Companies are concerned with the bottom line. However, you can only improve your bottom line if you improve your employee performance. Monetary incentives and bonus programs only go so far.
Sometimes, if you want to get the most out of employees, you have to help them be their best with an employee wellness program. An employee wellness program is an investment in the physical and mental health of employees.
This has been shown to boost office morale, increase productivity, and retain top talent. Here are five simple ways to start an employee wellness program.
Offer Healthy Snacks
If your employees live on junk food, then they are probably going to have junk production. Junk food lacks the nutrients needed for concentration and stamina. Plus, when employees do not eat healthily, they tend to take more sick days which disrupt their work.
You can encourage healthier diets while on the job with better office snacks. Instead of vending machines with chips and candy, try to have options like fruits and vegetables. There are healthy snack providers that can help you get started.
You should also switch out soda machines with water purifiers. Employees are likely to eat what is nearby, and these healthy options can improve mood, boost energy levels, and result in enhanced productivity.
Provide Standing Desks
Workers who sit at a desk all day are at risk for a whole host of complications including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. As part of a disease management program, you may want to start shifting your employees to standing desks.
Standing desks offer employees a dynamic option for their workspace. These desks can be raised or lowered with ease. This makes it possible for employees to sit and stand interchangeably as they are most comfortable. Standing desks empower and enable employees to improve their health.
These desks are linked to a lower risk of disease, reduced back pain, better weight management, and higher productivity levels.
Provide an On-Site Fitness Center
Exercise is a critical part of staying healthy. However, most employees have trouble making time to go to the gym. You can improve their ability to work out regularly by building a fitness center on-site.
Obviously, this requires an investment up front, but it doesn’t have to be large or fancy. Having a few simple machines will give employees a convenient physical outlet. Exercise does not merely reduce employee sick days. It can actually improve the mental state of your workforce overall.
In fact, people who work out regularly with a personal trainer report widespread benefits in all areas of their lives. If the initial cost is scary, remember that it can be an attractive feature when hiring new employees.
Create Health Challenges
Subtle changes to your company’s culture are important, but you should also be direct. Let health and wellness be primary talking points during training time. Take this a step further by organizing health and fitness challenges on a regular basis.
These challenges can promote your other fitness initiatives, encouraging employees to track their water consumption, steps taken, or workouts completed. To make it fun, you can offer small prizes to top scorers each month. Enhance the challenges further by subsidizing the purchase of fitness technology like step trackers.
This can make the challenges easier to implement, and it will get employees excited. By giving employees access to this technology, you encourage them to embrace fitness in all areas of their lives.
Also, try to organize your company events with fitness themes. Try hosting one at a trampoline park to get employees moving in a whole new way.
Mental Health Assistance Programs
Wellness is not merely physical. It also has a strong emotional and mental component. On your workforce right now, you probably have many employees who suffer from anxiety, depression, extreme stress, and other mental challenges.
Most of these employees suffer in silence, and too many fail to get the help they need. This is dangerous for your employees, and it can limit their productivity on the job. To compensate, you should invest in mental health assistance programs in the workplace. These programs must be confidential in order to encourage participation.
Helping employees address these mental health issues will have both professional and personal advantages. Your investment as a company in mental health fosters better relationships with employees while promoting a more positive and productive work culture.
Over to You
By investing in your employees’ wellness, you are creating a positive work culture that motivates, creates loyalty, and boosts productivity. You can start your own wellness program by investing in things like healthy food options, workout facilities, health challenges, mental health programs, and more.
Consider the options and choose the best ones to build a wellness program that benefits both your employees and your bottom line.