What are employee wellness programmes?

An employee well-being or wellness programme is created by employers for employees. As such, it should consider employee needs. Such programmes can have two core aspects: a first one that provides general health advice, guidance and assistance to employees and a second one that can be more tailored to employees’ challenges at a specific moment in time. It is common for workplace well-being programmes to be promoted through mandatory training or seminars.

By having such a programme in place, employers demonstrate that they value their employees’ health and well-being in the workplace. The organisation places its people at the forefront of its priorities by promoting mental wellness and physical well-being among their employees. The result is happier, more engaged employees and consequently improved productivity.

Eight dimensions of wellness

Generally speaking, health encompasses two aspects, with physical health and mental health being equally important as each other. Often, physical health is what first comes to mind. However, employers should focus on both aspects of health, and can refer to them together as well-being. This is a holistic term that incorporates eight components: emotional, financial, environmental, intellectual, spiritual, social, occupational and physical wellness. Having this well-rounded approach to wellness means that health is a focus, but so is enjoying life to the full. Let’s dive into the details of each aspect.

1. Emotional well-being

When we refer to emotional well-being, we are talking about the ability to manage one’s emotions. To promote emotional wellness, employers can encourage the practice of mindfulness or developing social connections, or teach healthy ways to cope with stress.

2. Financial well-being

Financial well-being is often overlooked. However, financial difficulties can bring considerable stress to employees and their families when they experience them. This has a cascaded impact on other areas of their life. Businesses can encourage their employees to be financially healthy by providing advice on smart money choices and access to mortgage brokers or investment advisers.

3. Environmental well-being

People spend a lot of time at work. Having a healthy work environment as well as home environment is essential for long-term physical and mental health. Employers should encourage employees to clear out any potential harmful objects or substances, dress according to the weather and the season, and use the right kind of display to conduct their work in a non-harmful way.

4. Intellectual well-being

People’s development is essential for employers and employees alike. When able to develop their intellectual skills or more generally learn something new, employees feel happier. As such, intellectual well-being contributes to general wellness and shouldn’t be overlooked.

5. Spiritual well-being

Spiritual well-being is closely connected to the company’s values. Employees need to find their job purposeful in order to maintain healthy levels of satisfaction. Meditation and yoga or simply music can be used to promote employees’ spiritual well-being.

6. Social well-being

Creating connections between people and ensuring that employees are not isolated is critical for businesses. Employers can organise social events, promote social activities and help employees to build connections, all of which can contribute to social well-being.

7. Occupational well-being

You may not have heard of occupational wellness, as it is not a common concept. Occupational well-being refers to the satisfaction that employees gain through their work. Feeling that the work they do has a purpose and that it makes a difference to the business increases employee morale.

8. Physical well-being

Physical well-being relates to bodily health. As such, initiatives that promote physical well-being can include physical activities and nutritional advice. They may also promote the reduction of unhealthy substances, such as tobacco or alcohol.

Workplace wellness programmes should incorporate all of these aspects, as they all influence each other and form a holistic approach to well-being.

The benefits of employee wellness programmes

Having a workplace wellness programme brings a lot of value to businesses and their employees, even if the benefits are primarily visible in the long term.

Boost employee satisfaction

Employee morale is essential to performance. Having a well-being programme is a demonstration that the business is making its people a priority. As such, it boosts employee morale, as they feel more appreciated.

To measure your employees’ satisfaction, see our article on Employee Satisfaction Surveys: What They Are and Why They’re Important for Your Business.

Increase productivity levels

Healthy employees are more efficient. They are fit and focused, and able to perform more or better-quality work than employees who do not maintain their health. Those who go to the gym or practise physical activities of some type are also less prone to chronic diseases and other health risks.

Reduce absenteeism within the workforce

Absenteeism is inevitable but can be reduced. Businesses that have implemented successful wellness programmes take care of their employees, who are consequently healthier and less subject to work stress. The ultimate gain for the business is cost savings with a reduced absenteeism rate.

Optimise employee retention

A wellness programme that includes health benefits such as health insurance or gym memberships is likely to help attract talent and facilitate the recruitment process. Additionally, these benefits are not overlooked by employees who appreciate and make the best use of them. As such, a well-being programme has a direct influence on the employee retention rate.

See our article on 9 Effective Employee Retention Strategies.

Build a healthy, convivial work atmosphere and camaraderie between colleagues

This benefit relates to social wellness. When the work environment is socially healthy, it encourages people to exchange and create connections. Social well-being contributes greatly to business success, as colleagues are able to work in teams, brainstorm, discuss matters and therefore work well together, continuously learning from each other.

To continue building a good atmosphere among your teams, see our article on Team-Building Tips and Activities to Boost Employee Morale and Engagement.

There are many more direct or indirect benefits of having a wellness programme, including more focused employees, reduced stress levels, reduced healthcare costs, improved teamwork, innovation and even attraction of new talent.

Six simple steps to design your employee wellness programme

When getting started on creating a wellness programme, one might feel dazed by the amount of information and not know where to begin. The pressure put on wellness programmes and what businesses aim to achieve with them can be overwhelming. To ensure that nothing is left behind, the section below provides guidance on how to create a well-rounded wellness programme in six simple steps.

Step 1: Collect data and set the baseline

Understanding what the baseline is is critical to setting up the plan and creating or amending the wellness programme. This initial work consists of collecting qualitative and quantitative data. This data can come from employees’ satisfaction surveys, interviews, health risk assessments and much more. It ensures that the need is understood and that the wellness programme will be relevant for employees.

Once this step has been completed and the data has been analysed, it is just as important to gather the right team to work on creating the programme. Businesses have different types of employees, and all should be represented and have a voice. A common practice is to appoint “well-being champions” in each department. They serve as points of contact for their teams and provide consolidated feedback.

Step 2: Create budget estimates with a rationale for each line item

Establishing the starting point in the first step should give a sense of how large the effort needs to be to achieve the desired goal. The plan created in the second step will need to highlight the resources involved and their level of involvement. It should also consider additional costs, such as healthcare benefits.

Step 3: Create the policy and identify the interventions needed

To have a real impact, the well-being programme should be multi-dimensional. Interventions should take place at multiple touch points, from communication and awareness to benefits and behaviour change actions. The delivery plan should highlight those interventions per category and identify the channel that will be used to communicate them.

Step 4: Create the change management implementation planning with its timelines

Creating a change management plan brings consistency to the project. The plan should include all the actions necessary, the owners of and contributors to those actions, as well as when they should take place. It is recommended to have dependencies between actions clearly highlighted as well. Milestones can be set and their impact should be evaluated by metrics set in advance.

Step 5: Communicate about the wellness programme thoroughly for maximum impact

Having a wellness programme is great, but even if it is best in class, it is no use if employees are not aware of it. Communicating about the programme upon its launch and on an ongoing basis, to all employees but also to specific groups of employees, will increase the usage of it and therefore its return on investment. When communicating about the programme, remember to keep it simple, make it clear and get involved in two-way communication.

Step 6: Measure the impact with ongoing KPIs

Once your well-being programme has been created, launched and thoroughly communicated, it is time to start measuring its impact. The results will drive tweaks to it and continuous improvements of it. To evaluate the programme, you can collect qualitative and quantitative feedback directly from employees. You can also measure employees’ behaviour, such as the absenteeism rate, or adoption or use of the health insurance policy.

The benefits of a well-being programme in the workplace are numerous. Businesses that invest in such programmes demonstrate that they care about their people and should see long-term results through stronger teams and increased productivity.