Sedentary lifestyles and uninspired work is not only dangerous for an employee’s health, it can also harm your company as a whole. Promoting health and wellness in the workplace is an investment to benefit both employees as well as employers. Someone’s physical and mental health, in and out of the workplace, is something all businesses should be worried about. Work performance can suffer if their health and wellness suffers. This can directly harm their team, organization and personal life.
Promoting Wellness in the Workplace
Steady energy levels, higher productivity and focus and proactive behaviors are all the result of a healthy employee. Here are a few ways you can promote health and wellness in the workplace and set your employees up for success.
- Evaluate Employee Health Risks: If you are offering health benefits in your compensation packages, it might be essential to provide wellness programs in the workplace. Offering your employees biometric screenings, health risk assessments or both could ensure everyone is staying on top of their health (which could then improve their work).
- Offer Gym Memberships: A great way to motivate your employees to practice health and wellness outside of the workplace, is to offer gym, spa or yoga memberships. Offering an onsite gym also creates the opportunity for employees to exercise more often. Adding a wellness stipend into an employee’s compensation package, is making sure they are putting their health at the top of their list without having to pay out of pocket. Benefits like gym memberships also help the company’s employee retention rate.
- Provide Health Snacks: While vending machines and donuts for breakfast are the easiest and cheapest way to offer snacks to employees, it forces them to either bring their own food or eat unhealthy options. Providing water and healthy snack options, makes it easier for employees to make substitutions without ruining their health goals. Ask your employees what their favorite healthy snacks are to make sure you are providing something they will enjoy.
- EAPs: Offering Employee Assistance Programs or other advice lines, are designed to provide support to employees whether it be their mental health, stress levels or personal health questions.
Benefits of Workplace Health and Wellness
While all of these things sound great for your employees, you will notice the direct benefits for the company. Improved performance and consistency are all ways the company will benefit from a health and wellness program.
- Saving on health insurance: A major reason for wanting to improve the health and wellness of the employees, is the decrease in health costs and payouts for employee claims.
- Greater job retention: Recruiting and hiring new employees is expensive, therefore retaining the employees you currently have is very beneficial to the company. Workers are more likely to stay if they feel their employer is offering benefits and a comprehensive wellness program.
- Less absences: A healthier work environment can result in employees missing fewer days.
- Employee satisfaction: Wellness programs in the workplace lead to better teamwork, communication and job performance.
- Productivity: When employees are healthier, they tend to work harder and enjoy their work environment.
Health and fitness are essential for anyone’s well being. To keep the workplace happier and healthier, call Health Benefit Services to discuss how you can offer your employees health insurance through the company!
