An employee wellness program can have a direct impact on your company's productivity and profits. Healthy employees who maintain a realistic work-life balance are less likely to fall ill and are more productive. Building employee wellness programs takes time, but when done properly, they are well worth the investment.
Benefits of Wellness Programs
Why bother with an employee wellness program? Health, after all, is the individual employee's responsibility, not the company's. It’s increasingly clear, however, that taking an active role in employee health has multiple positive effects for businesses. Benefits of wellness programs include:
- Fewer sick days.
- Greater productivity.
- Less office stress.
- Decreased work-related injuries.
- Happier employees.
Creating an Employee Wellness Program
When designing an employee wellness program it’s important to remember that it should benefit the company as well as the staff. You are, after all, making an investment to ultimately reap some benefits for the company.
Assign a team to determine what your staff would want in a wellness program, and determine how each element of the program will positively impact your business. The team will most likely be led by human resources, but should include representatives from all departments and executive positions.
When rolling out the wellness program, make sure all employees understand what the program entails, why you're implementing it, and how it benefits them. Get feedback from staff once the program is running, and make changes as needed. Be flexible, and try to keep the program fun for all concerned.
Activities for Employee Wellness Programs
The type of activities you choose for your wellness program will depend, in part, on the size and nature of your business. Larger companies may have weight and exercise rooms on site, while smaller companies probably need to look for fitness facilities near their worksites. The possibilities, however, are almost limitless, and can include:
- Lunchtime fitness classes.
- Walking and hiking challenges.
- Gym stipends.
- Healthy living seminars.
- Sponsored employee sports teams.
- On-site flu shots.
- Healthy snacks in the office.
- Participate in fundraising walks.
An employee wellness program can help foster teambuilding and a sense of community among your employees. Remember, wellness refers to more than simply physical health. Book clubs, meditation classes, community work, and games nights can all help foster mental wellness.
Bribery Works! Incentives and Wellness Programs
Most employee wellness programs are based on voluntary participation. While a healthier mind and body are the long-term incentives, employees may need some encouragement to enroll in the program. It’s here that incentives come into play.
How well do incentives work? Rand Corporation reports employers who did not include incentives in their employee wellness programs saw participation rates of twenty percent--significant enough to warrant the continuation of the program, but hardly ideal. By contrast, programs with built-in incentives saw average participation rates of forty percent.
What kind of incentives can you offer for employees who commit to your wellness program? Days off, gym membership reimbursements, stipends, or access to better health care make excellent rewards for long-time participants, and encourage other employees to reap the benefits of the program. At the start, however, your incentives should be smaller and easier to attain.
Possible incentives include:
- Water bottles - The Basecamp Sierra Stainless Steel Bottle helps keep your active employees hydrated, and can be used for warm beverages on those cold winter commutes.
- Stress balls - An inexpensive gift to welcome new participants to the program, a heart-shaped stress reliever reminds participants of the value of staying healthy.
- Charitable donations - An offer to make donations to an employee’s favorite charity based on program participation can motivate social-minded staff members.
- Gift cards - The chance to earn restaurant, store, coffee shop, and movie gift cards can give employees the extra incentive they need when they’re not feeling like exercising.
- Personalized clothing - Give your employees a sense of belonging and community by gifting them personalized workout gear. Functional gym wear like the US Blanks Short Sleeve Crew Neck unisex makes a great welcome gift for joining the wellness program, while those who stick with the program for a year might receive a Sherpa-Lined Hooded Sweatshirt as a reward.
- Golf sets - If your employee wellness program includes golf as a possible activity, a Titleist(r) Pro V1(r) Tin helps outfit your employees for the course.