The American workforce is struggling. Take a look at these numbers:
- had experienced work-related stress in the previous month.
- Every year, may be linked to workplace stress.
- Only feel engaged at work.
- Chronic diseases and risk factors cause employees to miss workdays that cost .
It all adds up to a bleak picture. But as an HR professional, you have the chance to make a difference for your employees. If you don鈥檛 already have one, consider offering an employee wellness program, which can:
- Improve the quality of your employees鈥� lives.
- Boost morale and productivity.
- Increase retention and attract new talent.
- Lower healthcare costs.
- Help your company's bottom line.
If you already have a wellness program that isn鈥檛 working, keep reading to find out
how to do it better. Let鈥檚 get started with how to make an employee wellness program
that actually works.
Tailor Your Wellness Program to Your Employees
What a wellness program looks like depends on the company. describes a corporate wellness program as 鈥渁 set of benefits a company implements to improve the well-being of its team members.鈥� But these benefits range widely, and could include:
- An Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Health screenings and assessments
- Free vaccines at work
- Mental health days
- Napping rooms (sign us up)
- Work/life balance initiatives
- Flexible schedules
- Gym memberships or fitness rooms
- Weight loss and smoking cessation programs
- Meditation time
- Healthy snacks and nutrition education
- Water bottle refill stations
- Ergonomic office equipment
- Financial literacy education
- Wellness incentives
- Community service
- Fun workplace activities
鈥� And the list goes on 鈥� but how do you know what to provide for your employees?
Start with the Data
鈥淭he more tailored a wellness program can be, the better,鈥� says , an award-winning HR consultant, coach, and instructor for USF Corporate Training and Professional Development courses. To tailor your program, start by looking at the data 鈥� what story does it tell you about your employees and their challenges, your workplace culture, and industry trends?
- Pay attention to demographic data. Even the most basic information, like how far away most of your employees live, can lead to valuable insights. For example, long-distance commuters may not have time to hit their local gym after work 鈥� so you may want to strike a deal with your nearby gym, where colleagues can build social connections along with their physical fitness, Rexroad suggests.
- Incorporate big-picture data. What global circumstances could be affecting your employees? Since more than of Americans are concerned about their finances, you can support your employees鈥� financial health through free financial literacy classes.
- Analyze anonymous data from your insurance broker, your healthcare provider or your employee assistance program to understand your employees鈥� mental, physical, and emotional needs. For example, if many of your employees are taking medication for depression and anxiety, you might want to evaluate the stress levels in your workplace, Rexroad advises.
- Look at safety records, facility assessments, and industry trends. Where can you make changes to reduce health risks or overall stress?
- Examine your turnover rates, retention rates, productivity rates, and absenteeism
rates. If turnover is high, for example, it鈥檚 time to investigate your company culture.
Involve Employees from the Get-Go
鈥淵ou need to understand what鈥檚 important to your employees,鈥� Rexroad says. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to meet people where they are. That鈥檚 a phrase we hear a lot these days, but we鈥檝e got to remember, we can鈥檛 sit in our offices and create these (wellness) programs and then go, 鈥極h well, nobody comes鈥欌�� Is it something your employees even want?鈥�
Get employee buy-in through:
- Surveys and focus groups, which help you figure out what wellness programs would interest them, what stressors they are currently facing, what volunteer work they are passionate about, what time commitment they have, etc.
- An employee wellness committee, which gives employees a voice in their own programs.
- Including their family members, who 鈥渉elp build a broader web of social support,鈥� says the .
Make sure you also have the support of your company鈥檚 leadership. To be successful,
your program is going to need it.
Make it Comprehensive and Holistic
A true wellness program is well-rounded, addressing 鈥渢he mind, body, spirit,鈥� says Rexroad. Here鈥檚 an example of each facet:
- Mind: An employee assistance program can provide mental health benefits and support employees through various life crises. The very existence of this program is beneficial because it sends the message that it鈥檚 okay to talk about mental and emotional wellness at work, Rexroad explains.
- Body: 鈥淲ellness programs encourage employees to get up and do something active,鈥� Rexroad says, which is especially important for desk job workers. (Sitting for hours can increase your risk of ). That鈥檚 why a common wellness benefit is a gym membership.
- Spirit: 鈥淚 always put in the spirit piece to鈥� make sure employees have that bit of camaraderie,鈥� Rexroad says. Help your employees feel a sense of purpose 鈥� through the mission of your organization, volunteer work outings, etc. 鈥� and a sense of community.
A commitment to wellness should extend beyond programs and become part of your company鈥檚 everyday culture. That includes making policies that improve your employees鈥� lives. Let鈥檚 look at an example:
If your employee is distressed about childcare, 鈥淢editation Mondays鈥� aren鈥檛 going
to do much good. Instead, make a policy change that relieves stress in a practical
way: offer subsidized childcare, gender blind family leave, or flexible/hybrid work
schedules, and base your performance metrics on results, not 鈥渉ours spent in the office,鈥�
suggests this on creating an equitable workplace.
Keep Programs Accessible and Ethical
Provide a variety of programs to ensure you accommodate your employees鈥� diverse needs. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean everything has to be for everybody, but you should have enough of an array,鈥� Rexroad says. She suggests you think about who your audience is 鈥� and then consider who you are missing. For example, you might change the location of your nature day from a trail to a boardwalk to accommodate employees in wheelchairs. Or, if single parents can鈥檛 come to your meditation retreat, make sure you also offer them something like a parent-child bowling tournament.
In addition, make sure your programs don鈥檛 single out certain employees or penalize them for not participating. 鈥淎 truly effective corporate wellness program should include and motivate everyone, rather than pressuring, embarrassing or even bribing high-risk employees to improve their health,鈥� explains this on inclusive programs.
Finally, pay attention to legal and compliance requirements, such as the Americans
With Disabilities Act, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act. (You can read more about them in on building a wellness program.)
Communicate Effectively
You can have the best wellness program in the history of HR, but it won鈥檛 do any good if your employees don鈥檛 know about it or aren鈥檛 motivated to participate. Follow Rexroad鈥檚 four C鈥檚: clear, consistent, constant communication. Help employees understand:
- Wellness programs and benefits.
- How to get involved.
- How participation can improve their lives.
Get the message out in a variety of ways 鈥� your monthly newsletter, communication
from leadership, social media posts, posters, etc.
Do What You Can
Maybe you don鈥檛 have a big budget for wellness programs just yet. That鈥檚 okay. You don鈥檛 鈥渉ave to have a full-fledged program to get started,鈥� Rexroad says. 鈥淛ust keep adding to it and pay attention to the data.鈥� There are plenty of free ways to encourage well-being. You just need to get creative:
- Host walking meetings. 鈥淚 used to do one-on-one [meetings] walking,鈥� Rexroad says. 鈥淚t made sure there was nothing else bothering me or them, and we could focus on each other.鈥� Plus, it integrates physical activity into the workday.
- Invite employees on a lunchtime picnic break.
- Offer fruit at meetings instead of doughnuts. Even better, try this example from one of Rexroad鈥檚 students. Every Friday, employees bring extra fruit from their fruit trees (which are common in Florida) and share with each other.
- Invite the Florida License on Wheels Bus to visit your location, so employees can renew their licenses and registrations at
work instead of spending hours at the DMV. (A big stress reliever.)
Support Yourself
Treat yourself with the same compassion you give your colleagues and employees. You can鈥檛 fix everything overnight, and even the best wellness program has its limits. But by creating (or reinventing) a corporate employee wellness program and a healthy corporate culture, you鈥檙e showing employees that you care. 鈥淎ny stressor that we can relieve for our employees allows them to focus better,鈥� Rexroad says. 鈥淚t means that we recognize them as being people, not just something we can use up.鈥�
Don鈥檛 forget that you need support, too. USF Corporate Training and Professional Development offers professional development courses for HR professionals, so you can get the mentorship you need to thrive.