Intro to Workplace Wellness: Getting it Right

Implementing a wellness program in the workplace could be one of the most prudent decisions you ever make as an employer.  There are several obvious benefits as a healthy team is more motivated to stay at work, recovers from sickness quicker and has less risk of long term illness.  If you succeed in creating a safe, positive and healthy environment for employees, you can increase morale, improve work-life balance and, as a result, positively impact your business.

It all sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? Employees lunching on nutritious, wholesome meals that fuel them through the afternoon slump.  Copious amounts of coffee replaced with water and a handful of walnuts.  A brisk walk round the block to prepare the mind and body for the day ahead.  The mid-morning cigarette break replaced with a mindfulness session.  Productivity up as sick-days go down.

But are these goals realistic for your employees?  The likelihood is that you're not entirely sure.  Perhaps you know that John likes to play tennis on a Sunday or that Mary has a herniated disc, but a comprehensive understanding of the health problems, fitness levels and interests of all your employees off the top of your head is unlikely.  However, finding out the health status and interest areas of your employees is paramount to the success of your program.

Action 1: Get to Know Your Employees
Methods such as surveys, focus groups and health risk assessments are excellent ways to gather the knowledge you need.  These will help you build a better picture of your workers needs and desires.  For example, the health concerns of a construction worker will be completely different from a person sitting behind a desk all day.  The health concerns are just part of the overall picture.  In addition to understanding what they need you must understand what they want, because if they are not buying what you are selling, then any program, regardless of its merits, will become redundant.

Action 2: Get Leadership Involved
Once you have decided what wellness program idea you want to pursue it is important to get the backing of all levels of leadership.  Your managers, as well as the rest of your employees, must be invested in what you’re trying to do. Easy access to sufficient resources will make your program far more likely to succeed.  The participation of direct managers throughout your organization is also important as they will encourage and motivate all employees to take part.

Implementing the right program, with the right backing for the right reasons will greatly increase the success of what you are doing. If you successfully manage to balance these important factors then it will not be long before you see a healthier, happier workplace.

Be sure to subscribe as we'll discuss the pros and cons of the different ways to gather information about your workers.