What on earth is workplace wellness? Workplace wellness can be a broad term for programs and initiatives at work that support the health, safety and wellbeing of your respective employees, and sometimes their loved ones too. Organizational wellness is usually a business strategy and will be extremely good to both companies and employees, offering long and short term return on investments. Canadian research shows corporate wellness programs returned $1.95 – $3.75 per employee per dollar spent!
Companies that implement workplace wellness programs see significant benefits with regards to company, including:
• improved employee health
• reduced stress and stress-related disorders
• better employee morale
• higher workforce productivity
• lower absenteeism and fewer sick days
• lower health benefit costs
• fewer short-term and long-term disability claims
It makes business sense in promoting health and fitness function… and wellness programs have no need to break the bank in order to work. Among the first steps to developing an efficient wellness technique for your business should be to implement a thorough workplace wellness assessment. Conducting a powerful health risk assessment and environmental scan will assist your organization set specific, realistic goals to raise the health and wellbeing of the workplace, and ultimately keep your charges down and improve productivity.
Employee Wellness Programs
Organizations can provide a number of health and wellness initiatives to suit their budget and assist employees in learning and developing healthy lifestyle behaviours. The next offers some suggestions with the more common overall health challenges organizations face today.
Stress Management Programs: Stress is probably the most common issues facing today’s workers, and its impact on health and productivity can be devastating. Employees’ stress-related disorders cost Canadian businesses approximately $12 billion each year (Vanier Institute from the Family). To cut back stress and improve mental health and resiliency, consider offering stress management workshops and lunch and learns to coach staff about stress and teach strategies to reduce and effectively cope with stress. If budget allows, offering a worker and family assistance program has an excellent way to support employee stress issues, both at your workplace and at home.
Physical Activity Programs: Employee fitness features a direct impact on a company’s net profit. The risks of inactivity include premature death, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure levels, adult-onset diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke, depression, colon cancer and premature death. To compliment fitness at the office, some organizations offer onsite fitness facilities and programming. If the company has no an onsite gym, you can still offer group walking programs, yoga classes within a meeting room, stretch breaks, and encourage the employees to get active throughout the day.
Healthy Eating Programs: We’re the food we eat… and employees who eat fatty, sugary, low nutrient foods will never have the energy and stamina to get productive at all hours. Poor eating also plays a part in many illnesses and disease. For employer, it is possible to encourage healthy eating by and promoting nutritious diet in your cafeteria and vending machines. Would you offer snacks at meetings? Avoid the standard unhealthy snacks and treats, and give healthier options.
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention: One sure-fire strategy to reduce your company’s benefit costs is usually to promote disease prevention. If your corporate health risk assessment shows a high volume of employees who smoke, are diabetics or buck up medication, address these complaints through your wellness programming. Offer employee health resources and educational materials, cigarettes programs and health screening services.
These are merely some ideas of how ohio state university physicians can integrate corporate wellness initiatives into your business, and help you see coming back on your own investment. For more information, ideas in order to find Canadian workplace wellness agencies and programs on your workplace, look at Works of Wellness website. I am Canada’s workplace wellness business directory and collaborative information portal, connecting your organization with workplace wellness services and expertise.