The philosopher Aristotle once said, ‘Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.’
Indeed, the growth of your company or organization depends greatly on your workforce, and the level of productivity and engagement they put in their work. Meanwhile, workplace productivity and engagement are directly tied to overall health, wellness, and employee wellbeing.
Thus, it can be concluded easily that workplace well-being initiatives or employee health wellness initiatives are essential for both the well-being of your employees, as well-being the growth of your business.
The idea is simple: to take care of your employees so that they can take care of your company.
It creates a healthy, symbiotic relationship between the employer and the employees, giving rise to holistic and healthy work culture.
What Are Workplace Wellbeing Initiatives?
Just as the name suggests, workplace wellbeing initiatives are a set of programs and projects that are aimed at providing holistic well-being for the employees of an organization.
In other words, health and wellbeing initiatives in the workplace are initiatives taken by an employer of an organization, to attain a healthy workplace. This is done by combining various health activities into the daily work routine of the employees, to enhance their well-being.
By fostering a supervisory health culture, the well-being initiative essentially takes a comprehensive approach to employee health, including their physical, mental, and emotional health.
Employee healthcare handbook
A quick and easy-to-read guide for implementing employee benefits that work for you and your organization
The idea behind these initiatives has evolved and changed over the ages, as has our idea of ‘health’. Now, a healthy person is healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally, even amidst a hectic working life, and thus, the programs are designed to promote that.
These initiatives or programs need not be very expensive or time-consuming; rather, a good initiative is one with high returns on investment.
Did you know, workplace wellbeing initiatives are also called wellness programs? Click here to read more on why employees should participate in wellness programs!
Why Are Workplace Wellbeing Initiatives Important?
Workplace wellbeing initiatives are important because they show that you genuinely care about your employees, and are willing to invest in their future.
Through workplace wellbeing initiatives, you are taking care of the overall well-being of your employees, and transforming their lives as well as benefiting your company, with reduced absenteeism, increased employee engagement, reduced employee turnover rate, increased job satisfaction, and reduced costs and paperwork on employee health compensation.
Good workplace wellbeing initiatives can attract better, talented recruits to your company since employees look for these additional benefits on top of their financial compensation package while looking for a new job.
Proper workplace wellbeing initiatives will also mean that you can retain your existing employees in your company, thus reducing the employee turnover rate, and the expenses and paperwork that come with hiring substitutes. With these initiatives, you can also establish a healthy company culture.
With healthier employees, you will have a high rate of presenteeism, meaning that your employees will come to the workplace regularly and be able to put in their very best.
Workplace wellness playbook
Effective and easy to implant strategies to reduce absenteeism
10 Workplace Wellbeing Initiatives To Increase Productivity
Here are some well-being in the workplace ideas for 2022 to boost and increase the productivity of your employees!
1. Comprehensive health insurance
One of the biggest benefits or wellbeing initiatives you can offer to your employees is an all-inclusive group health insurance coverage that will provide them with medical and financial security for themselves as well as their dependents.
A comprehensive insurance plan provides extensive coverage for medical emergencies, that covers expenses right from inpatient treatment to consultations, outpatient treatment, hospital stay, and medical testing.
Click here to read more about Comprehensive Health Insurance and its benefits.
2. Physical Fitness
One of the most essential parts of health and wellbeing is physical health and fitness, and to ensure that for your employees, you can arrange for an array of classes or sessions for them. You can have HIIT (High-intensity interval training) classes for your employees for rapid weight loss and muscle strength.
You can also organize sessions or classes on pilates and Zumba to make healthy living a fun exercise! Yoga is another good option since it takes care of both your physical as well as your mental health.
Another fun idea is to conduct a walking meeting for your company, where you can encourage employees to catch up on their work while staying active.
3. Nutrition seminar
As the old saying goes, ‘You are what you eat.’ Food is the fuel that keeps your employees running and working through the day, and they need to know about the nutrition their body needs, and where they can get it from.
You can arrange for a professional to conduct a seminar on healthy eating and nutrition so that your employees know about the nutrients they need and how to get them.
4. Healthy office snacks
It would not be enough to just inform your employees about the nutrition they require. In today’s fast age, it is very easy to forget what your body wants, and take refuge in fast food or ready-to-eat food, which comes with fewer nutrients.
Thus, it is a good idea to keep a breakfast spread or healthy snacks available in your office so that your employees do not have to resort to unhealthy fast foods.
5. Self-defense classes
An individual’s overall well-being is largely dependent on their safety and security. It is always a good idea to give safety training to your employees, which can vary between emergency protocols in case of fire or self-defense techniques.
What is an added advantage is that self-defense classes - including sessions on martial arts, and kickboxing - help your employees stay fit and active, too!
6. Stress management
When we speak about health, we often forget to consider emotional health, while the truth is that stress and emotional fatigue that employees feel can take quite a toll on the physical health of your employees, and their productivity levels, too.
Conduct sessions on work-life balance, or set up laughter clubs, to reduce stress and take care of your employees’ tension. Simultaneously, keep a healthy work environment to not overwhelm your employees and stress them out.
Having a ‘buddy’ at work also helps greatly with stress! Click here to read more about the buddy system you can create in the workplace!
7. Mental Counseling
The mental well-being of your employees is as important, if not more, as their physical well-being. In fact, in the current job scenario, an employee needs to make hundreds of micro-decisions every day and can suffer from decision fatigue.
Especially in the post-pandemic period, anxiety is at an all-time high, and all of these factors can negatively impact your employees, and consequently, your company. Thus, you can arrange for regular therapy or counseling by professionals for your employees, to take care of their mental health, and prevent and manage possible disorders.
8. Skill training
Holistic well-being also includes taking care of the intellectual needs of your employees. This has an even more direct effect on your work; your employees can learn and master new skills and utilize them for the growth of the company!
Your employees must be given the constant opportunity to learn and upskill themselves, so that they do not find themselves redundant in the constantly changing market, and can adapt themselves to different roles.
9. Volunteer work
A common proverb says, ‘Do good, and it will come back to you in unexpected ways.’ Now, whether you believe in Karma or not, one thing is undeniable: it feels good to do good for others, and contribute to the larger society in whatever little ways we can.
So, a unique way you can engage your employees is by giving them the chance to do some volunteer work. This will not only have a feel-good effect but will also improve team spirit and camaraderie.
10. Employee rewards and recognition
Sometimes, acknowledging the efforts of each of your employees and giving them the due credit is all that it takes to show that you care. Organize employee recognition programs, and incentivize those programs with fun rewards!
You can have a regular company-wide ‘Employee of the Month’ program going on, which will not only recognize your employees’ hard work but also create a spirit of healthy competition among your employees.
Wondering how to build an employee recognition program? Click here to find out!
Healthier, Happier Individuals Become Better Employees!
By taking care of your team, you are doing a favor to yourself and your company! And you can do this by investing in group health insurance and workplace wellbeing initiatives.
Employees seek benefits that add to their wellness and security.
Checkout this ultra guide to explore the latest trends in giving your employees the benefits they deserve.
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