Employee Wellness Blog

When you consider the office space you work in, does it have a good feel to it? 

This may seem like an interior design or Feng shui question, but it actually has everything to do with employee health and a healthy workplace. 

Healthy work spaces = healthy employees. 

That converts to fewer sick days, higher morale, and a lower turnover rate. 

Below, we share seven easy ways to create a healthy workplace that won’t break the bank that could be implemented as soon as today.

The best part? 

Follow-through on these ideas will produce immediate results.

Getting to know your employees shouldn’t be off limits.

In fact, good leaders regularly connect with employees to gain better company insight and develop personal relationships that drive productivity and engagement.

In a recent State of the American Workplace report, only 15% of employees strongly felt that leaders got them excited about the future of the company. How much higher could that percentage be if leaders took the time to connect with employees to share company growth and insight? 

It comes down to creating opportunities for meaningful exchanges that aren’t always about the bottom line.

Here are seven ways to make closer connections with employees:

Whether you realize it or not, there’s likely at least one employee struggling with chronic health issues in your workplace.

In fact, 133 million Americans deal with the challenges of chronic health conditions each year.

Sadly, it’s also the leading cause of disability and death in America.

Chronic illness often comes with pain, which can limit a person’s ability to work. By keeping this in mind, along with a prearranged plan, employers can support staff with compassion and flexibility.

Below, we share insight on how to best support chronically ill workers.

Wellness committees = awesome wellness programs. 

If you’re planning your wellness initiatives on a whim, you’re basically taking a shot in the dark and hoping for the best when it comes to employee engagement. 

When companies create a solid wellness committee, it empowers the employees who take part — inside and outside the committee. Bringing in enthusiastic volunteers helps in developing strategic, thoughtful programs that boost employee engagement. 

A well-designed wellness program will: 

• Improve employee health 
• Increase productivity 
• Reduce absenteeism 
• Boost employee morale 
• Decrease medical claims

At the core of successful wellness programs is a committee that planned it every step of the way. Here we offer insight and specific steps to create the best wellness committee possible. 

In theory, it seems like a wellness program would go off without a hitch.

A relatable scenario: Give employees fitness wearables. Ask them to wear it daily. Offer rewards to active participants.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

While there’s never a 100% guaranteed perfect strategy, there are ways to set up your employee wellness program for favorable results.

Who wouldn’t love to feel more optimistic at work? 

It’s no secret that positivity boosts employee wellness overall.

When employees feel appreciated and respected, they’re more likely to bring a cheerful, can-do attitude into the workplace. Create a toxic work environment, and you’ll watch moods and productivity plummet.

Ready to give negativity the boot? 

Here’s five ways to start promoting positivity in the workplace:

If you wish you were more efficient and productive at work, you’re not alone.

In fact, the demand for increased work productivity is so great that there’s a field of research dedicated solely to it: Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Or, IOP for short.

Over the years, Dr. Kara Fasone, an I/O psychologist and wellness researcher, has applied psychological principles within organizations to help employees maximize their self-awareness, motivation, and performance. She's created and managed a variety of people-focused processes related to employee engagement, talent management, career development, and workplace wellness.

With all her inside knowledge of productivity in the workplace and more, we wanted to pick her brain on best practices.

Below, Dr. Fasone, also the creator of the Wise & Well Academy, shares advice on increasing employee work performance, measuring productivity, and fostering a sense of self-awareness. 

Life is hard.

And, sometimes, employees bring life’s stressors with them to work.

Over the last several decades, studies show job stress is a major source of concern for American workers, according to The American Institute of Stress.

There’s no faster way to deplete your workforce than to watch them burnout from stress while you ideally stand by.

Creating stress coping strategies for your employees can help prevent burnout. This applies to businesses of all sizes and industries as the way employees manage their stress daily has a huge impact on production and overall organization performance.

There’s nothing beneficial about toxic behaviors in the workplace.

Whether it’s office drama or constant negativity, the weight of a toxic environment is apparent to everyone who walks in the door — from the CEO to the customer.

It takes consistent policies, proper management, and open communication to keep destructive behaviors to a minimum. Otherwise, bad business practices get out of hand fast.

With preventative measures in place, it’s easier to keep a healthy work environment employees will thrive in and love.

Below, we share insights to what exactly a toxic work environment is and four easy ways to prevent it in your workplace.

Most employees spend a good amount of time at work — about a third of their day, according to the CDC. While every employer wants productive employees, there’s no reason health and wellness initiatives need to be placed on the back burner at the cost of getting work done.

Effective health and wellness initiatives can improve employees’ quality of life along with reducing health risks like depression or diabetes.

Plus, the reward of taking care of employees can directly impact the bottom line — including reductions in workers’ comp claims and insurance costs.

While not all companies can afford to send employees on yoga retreats or set-up personalized coaching for everyone, there are plenty of other affordable options.

Here are five easy ways to set up successful wellness initiatives in-office on any budget: