We throw a lot of wellness advice and information at you every single week. Sometimes it can be overwhelming and tough to take all of that information and apply it to your workplace. It can be difficult to figure out exactly how things work in the real world.

We want to give you a peek at something we know works in wellness—the program we use at TotalWellness! We really try to practice what we preach to all of you. Our program is simple. It’s focused on positivity and inclusivity. We try our very best to include all elements of health.

And, it’s really fun because our employees invest in it! In fact, last year we had almost 100% participation in our employee wellness program. So here’s how it works…

It’s that time of year. We’ve officially reached the point where we all look around, wondering where our motivation has gone.

The truth is, for a majority of your employees the fire for healthy change has faded. What on January 1st was a raging flame of determination has become a dull glow of frustration. For all too many of us, this is the case!

New Year’s resolutions are fantastic. The New Year provides a great jumpstart to healthy goals across the nation. The reality, however, is that building a healthy lifestyle can be hard work. Life can get in the way of even the best-laid plans, which can explain why over half of resolution makers haven’t stuck with their goals in the past six months.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Every company does wellness differently. And that’s the way it should be! Depending on your company culture, elements of your wellness program might look different than someone else’s.

You might have a different focus area. You might approach wellness with a different style. You’ll probably even have some differing wellness activities built into your program.

In all of the variability, the most important thing is that you actually are focusing on wellness. Too many employee wellness programs are stuck in their ways. They only address the bare minimum of health problems that occur at the workplace.

The best way to make health work is to make it a habit. Committing health to habit can put your healthy decisions on autopilot. This means you’ll do them without really thinking about them, which can make health so much easier!

You can harness the power of healthy habits in your employee wellness program. Employees with healthy habits are healthier because it’s easier for them to make good decisions. Outside of all the benefits of a healthy workforce, your employees could be less stressed about wellness and therefore more engaged with your wellness program.

Creating a brand for your corporate wellness program has the same types of benefits as your corporate brand. Your wellness program brand ensures your program is recognizable. It helps you create something with which your employees can relate. Good branding can also make your program more attractive to employees because it helps you to maintain consistency and cohesiveness.

There are a few traditional brand elements that are predetermined when it comes to your wellness program. Your audience, for example, is already defined. The same is true of your position and your goals. These things are a given due to the nature of working in wellness.

Positivity can make all the difference in an employee’s journey towards better health. A positive mindset has some obvious mental health benefits including decreased stress, improved relationships and a lower risk for depression and anxiety.

What you might not have known, however, is that optimism has also been associated with some awesome physical health benefits. Many optimistic people are more resilient—meaning they can bounce back more quickly and easily. Their resilience helps them to overcome and avoid illness much more efficiently than their pessimistic counterparts.

Wearable fitness trackers can be a great tool for employee wellness. Many employers have begun to use wearables as tools for tracking physical activity, measuring sticks for challenge participation and even as incentives.

All of those things make wearables work in wellness—for some companies. Unfortunately using wearable fitness trackers isn’t always a feasible option for many companies. In some cases, the tech trend doesn’t even fit the company culture.

March madness is in full swing, and we’re hopping on the bandwagon.

Maybe you’re making money in an office bracket pool.

Maybe your bracket is already busted.

Or maybe you’re just getting back to work after that three day weekend you took to catch all the first round games.

No matter what the NCAA tournament has you feeling, we’ve got a brand new challenge you’re going to love!

Making healthy change where you work requires setting goals. In fact, any change requires a goal. Goals provide a sense of direction when you’re hoping to make changes. They can also motivate you to develop good habits. Goals are even used to determine whether or not you’ve been successful in your quest for change.

Setting goals as part of your employee wellness program is one way to make sure the program is efficient. Monitoring your progress as it relates to your goals shows you if you’ve been using your resources well.

A lot of people use the words “wellness” and “well-being” interchangeably. Others define them as two separate concepts. We’ve decided to take a closer look at these two words to figure out just what they mean for you and your corporate wellness program.

Let’s start with the basics. Is there a difference between wellness and well-being? Yes, we definitely think there is.

Does that mean one is better than the other? No way!