Companies that recognise the importance of a healthy workforce are often at the forefront of workplace wellness programs. Progressive employers understand that their employees are their most valuable assets and when their workers are healthy, they are more likely to be happy and more productive.
Also known as corporate wellbeing, workplace wellness involves policies to help improve the health of employees through activities such as health education and medical screenings, stop-smoking and weight management programs, fitness facilities and health coaching.
There are benefits to both employee and employer from workplace wellness policies.
For the staff member, there is an opportunity to get free health education and access to information and facilities that might otherwise come with a price tag. Think of the cost of a private gym membership, for example. If you’re lucky enough to work somewhere with an on-site gym or fitness centre, you can be saving hundreds of pounds every year by using your company gym.
Weight management and smoking cessation programs offered in the workplace are not only beneficial to your long-term health but also to your wallet. More innovative corporate wellbeing programs look at how to manage workplace stress and offer career coaching, while the more simple but effective policies provide, for example, healthy eating choices in the canteen at discounted prices.
For employees, there is an opportunity to participate in company-wide activities that lead to greater social cohesion and camaraderie as well as hopefully improving the health of everyone in the workplace.
The benefits to an employer from workplace wellness programs have also been well documented since companies began to introduce the policies around two decades ago. A report from the US Department of Health and Human Services shows that in workplaces with fitness policies on average sick leave fell from 38% to 32% and productivity rose from 50% to 52%.
Lifestyle factors that impact on the health of their employees cost firms money with days lost through sickness and can also have a negative effect on productivity. The bottom line is that a company’s bottom line will improve if it invests money in preventative health measures before its employees get sick.
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