Employee Wellness Programs: Everything You Need To Know

Happy and healthy employees are the backbone of a thriving business. As some business owners would put it, investing in your employees’ wellness is just as important as financing any other asset for your company. 

But don’t just expect that you’ll have a team of happy and healthy employees without putting in the work. Your team may start off happy and healthy, at the beginning. However, down the line, problems will start to arise. That’s where employee wellness programs come in.

What is an Employee Wellness Program?

An employee wellness program is any activity hosted by the company to support employee health. These programs are designed to create, cultivate, and sustain a happy and healthy team. 

These activities can be medical screenings, fitness programs, mental health support, and social activities. These and other similar projects cater to the care of the different facets of an employee’s life, even that outside of the workplace. 

This means all aspects of an employee’s well-being are being addressed, like their physical, financial, mental, and social health. After all, they are humans first and foremost. How they are outside of their work affects how they perform in their jobs.

The goal is to create structures and inculcate systems that bolster up a holistically healthy employee. In turn, this creates a healthy work environment. 

The Different Types of Employee Wellness

To create an effective and diversified workplace wellness program, you first have to identify the different facets of wellness in your employees’ life. All these different facets are interconnected and make up the overall well-being of a person. 

Physical Wellness 

Physical wellness is the facet of one’s life that is the most visible on the outside. Whether you’re in a labor-intensive industry or a corporate setup, ensure that the physical health of your employees is taken care of. 

There are a ton of reasons why you should support your employees’ physical health. Having healthy employees is one of the ways you can ensure a smooth-running business. And should employees find themselves in a bind with their physical health, they know they will be supported by the company. This fosters a strong relationship between the employee and the employer. 

Mental Wellness 

The impact of one’s mental health in their day to day life is unquestionable. It not only impacts the person inward, but it can reflect outward as well. This can then affect other areas of their lives for better or for worse.

A less mentally healthy employee may not be able to show up as efficiently as a member of the team. They may not be able to think clearly or make good decisions. They may even have difficulty coping with stress. In some severe cases, this may lead them to a decline that may overturn their entire lives. 

Creating a safe space for employees to feel supported with their mental health will establish a healthier and kinder workspace. This in turn uplifts a more positive environment where employees can thrive. 

Emotional Wellness 

Emotional well-being is closely tied to mental health. Emotional health deals with just that, emotions. How does one cope and manage these emotions? It also deals with how an individual establishes and sustains relationships, we will discuss more on that in a bit. 

Just like mental wellness, it is important to create a company culture that values the mental and emotional well-being of its employees. The support from the workplace can do wonders to boost an employee’s morale and esteem. 

Being able to show your employees how you value their emotional and mental well-being would also help them seek support and help earlier. This prevents burnout and breakdowns which can be detrimental. 

Social Wellness 

How your team interacts socially is also important. This is basically the foundation of your workplace culture. 

Your employees should be in an environment that allows them to enjoy social cohesion. They spend a significant portion of their day with their coworkers, after all. This means having a workplace that makes them feel safe to positively interact with everyone in the team. 

Financial Wellness

Financial stability is crucial for an individual to feel secure as they go about their day-to-day life. A person who has to constantly worry about bills is a person constantly under stress. 

This stress can carry over to the workplace and negatively affect how they perform. An employee who has a more secure financial well-being, on the other hand, is found to be more productive, engaging, and efficient. 

Why Your Business Needs an Employee Wellness Program

A good employee wellness program is beneficial to both the employer and the employee. By showing how much you care for your employees, they become even more valuable members of your team. 

An employee with healthy well-being will be an employee that is motivated, loyal, productive, and efficient. They will uphold the values of the company and support the business’s growth. 

Companies with a solid wellness program have higher employee satisfaction and employee retention. This means more resources are then focused on bettering the team you already have as opposed to using those funds to replace the employees who have left. 

How to Create an Employee Wellness Program

An employee wellness program done right will yield the company with overall healthy employees. It also results in a positive workplace culture that supports the well-being of the employees. This then becomes a cycle wherein your team thrives and your business grows. 

Your program doesn’t have to be a series of grand activities, one after the other. Some can be small changes in your workplace that support healthier choices, while others are more long-term and sustained channels of support.

What is important is you identify your current employees’ health status and needs. You then find the best solutions to address those needs and sustain them for the long term. 

When focusing on physical wellness, the first is to make sure your team has health insurance. Next is to incentivize healthy habits and behaviors be it through gym memberships, yearly health check-ups, or company fun runs. You can also consider having healthy food available in the office so your employees have access to healthier options for their snacks and meals.

Work on your company culture to ensure that it is socially healthy and values work-life balance. Have programs that educate your team about mental health. Provide channels for your employees to seek mental health support through therapy and counseling.

Have social activities for your team to bond. Celebrate birthdays and company milestones. Develop employee incentive programs. Your workplace culture should also have zero tolerance for bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination. 

You should also promote financial literacy within your team by hosting talks about financial health. Have insurance and retirement plans for your employees and offer employee assistance programs. 

Reaping the Benefits

Your team is essential to your business. Investing in their health will result in more engaged team members, productive contributors, and efficient workers. All of which make up a strong team that can propel your business forward. After all, you reap what you sow.

If you want to support your team even further, book a quick chat with Assembly.