Today’s workforce is multigenerational and the expectations go far beyond what it was a few years ago. As companies adapt to the changing times, it’s become increasingly evident that simply offering gym memberships or an office ping-pong table won’t cut it!
Modern-age job seekers are on the lookout for jobs that cater to their goals, personal needs, security and health, and overall wellbeing.
But, when you’re spending much of your day at work, taking time out for personal wellness and wellbeing is challenging. Hence, it’s essential for employers to promote good health behaviors and create a culture of wellness at work. One way to create a culture of wellness is to introduce an employee wellness program.
What is a corporate wellness program? Does it have any benefits? How can you implement an effective corporate wellness program? We’ve crafted this handy guide where you can learn answers to such questions and more.
What Is A Corporate Wellness Program?
A corporate wellness program is a set of benefits/activities an organization puts into place to improve employee health and wellbeing. The goal is to help employees stay healthy, boost the overall work environment, and achieve a healthy workplace.
Such initiatives include anything like on-site gym or fitness programs, preventive care for managing chronic diseases, wellness sessions like mental health consults or stress management, etc.
Why Corporate Wellness Program Is Important?
Corporate wellness programs help solve several workplace health risks that ensue due to the lack of physical activity, stress, consumption of unhealthy food, etc. and help employees lead healthy lives.
And healthy employees mean healthy companies.
With workplace wellness, promoting healthy habits is just the tip of the iceberg. They have far more invaluable benefits, like showing your employees you truly care about their health and wellbeing. Besides that, a thoughtfully designed and well-implemented program can introduce a number of benefits into the workplace:
- Increased morale
- Increased productivity
- Reduced stress
- Reduced absenteeism
- Reduced healthcare costs
- Higher employee engagement
All of which can impact a company’s bottom line.
Food for thought: Several studies show that those companies that prioritize employee engagement and wellbeing outperform the rest by 10%.
Besides profitability, health promotion in the workplace breeds happiness in a real way making the environment a positive one.
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If you browse through the above resource, not only do you learn to set up a winning workplace culture, but also take advantage of the benefits that come along with it!
Along with an awesome culture and corporate wellness solution, you’ll soon become an employer of choice!
How Do You Implement A Corporate Wellness Program?
Akin to how wellness is more than eating leafy salads, corporate wellness programs go beyond gym memberships. It’s vital to look at the entire employee population, their families, and corporate culture to determine how you can encourage employees to change their behavior.
Of course, it’s not simple, and it takes time and effort. But, wellness programs are especially effective when they're clearly tailored to the goals and needs of specific populations and provide opportunities for employee engagement and input.
Here’s how you can implement a corporate wellness solution in your organization.
Step 1: Baseline survey - Begin by assessing your employee's current interest in health and wellness, dietary preferences, and physical activity levels. This assessment will give you an idea of where you presently stand.
Step 2: Develop specific targets & budgets - Based on what you discover, set specific targets like 25% of employees joining a walking club and budgets to meet the same.
Step 3: Analyze the different providers and the benefits offered - Once you have your targets laid out, you can find and survey different benefit providers, what they offer, and pick one who matches your needs.
Step 4: Negotiate the best price - Price is an important aspect. After making your choice, negotiate for the best price or find ways to sweeten the deal!
Step 5: Communicate the workplace wellness program - Once the program has been implemented, you need to tell your employees about it to ensure maximum participation. Also, so that your employees remain healthy and happy.
Step 6: Track the program and optimize for best results - As with any program, you need to evaluate this too, for its effectiveness. Establish certain baseline metrics, and keep a track of them on an ongoing basis. As you go along, feel free to make amends.
Want to know how to promote wellness in the workplace? This article on How To Promote Wellness In The Workplace [Updated 2022] will help!
Top 5 Benefits Of a Corporate Wellness Program
So, what is a corporate wellness program’s benefits? It has multiple benefits for both employers and employees. They reduce a company’s total healthcare spending, make employees feel more productive, improve employees' health, and more.
Sounds too good to be true? Well, it’s not! Read more about the top 5 benefits, backed by research.
1. Reduced healthcare costs
When you take care of your employees’ health, they’re less likely to fall sick. And one of the best ways to do this is through an employee wellness program. Several studies on wellness programs show that for every rupee spent on wellness programs, a company saves nearly 3X owing to reduced medical costs.
2. Increase in productivity
Employees spend a large portion of their day working, and health often takes a backseat. In the long run, this results in a drop in productivity or poor performance. A good employee wellness program encourages employees to prioritize both mental and physical health.
This helps lower levels of stress and improves their motivation. For instance, practicing meditation and yoga thrice a week helps with thinking and clarity, thereby enhancing focus, productivity, and performance.
3. Improve health behaviors
Well-being directly impacts the behavior of a person. A healthy employee is on their best behavior while unhealthy ones are more morose. A wellness program that addresses multiple touchpoints can help adopt healthy habits, do away with bad lifestyle choices and thus, reduce employee healthcare risks and improve the outlook of their lives.
4. Higher engagement
Incorporating wellness initiatives in the workplace help boost the level of engagement. If you pick the right partner, you get access to carefully curated wellness programs, which ensure employees are engaged. For instance, wellness programs may consist of group activities such as stimulating brain teaser sessions, group laughter yoga sessions, and more.
Such group activities help employees bond with one another and create a culture of enthusiasm. This directly impacts the company’s bottom line.
Want to know How To Improve Employee Engagement? Then you need this guide - How To Improve Employee Engagement: An Ultimate Guide [2022]
5. Reduced absenteeism
The reasons for absenteeism can be many, but a leading one among them may be health issues.
Employee wellness programs help employees stay healthy and fit. An employee who is physically and mentally fit have fewer chances of being absent from work because of their health. Further, such employees have high levels of positivity which permeates throughout the workplace, creating a positive culture.
Workplace wellness playbook
Effective and easy to implant strategies to reduce absenteeism
We Can Help You Be At Your Best
From the start of this guide to the end, we’ve answered critical questions like what is a corporate wellness program, how to implement one, and the benefits. One thing is missing - who?
The answer is staring right at you - Loop!
Loop, a health benefits partner, ensures financial protection from health risks and improves the health outcomes of your employees.
We ensure we give HRs the needed tools to make admin related to healthcare a breeze and employees a corporate wellness program that benefits them, holistically.
If you wait for a second longer, you’re losing out! Quick, talk to our experts and set up your corporate wellness program today!
