siloed off from other benefits. By integrating wellness programs into your day-to-day business strategy and overall company culture, it benefits the company beyond “just” wellness. Promoting healthy diets and lifestyles and linking them to less competitive outputs encourages a culture of wellness within the organisation. Give people the tools to make informed choices and encourage them to change negative patterns to help them overcome health-related issues linked to poor nutrition and lifestyle choices. Think comorbidities and use the current focus on the risks associated with these to motivate and encourage staff to adopt the wellness philosophy.
Promote and reward healthy eating habits
Proper eating is an essential part of overall wellness, but this is often difficult to address in the workplace. This is especially true when routines are disturbed like during the pandemic when employees are no longer in the office or just returning to it. Employers can help by creating a nutrition challenge that rewards employees for taking steps to build healthier eating habits. Points can be earned in different ways, including logging meals and snacks, attending online nutrition seminars and webinars, or being quizzed on navigating proper eating habits and food groups. To reward healthy eating behaviours, points can transfer into prizes, monetary rewards, or raffle entries to win grander prizes.
Wellable, a wellness technology company, enables organizations to create similar programs and challenges that help employees thrive by engaging them in holistic well-being educational modules and activities. Along with nutrition, Wellable helps companies to promote healthy behaviour such as physical health, mindfulness, and better sleeping habits through engaging themes and challenges.
Get a demo of the Wellable platform here!
Publish a workplace wellness ideas newsletter highlighting the best fitness, nutrition, and educational content from around the Web
A company newsletter can be a great way to introduce new health and wellness ideas in the workplace. Setup separate google alerts for “fitness”, “nutrition” and “wellness education” and select “only the best results”. Compile the best articles each week or month into one email and send out for your employees to enjoy.
Show your employees how they can improve their health
Bring in a specialist who offers biometric screenings and health assessments, and more importantly, can give people a roadmap to improved health. Our Red Alert Emergency Medical Services teams offer this service in and around Buffalo City.
If you find someone willing to spend some of their precious time at your office, be sure to make the process as easy as possible for them. Have an outline or a list of questions ready so the person knows what they should cover.
The basic rule of thumb is to encourage and support your employees to keep them engaged and motivated. The greatest reward you can give them is improved health.
*Credit to Snacknation for parts of this content