Do you know the benefits of an employee wellness program?
What are all the benefits?
-by Sharon Yardley
Employee health and wellness refers to the effort a business or organization makes to keep the employees in their workplace well. This means doing what they can to support positive and healthy behaviour and decisions to safeguard both their mental and physical health. The happier and healthier a company’s staff, the better the return for the business- ensuring longevity for employee, employer, and business.
Workplaces are doing more to identify and deal with chronic diseases as they, through their wellness programmes, detect signs of illness early on, making them much easier to combat. The employee wellness programmes in places of work offer consistency and therefore chronic diseases are more easily overcome.
The types of wellness programmes that business offer differ but include things like helping the employee to stop smoking or to lose weight; to onsite gyms or gym memberships; social help; workshops on managing stress and conflict resolution; counselling; coaching and more.
Business do not have to have wellness programmes in place, but when you consider the benefits- it is a no-brainer.
Some of the benefits of an employee wellness programme are:
-You will naturally attract and keep good employees as they will see the added perks and value in your wellness programme.
-Wellness programmes encourage better employee lifestyles. Better employee lifestyles will naturally lead to less illness, less absenteeism, and more productivity. Better lifestyles will help employees to reduce their health risks as well as health costs. Obviously, employees can’t get the job done if they are not at work, but we also don’t want them coming to work and spreading the germs- so keeping them healthy is a winning solution for all.
– Research shows that healthy, active people are said to be happy people. They will be more energized, be more positive, have clearer thoughts and all this should translate into their work.
-Employees are one of a company’s greatest assets, wellness programmes show employees that employers see and appreciate their worth.
-Wellness programmes build and maintain staff morale and employees feel valued – a happy staff is a productive staff. Participating in non-work activities as a staff also helps with the general office morale, happiness, and eagerness to work. Strengthening these relationships means to strengthen the business.
In short, the happier and healthier employees are at work, due to workplace wellness programmes, the more they will give back to their role and duties within the company, thus ensuring the success of the business. Everyone wins when a business or company offers its workforce a morale boosting message, saying “we really care about you and your wellbeing” through offering wellness programmes.
Employee Wellness in the time of Covid 19
This is a very trying and testing time in which to be living and trying to go to work and earn a living. Coronavirus is everywhere. People are hesitant and afraid of getting sick – going back into the workplace takes courage and a lot of precautions which need to be followed.
Most workplaces are being very proactive and taking on board every wellness initiative they can put into practice. Most workplaces have put into play workplace wellness initiatives that benefit employee health and wellness, as well as that of all clients and customers.
Whether you are an employee or an employer, check out some of our employee health and wellness tips; and health and wellness initiatives. All the tips should now be a part of your general knowledge. Consequently, we have heard them so often, and they are few and comparatively easy to follow. It is such a small sacrifice to ensure the wellness of employees in the workplace, or any consumer of the business.
So what are the tips?
Obviously, the top of the list is wearing a mask covering your mouth and nose when you are in contact with other people. It is the right thing to do and a courtesy to those around you.
We all know the well-publicised practice of social distancing; keep a good distance between yourself and any other human being, at least 6 feet (2m). Desks, queues, workstations, whatever your workplace looks like should be reconfigured by the movement of furniture to enable social distancing, thereby making your business proactive towards the wellness of others.
If you show any signs of being ill in anyway, stay at home. If you are worried, do a coronavirus test to check your status.
Make handwashing and sanitizing your hands and any surface touched a new habit. Use lots of hand cream, as your hands will get dry!
Temperatures should be taken on entry of any facility and anyone with a temperature should go home immediately.
Self-isolation is essential to cut contact with people. Helping you make certain that you are not personally passing on the virus. 10 days of self isolation is now considered the correct amount of time.
If you need to sneeze or cough in front of others, do so into a tissue or into your elbow.
All the above are small adjustments to make to ensure that YOU are doing your personal best. In the end, preventing even one other person from getting sick.
Our businesses cannot survive without employees.
Look after your employees’ health and wellness, your business cannot run without them. It is an investment into your business. Make your workplace wellness initiatives the best you can and help to save our worker’s lives and our economy.
Now, keeping physically well may seem like the priority- given that we in the middle of a pandemic. Simply put, it is important to realise that your employee’s wellness does not end there. Their emotional and mental wellness is just as important. Much like a physically ill person will not work to the best of their ability, or always be at work, neither will a burnt-out, sad, depressed, or anxious employee. Connectable Life is here for this exact reason, giving your employees the space to find wellness. If you do not already have a wellness programme in place. Now is the best time to offer your employees the use of Mind, Body and Wellness support through the guidance of a specialist. On Connectable Life, there is a range of easy-to-access specialists that they can choose from to best suit their needs.
