How to Create an Employee

Wellness Program to Promote

Workplace Health
Some hardworking 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 an admiral yet foolish approach to work. Personal health always needs to
come first. It’s the key to living a long and fulfilling life.

Being in good physical and mental shape also sets a person up to be great at their
job. Many companies understand this and offer their employees a series of
benefits and activities that promote health and well-being. This is known as an
employee wellness program.

In this business guides, you’ll learn the advantages of a wellness program and the
steps for implementing one in your company.

What are the benefits of a wellness program?

It can be hard to see the advantages of an employee wellness program at first
glance. But the truth is healthy employees bring an array of benefits to the
businesses they work for. Here are a few benefits of having an employee wellness
program.

 More productive employees

There are numerous studies that suggest a healthy lifestyle correlates with
increased productivity. Don’t believe us? Next time you hit a rut, get your
heart rate up and you’ll likely get back in the zone.
 Less office stress
Too many people and companies accept workplace stress as the norm. But
it leads to burnout, which can result in higher employee turnover.
 Less colds, flu and other illnesses
Everyone knows healthy practices prevents illness. And business proceeds
as usual when less sick days are taken.
 Fewer office-related injuries
Taking a break to exercise or just stretch prevents common office injuries,
resulting in fewer worker compensation claims.
 Happier employees
Offering a wellness program leads to happier employees. They’ll appreciate
the benefit and be generally positive because they’re leading a healthy life.
What to include in an employee wellness
program
Gym membership reimbursements or office yoga classes might come to mind
when someone thinks of an employee wellness program. These are great
activities to offer but a quality program can include so much more. Here are some
activities and benefits you can offer that cover all areas of employee health.

Fitness activities
Anyone who works 40+ hours per week in an office setting needs to find time to
move around and exercise. Some companies are fortunate enough to have an on-
site gym or fitness classes but these perks aren’t feasible for most.

You can instead reimburse employees for fitness-related purchases or encourage

your staff to form after-work exercise groups. Another idea is to use Fitbits or other
wearable technology to track the activity of your employees and reward the most
active people.

General health benefits

Exercise is good for the immune system but there is more you can to do to help
your employees fight off illness.

During the winter, you can offer flu shots and make it known that employees are to
stay home if they have a bug. It’s also a good idea to have a stocked first aid kit
and a private “wellness room” where people can tend to personal health needs.

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.

First and foremost, make sure no one is burning the candle on both ends. You can
institute an office closing time to ensure everyone leaves at a reasonable hour.
You can also require employees to take time off when they’ve incurred a certain
number of PTO days.

And you can of course offer activities like yoga classes and massages that help
people with mindfulness while working.

Social activities
Some employees prefer to sweat and blow off steam on their own and that’s totally
fine. However, they still may enjoy activities that help them get to know their
colleagues better.
Consider offering social activities like an office book club, game nights and
whatever else your employee enjoy doing. Smiling and laughing is an important
part of health too.

Community service activities

Many people feel good when they help others. Doing good deeds is fulfilling and
can help keep things in perspective.

You can organize a volunteer day for your staff to go into the community and help
out. You can also encourage your employees to organize groups and fundraisers
for causes that mean a lot to them.

Team building activities

One of the secondary benefits of a wellness program is that many of activities
strengthen the bonds between team members.

An after work jogging group, a book club and volunteer days will all make your
employees closer than they were before.

How to create an employee wellness program

Now that we’ve covered the benefits of a wellness program and what to include,
let’s talk about how you can implement a successful program. Here are some
basic steps for getting an employee wellness program going in your workplace.

 Set goals that benefit the company & staff

Creating a wellness program is a fun project project but don’t lose sight of
why you’re doing it. Make sure every part of your program benefits both the
company and staff.
 Form a team to create the employee wellness program
Creating a comprehensive wellness program can take a lot of work and a
long time so it’s a good idea to put a team on the project. The team will
likely be lead by HR but should also include executives, people from finance
and others who are interested in promoting a healthy workplace.
 Get to work planning the program
With your team in place, start planning what your program should look like.
Form a budget, research ideas and get input from your employees. When
the time is right, call a company-wide meeting to announce the new
wellness program and get into the details. Make sure your employees know
everything it includes so they can they can get the most out it.
 Get feedback and optimize your wellness program
A successful employee wellness program is never done. Your team should
always be open to feedback and new ideas so the program improves and
employees get even healthier.
Healthy employees means a healthy
business
An employee wellness program is more than just a cool employee perk. It’s an
effective way to ensure your employees are in the right shape to do their best
work.