Wellness Programs for Employee Engagement - EmployeeConnect
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Wellness Programs for Improved Employee Engagement

Wellness & Wellness Programs for Employee Engagement

If we’re to assume that someone with no prior knowledge to what a “wellness program” is, I’d say their guess at it is something to do with helping you live longer. In terms of its connection to the workforce, this assumption is quite warm. In fact, it’s leaning towards the hot end of the scale. When we talk about wellness programs in the workplace environment, the type of keywords that should appear should be yoga classes, weight loss programs or even health screening check-ups. These keywords in a brief nutshell is what a wellness program entails.
These wellness programs are something that some organisations overlook, because they believe satisfying their employee’s needs on a professional level with skill development is all that’s required from their end of the workplace. For those employers that go a bit deeper, giving them that family-work balance is just merely enough.
That’s where wellness as an important term comes in and suggests to organisations to implement wellness programs. The question that you’re most likely thinking of is…

Why Should Your Implement a Wellness Program?

Because as simple as it is, your subconscious priority on your wellbeing is just as important as your employee sees theirs. Are those extra hours at work you’re putting in to meet deadlines turning your headache into a migraine? It’s doing the same to your employees too. Being well is important to help you bring forth your everyday duties as it is for your employees’ to put their all in at work. In saying so, it’s important for you as an employer to empathise with your employee and do what you would do for yourself, but to them too.
Not only does raising the importance of wellness through wellness programs help you through daily tasks, it fosters for further engagement. This engagement strengthens between your employee and workplace as they know their state of being is of importance. Having this understanding registered in their thoughts, they’re more willing to put in just as much as the organisation does back to them. Other points that rise with highlighting the importance of wellness and wellness programs is:

  1. You establish a positive workplace culture – This is particularly important especially when it comes to retaining your employees and attracting the interest of prospective ones. In addition to that, you are in the eyes of potential investors and partners (A bonus!).
  2. Your employees’ happiness increases – Straight forward enough, helping them administer their health and wellbeing to see improvements, only lead to their overall happiness. With happiness, that’s more willingness to show up to work isn’t it?
  3. You establish a personal connection – With your employees of course. Putting the effort to understanding them on a personal level, only shows to them that you’re more than just a manager, you’re a companion. In saying so, we know this lead to increased relationships with employees.
  4. It reduces costs – Think about it this way, if your employee was to fall ill, that’s a cost to you and your company right? They put through sick leave, which in essence translates to a shortage in skill supply for the day. Focusing on wellness through wellness programs prevents that sickness and helps minimise costs borne.
  5. Productivity boosts – Your employees’ capacity to perform efficiently sky rockets having known that their mental and physical state is intact. This productivity from them just means they’re pushing your company’s overall performance.

It’s an important thing to understand how focusing on wellness through wellness programs facilitates all the benefits above, but it’s another important thing to know what this wellness program should have. Additional to that is how to begin implementing the right wellness program. So the question to be answered here is…

How to Implement the Right Wellness Program?

Having already mentioned that wellness programs entail in a nutshell; yoga classes, weight loss programs and health screenings, we need to understand first to:

  1. Draft the foundations of your wellness program – This involves conducting an assessment of your overall workplace to see what areas in health are lacking. (e.g. Does your Accounts Manager suffer from constant sore legs?) This will give you an idea of what wellness features your program should have.
  2. Talking to your employees – It’s as simple as asking them what they’re currently feeling to have a personal insight.
  3. Look into third parties – Begin searching for gyms or health clinics that are happy to be on board with helping your company stabilise. See if you can partner with them for this program.
  4. Monitor and adjust your programs – Make sure your program is doing what it was supposed to be doing. See if there is anything that’s needed to be adjusted to ensure it continues serving the needs of your employees.
  5. Provide a wide range of services – Your wellness program should encompass many aspects. As mentioned yoga classes and weight loss programs are two of the many. Other services you could look into may include; preventative programs against smoking, meditation classes or gym memberships.

Knowing that each of the above is designed to ensure that you implement the right wellness program for your organisation, it’s something to keep in mind that it will benefit your employees but your company as well. If we connect the dots from what we’ve discussed above, we can see that the benefits are both short and long term. Focusing particularly on the long term, we know by connecting your employees’ wellness with the workplace it will enhance your company’s performance. This just provides a pathway to achieving company objectives more efficiently. That is a benefit, is it not?

Alexi Gavrielatos
alexi@employeeconnect.com

Business Development at EmployeeConnect