Health And Wellness Programs: Why Employers Need Them

In this modern age, job seekers search for jobs that can cater to their personal needs and care about their health and security. With the number of health problems increasing by the hour, people are becoming ever more conscious about their health. Moreover, people nowadays conceive the idea of health as overall general wellbeing.

For corporate employees, staying healthy seems like a daunting task. As most of their time is spent sitting in their offices, they find it hard to take out time to work towards their health. For this reason, employers must promote good health behaviors and create a culture of wellness at work. This does a lot to attract candidates to work for them as well.

Having a culture of wellness is just an added benefit of employee perks and health benefits package that companies offer. One way to create a culture of wellness is to introduce a corporate wellness program for employees. Corporate wellness programs have been studied for years, and companies worldwide have started introducing such programs in their workplaces.

They are a great way to promote good health behaviors in the workplace. They can be fun, informative, and very engaging. Moreover, well-designed wellness programs help employers bring down employee absenteeism and reduce healthcare costs.

According to a survey conducted by Harvard Business Review, 79% of employees who participated in a health and wellness program said they were delighted with the program. They were also more likely than non-participants to stay with the company.

The Benefits Of Employee Wellness Programs

From promoting healthy habits to decreasing absenteeism among employees, here are some benefits of a well-designed health and wellness program -

Happier Employees

Employee morale and happiness are significant factors in determining the success of a company. Participating in health and wellness programs creates a sense of and satisfaction among employees. This leads to a happier and more productive workforce in general.

The idea of leading a healthy life makes employees appreciate the incentive of a health and wellness program and embrace it with positivity. Moreover, employees who practice good health behaviors are physically and mentally healthy in general and have lower absenteeism as well.

Decreased Workplace Stress

Stress is an unavoidable part of daily life. It is unhealthy for employers and employees alike and can cause low work productivity, employee burnout, and hamper employee health.

A wellness program aimed at combatting workplace stress can combat these issues, lower employee turnover, and improve employee health. This further reduces health care costs for employers as well.

Improved Employee Health

Perhaps the most significant benefit of introducing a wellness program in a workplace is improving employees' physical health and mental health by helping them adopt good health behaviors and reduce health risks.

A well-curated wellness program can help employees adopt and maintain healthy habits such as regular physical activity and healthy eating. It can also help them decrease bad health behaviors such as smoking and substance abuse. Doing so can help employees to reduce the risk of health problems and prevent chronic diseases.

Furthermore, low health risks are the pillars of good health, and a healthy person is also less likely to fall victim to depression and its symptoms.

Thus by improving employee health in general, providing a wellness program can improve the overall satisfaction in employees' lives.

Increased Productivity

Poor health is one of the leading causes of low productivity among employees. Being unhealthy can cause low energy levels and decrease motivation at work.

Participation in wellness programs that focus on adopting good health behaviors like exercise can increase employee motivation, productivity, presenteeism and help employees feel good.

Moreover, by encouraging participation in a wellness program, employers can help their employees invest their time and effort in the company. Such a personal investment can deter them from leaving the company for a different one.

Wellness programs are also great at engaging employees to work toward the goal of a healthy lifestyle. And, by introducing wellness programs, employers can show their care for their employees' health and wellbeing. This can help them be more satisfied in their work-life and help them bloom individually in their careers.

Improved Employee Recruitment and Retention

An employer that helps employees achieve their personal goals by introducing a wellness program can make them loyal to it.

As mentioned before, offering a wellness program shows the employer's concern for its employees' wellbeing. It shows how much the employer cares about its employees' health and emphasizes their importance. A survey found that 87% of employees consider health and wellness offerings when choosing an employer.

Offering a wellness program helps employees feel valued and appreciated, which are essential factors of employee retention and recruitment. Consequently, such employees are less likely to search for jobs in other places and more likely to stay instead.

Conclusion

Wellness programs help companies create a culture of heath in their workplaces. They make employees feel valued and appreciated, which further helps them achieve their goals in life. They also improve employee health, boost employee morale, and increase productivity. Moreover, employees are more likely to stay with employers who offer health and wellness programs.

The bottom line is that health and wellness programs are highly beneficial for employers and employees alike, and they are fast becoming the norm in companies around the world.

Besides working as a content marketer at Vantage Circle, Shah Alif Ahmed is also an internationally certified nutrition specialist, competitive bodybuilder and a musician. For any queries reach out to editor@vantagecircle.com