The global pandemic has caused a number of changes for most small and large businesses. From new models of hybrid working to an increased focus on digital marketing and online sales, most businesses have made some pretty substantial changes to stay on top of sales during an unconventional year.
One of the latest trends in small and large businesses is the introduction of employee wellness and incentive programs set to help employees stay healthier, be happier, increase productivity, and in building a sense of team. If you’re a business owner or business leader, here are three reasons why a wellness program could be vital to the future success of your business.
1. Improving Employee Morale
The global pandemic has a lot of people feeling down, less motivated, and more stressed out than usual. One way employers are reaching out to help stressed-out employees and prevent burnout is by hooking up with companies like Wellable who work to bring wellness and fitness programs into the office. The idea is that by making employee mental and physical health a priority, employees will feel better about coming to work, regardless of the Covid-19 pandemic and everything that’s going on in the world.
Research shows that happy employees are more productive than those who show up at work to collect paychecks to support themselves. By incorporating a wellness program into your office culture, you’d be putting your business in a better position to attract and retain the most qualified workers in your industry.
With major changes in the job market, some employers are finding they need to keep up with the competition the same way job seekers do. That is, if you own a small business, you could lose workers to other small businesses that offer programs focused on wellness and mental health.
2. Decreasing Absenteeism and Illness
Healthier employees call in sick less. If you hope to reduce absences, one great way to do it is to incorporate a wellness challenge into your business model. The same way you’d put extra time into finding the right running track repair guide if you worked at a university in the college athletics department, you’ll want to invest some research into your decision to open a wellness program at your office.
Start by thinking about your health benefits. Is your company offering benefits that make sense for your employee demographics? Consider employee lifestyles, too. Where one company might benefit from a smoking cessation program, another might do well with fitness classes or yoga classes aimed to teach mindfulness and help with high-pressure positions. By doing so, you’ll cut down on employee absences.
3. Increasing Productivity and Team Building
Something as simple as a group fitness challenges could help bond employees and keep them working together well as a team. As part of a bigger employee program or done on its own through a tracking app allowing employees to chart progress, you could even offer incentives to the best team or department each month. Other ways you could support teamwork might be offering lunches to departments who find creative and healthy ways to use breaks, or through the use of gift cards to, day spas, health shops, and supplement stores to employees who add physical activity to their day.
The ideas are really limitless, and the great news about any health program is that you can start slow and move at a pace that works best for employees. When considering all the above, think about surveying your employees, too. You could even enlist the help of a group of employees to design a program that would work best for them.
At the end of the day, every business owner and leader needs to make their own decision about what might work best for their business and employees. When considering an employee wellness program, the first thing to think about is cost versus profit potential. From reduced absences to a healthier overall tone at the office, you may just find that a program like this would work well as your next big business decision.
