There is little doubt among industries that employee wellness works. It enhances employee wellbeing, decreases absenteeism and increases productivity among employees at all levels of the workplace. The key to being able to get wellness on the bandwagon is to have it come from the employees and employers alike. They need to get together and decide what things leads to employee wellness and which things the employee will be most responsive to. They need to think of tricks and cues that will enhance the wellness experience. Know that wellness improves the bottom line.
One interesting way a company can enhance wellness is to hold employee contests in which they lose weight as a group, exercise at a certain rate or follow things like blood sugar and blood pressure. There doesn’t have to be a big prize or anything. It must be fun and show the appreciation the employer has for the successful employee. There can be many winners in a contest like this because employees don’t have to compete against each other but can compete with themselves. Prizes can be awarded at the end of the contest or monthly—so the process can be ongoing. Some prizes include gift cards, cards for belonging to a health club or something fun like a free manicure or free pedicure.
Have a healthy newsletter in which people’s progress is documented and new health ideas are given. It creates a healthy community of employees that can participate in writing the newsletter if they so desire. Special successes or contests can be announced in a healthy newsletter.
Have weekly or monthly training sessions to teach new kinds of exercise or learn good eating habits. Training sessions can involve learning yoga or Pilates, among other exercises. There can be mats for people to practice these techniques, which can come to be really addicting to some employees. Other training can teach employees how to cook better. Recipes can be tried and low fat, low cholesterol foods can be emphasized. Low sugar diets can be discussed for diabetics.
Employee orientation can be focused on wellness for new people to the corporation. They can learn about low sugar diets, low fat diets, exercise techniques and stress reduction. This puts everyone on the same page at the beginning. Hiring a wellness coordinator helps keep people focused on health and on what they need to do to be as health as possible.
This post has been viewed 955 times.
