09 Oct What should an Employee Wellness Program contain?
An employee wellness program is a series of benefits and activities that promote health and well-being in the workplace.
Some people prioritize their job over health. They skip lunch and stay up late to get the job done. They don’t have time to exercise because they work all the time. And they never take a sick or personal day.
This is a wrong approach to work. Personal health always needs to come first. It’s the key to living a long and fulfilling life. Being in a good physical and mental shape also sets a person to be more productive. Many companies understand this and offer their employees a series of benefits and activities that promote a balanced lifestyle.
What are the benefits of a wellness program?
- More productive employees
- Less office stress
- Less colds, flu and other illnesses associated to immunity
- Happier employees
What to include in an employee wellness program?
- Physical health activities
Anyone who works 40+ hours per week in an office setting needs to find time to move around and exercise. Some companies provide to employees fitness rooms or gymnastics classes but this is not feasible for most. Many employees do not go to the gym even in these conditions. What can you do? You can choose on-site activities with an instructor who can do exercises in the office with your employees. See who is involved and reward the most active employees.
- General health benefits
Exercise is good for the immune system but there is more you can do to help employees fight off illness. As an example, during the winter, you can offer flu shots and make it known that employees are to stay home if they don’t feel well.
- Mental health & stress-release activities
Stress is a silent killer that can trigger serious health problems. It also goes hand-in-hand with mental health issues like depression and anxiety. In order not to let things get worse, choose stress-management or work-life balance seminars, activities such yoga classes or office massages to help employees relax and relieve the stress over the day. You can institute an office closing time to ensure everyone leaves at a reasonable hour.
- Social activities
Some employees enjoy activities that help them get to know their collegues better. Consider offering social activities like watching movies or team going out, book club or video game evenings and whatever else your employees enjoy doing and make them smile. Smiling is an important part of health too.
- Voluntary activities and social responsibility
Many people feel good when they help others. Good deeds make us feel more fulfilled and see things from a different perspective. You can organize a volunteering day to encourage employees to contribute to various social causes. All you have to do is to find the directions witch they identify more.
- Team building activities
One of the secondary benefits of a wellness program is that many activities strengthen the bonds between team members. Team building is an activity that will make employees closer and make them work better together.
