Today’s employees are looking for more than just a job.
To attract top talent, employers are offering more extensive benefits packages, employee rewards, and other activities that add to the enjoyment of their work environment. But that only takes care of half of your employee.
In recent years, productivity experts have realized that companies must embrace the employee as a whole. They have realized that when employees are healthy, the company benefits. In A
well-designed wellness program can reduce stress, improve morale and increase productivity.
What is wellness?
By definition, wellness is the “state of being in good health.” It includes an active process where the individual becomes aware of healthy choices and learns to make better choices.
It is more than simply not being ill, more than eating properly and more than exercising. it is proactive towards keeping your mind and body running more efficiently and staying well longer.
True wellness is comprehensive. It encompasses the physical well-being of an individual, as well as the emotional, social and intellectual needs that a person may have.
What should a workplace wellness program include?
A wellness program that has been implemented by an employer is often focused on improving and maintaining the health of its workforce. Effective wellness programs help employees overcome specific health-related issues that may be hindering their personal and professional life.
As a result, many include programs such as weight management, smoking cessation programs, bereavement support, and even sleep-nooks. A majority of these programs are funded through the employer, who realizes that healthier people make happier employees.
How can you implement wellness programs in your workplace?
Implementing wellness programs can take many forms. Offering employee seminars, mandatory staff training, company-wide health campaigns and other programs are excellent ways to promote wellness and wholeness for your staff.
Some companies choose to bring in third-party experts to offer programs and services to their employees. Some programs may be temporary; counselling after a local tragedy, job skill training in preparation for corporate expansion or other similar programs may end after their usefulness has passed.
The specifics of each company’s wellness program will be unique to the individual needs of your employees. Regardless of the individual components of your wellness program, it is imperative that they are relevant to the employees in your company.
How does improving one’s mindset fit into a wellness program?
A comprehensive wellness program helps employees learn to be their healthiest: physically, emotionally, and socially. Deciding on goals and putting the effort in to achieve them is an excellent tool that employees can use to reach their wellness targets.
Many employers are hosting goal-setting workshops as part of their wellness programs, teaching their employees how to systematically set and reach their goals.
Implementing a goal-setting program can help individuals set realistic goals that can positively affect their physical health, as well as other areas of their life.
Because goal-setting can be used in a variety of settings, the fundamentals of goal-setting can be used to get the employee used to having success with achieving personal goals and understanding how to bring their skills, success and positive mindset into the workplace to help the company achieve its goals. This adds even more value to the corporate wellness program.
Creating a varied set of programs for your wellness program to include will lead to better results for your employees. By adding goal-setting to your workplace wellness program, you are giving your employees a tool that can empower them to help achieve your company’s goals as well as their own goals in their personal life.
Michele Bailey is president and CEO of
Blazing Agencyand
My Big Idea™. These two lines of business work congruently to support her clients’ success.
