What Is A Corporate Wellness Program?
The age-old saying ‘Health is Wealth’ is more relevant today. With all the lifestyle changes in today’s modern, fast-paced life, it has become more critical for individuals to stay healthy. Companies have realized the importance of having a healthy workforce and have introduced corporate wellness programs.
A corporate wellness program helps employees realize the importance of a healthy lifestyle. At the same time, a healthy workforce helps the company stay focused on the end goals rather than spending its resources on healthcare costs or wasting productive hours on healthcare-related issues.
Let’s understand all about corporate wellness programs and how you can design an effective corporate wellness program.
What are corporate wellness programs?
Corporate wellness programs is an initiative taken by the organization by which it aims at helping employees maintain a healthy lifestyle. Under this program, a company may organize a few activities or extend a few incentives to employees to stay healthy. It has been reported that a successful corporate wellness program contributes to the efficiency and productivity of the workforce.
A corporate wellness program may include the following initiatives and incentives:
- Gym memberships
- Gym at workplace
- Yoga classes
- Meditation classes
- Health check-up camp or reimbursement
- Availability of healthy food at the workplace
- Wellness outings
- Support to quitting smoking
- Organizing fitness contests and challenges
- Space to rest or take a nap at the workplace
How to design a corporate wellness program?
A corporate wellness program needs to be tailor-made for each organization, depending on the kind of challenges it faces and the requirements of its employees. You can follow these steps to design an effective corporate wellness program:
Consider the size of the business
You need to maintain a balance between cost and benefit. Depending on the size of the business, the requirement of employees, and what it costs the business, you can select activities that can help you promote a healthy lifestyle in the organization.
Ask employees what they want
Much before rolling out a corporate wellness program, you should discuss with employees about their requirements. This would help understand the challenges faced by the employees and their expectations from a corporate wellness program.
Make the program simple
One of the key ways to make a successful corporate wellness program is to keep it simple. The simpler it is to understand and follow, the more employees would be open to participating in it.
Benefits of a corporate wellness program
There are multipronged benefits of a corporate wellness program. Some benefits of a corporate wellness program are as follows:
Increases job satisfaction
If an employee feels that the employer cares about their health, there is increased job satisfaction. Also, it would result in a lower attrition rate and reduced training costs.
Promotes a healthier work environment
A corporate wellness program helps in building a healthy work environment. As employees feel healthier, there is an increased sense of positivity in the work environment.
Attracts new talent
A corporate wellness program is a great appeal factor for prospective talent. As it helps in employer branding, it is easier to attract new talent with a successful corporate wellness program in place.
Tips for a successful corporate wellness program
You can follow the following tips to build a successful corporate wellness program:
Delegate leadership support
As more employees participate in the program, you can delegate leadership support by appointing leaders for each activity. Other colleagues can direct their queries to the leader.
Establish a wellness committee
To manage the corporate wellness program effectively, you can establish a wellness committee that will oversee the various components of the program and will be responsible for its success in the organization.
Implement incentive-based programs
This works best. You can offer incentives to employees to follow activities under the corporate wellness program. This will be a win-win for the employees where they are being incentivized to stay healthy.
Create a social system
You can use communication channels to build opportunities for interaction and collaboration on activities that are part of the corporate wellness program. This will help the team to stay on track and build a strong bond with each other.
