WORKPLACE WELLNESS

The New Workplace Wellness

The mindset on a company’s role in keeping their employee’s happy and healthy at work has certainly evolved over the years. Organizations provide access to flu shots, health risk assessments, and fitness challenges to encourage physical wellness in the workplace. Nowadays, with more and more emphasis on mental wellness, organizations are also celebrating employee birthdays, offering mental health coverage, and encouraging vacation or time off. According to the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans’ recent survey Workplace Wellness Trends, mental health is becoming just as important as physical health and organizations are reflecting it in their wellness program.

Almost 60% of organizations offer a wellness program as an investment in employees by increasing employee health and engagement, and about 40% of companies offer it as a means to help contain health costs. No matter what the reason is, organizations are reporting a positive ROI, improved employee engagement, reduced absenteeism, and an overall positive effect on their bottom line. Wellness programs do work!

For example, at GroupHEALTH we celebrate birthdays and anniversaries with cake every month! GroupHEALTH also provides opportunities for people to get to know each other with group walks at lunch and group runs after work – activities that increase your physical and mental wellness, and connection to fellow team members! As an added incentive, employees can gather wellness points for participating, which they can put towards an extra day off. GroupHEALTH also believes in professional development and provides assistance to support staff in achieving their career goals in appropriate circumstances.

The above examples are part of our Wellness Program, which also includes fresh fruit every day, corporate pricing to gym and yoga studios, and access to TELUS Health’s (formerly LifeWorks) Employee Family and Assistance Program and wellness seminars. Our program encourages physical and mental wellness and we hope it gives you ideas for your own wellness program!

Source: International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans