3 Key Ways to Prioritize Employee Wellness
As staffing professionals, we recognize that employee wellness is an important concept for us to recognize and invest in. It involves more than just sick days but rather caring for our employees on a level that encourages continual growth and improvement throughout the company. By investing in employee wellness, we become united as a team, fostering a culture of appreciation and inclusion. Showing that employee well-being matters helps us succeed as a whole.
Fortunately, there are three simple methods to value your staff and ensure their health and well-being. This includes creating a wellness program, developing wellness breaks, and offering health benefits. By implementing these interties, you can reduce turnover rates, improve morale and engagement, and even save costs when done correctly. Studies have shown that initiatives that focus on employees’ physical and mental health can lead to a major boost in their success. The advantages of incorporating wellness plans into regular office practice are obvious; not only does it help retain optimal performance from staff members, but it’s also proven to increase their engagement in company operations, resulting in greater efficiency across the board. We have found that investing in your employees’ well-being is truly an investment in your business’s overall future success.
Here are our 3 top ways to prioritize employee wellness:
1. Create a Wellness Program
Creating a wellness program can help build a strong, healthy culture within your organization. By addressing the physical, mental, and emotional health of your employees, you can increase workplace engagement and productivity. Begin by assessing the needs of your specific workforce so that you can tailor and customize the program to suit them. Put measures in place to evaluate employee satisfaction with the wellness initiatives regularly and make adjustments where necessary. Ultimately, creating a successful wellness program encourages healthier decisions among staff members and helps create a sustainable, productive working environment.
A comprehensive wellness program should provide employees with resources to assist in maintaining their physical and mental health. This could include offering preventive health measures such as on-site health screenings or making recommendations for healthy lifestyle habits. Offering balanced nutrition counseling can be valuable, as well as discounts at fitness centers or access to fitness classes provided by the company. Additionally, subsidizing a mental health benefit may be worthwhile if you wish your staff to be able to seek out counseling at any time. The goal of any employer is to ensure that their workforce remains strong and confident when facing the challenges of the modern professional landscape.
2. Implement Wellness Breaks
In today’s fast-paced work environment, employee health and wellness have become an increasingly important issue for employers. Employee mental health is particularly vulnerable to the stress of long hours and tight deadlines, so business professionals must prioritize employee health in their organization.
One key way to do this is by offering employees regular wellness breaks throughout the day. Wellness breaks can help promote employee mental health by allowing them to step away and gain perspective while also relieving stress levels. For example, employers can offer group puzzle activities such as crosswords, Sudoku, or jigsaw puzzles for employees to work on together. Not only do these activities help employees take their mind off of work-related stress, but they also provide an opportunity to test analytical and problem-solving skills away from work activities.
Studies have shown that employee wellness breaks increase employee productivity levels by up to 32%. Employee engagement levels also increased after taking wellness breaks, with a reported 21% improvement in employee focus and concentration. Furthermore, employee satisfaction levels were found to increase by 16% after taking regular breaks throughout the day. These findings demonstrate how employee wellness breaks can have a positive effect on employee health as well as the overall bottom line of an organization.
3. Offer Comprehensive Health Benefits
Comprehensive employee health benefits are essential to maintain employee retention. An effective employee benefits package can include paid time off, holiday pay, and health insurance coverage which all help to attract top talent to the company. However, the most important benefit of all is providing an Employee Assistance Program, which offers employees support in a range of stressful situations. This could include helping employees to find childcare, providing assistance during times of grief, offering legal options and advice, as well as managing stress. Offering comprehensive health benefits demonstrates that you are invested in the long-term well-being of your employees and will go out of your way to ensure their continued success.
Offering these health benefits to employees also sets your business apart from the competition in several ways. Most significantly, it demonstrates your commitment to valuing their wellbeing, which is a quality that job seekers are increasingly looking for when considering potential employers. Furthermore, the range of benefits offered can provide valuable assistance with everyday life and its associated challenges, as well as offer proactive support to manage stress and mental health.
Don’t forget to also communicate the benefits of your program clearly to potential and current employees. Making sure everyone is aware of the wide range of benefits you offer can go a long way in helping them feel valued. By investing in employee health, you are setting up your team for success and establishing a strong, supportive culture.
With the right mix of benefits, you can provide your employees with job satisfaction, improved overall health and wellness, and elevated longevity. Invest today and see how it can benefit your business in the future.
Why Employee Wellness is Good for Business
Ultimately, establishing and maintaining effective employee wellness initiatives is essential for businesses to stay competitive and create a high-performing work culture. When employees are supported and encouraged to take care of their physical, emotional, and mental health, it leads to increased engagement, morale, and productivity. Put simply, when employers invest in their people’s well-being, the benefits spread throughout the entire organization. From improved communication to enhanced energy levels, investing in employee wellness can yield financial returns in the form of savings related to absenteeism and retention.
Start developing these initiatives today – your team will thank you later. And if you’re looking for a purpose driven team that has made employee well-being a priority – view our services to see how we can help.