Are you and your employees getting burned out on your workplace wellness programs?
When leadership and team members aren’t getting the right support from wellness programs, change is the only way to improve it. The Great Resignation has proven that mediocre jobs with so-so health benefits don’t cut it anymore. People are willing to leave jobs that leave them feeling too stressed and unhappy.
A recent survey uncovered evidence of just how true that is. Deloitte connected with independent research firm Workplace Intelligence and surveyed 2,100 employees and C-level execs across four countries: the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
The most shocking aspect of the survey? Nearly 70% of C-suite individuals surveyed are seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their well-being. You know it’s rough when even the boss wants to quit.
Now is an excellent time to focus on keeping employees productive and engaged and focused on their wellbeing — especially with the rise in costs for everything, including healthcare. Take time to reevaluate ways to keep workplace wellness programs relevant and keep workers (and leaders) on board.
Below, we share how to keep the spirit of wellness alive in your workplace.
The Importance of Wellness at Work
It’s no surprise that physical and mental wellness impact our everyday lives. When you’re down with a cold or the flu, it knocks your energy levels down a few notches. The same goes for when life gets hectic and overwhelming; mental stress can ensue if not properly taken care of on a regular basis with self-care, mental breaks, and downtime.
When physical and mental health isn’t in tip-top shape, relationships suffer, productivity dips, and more.
Meeting employee needs can benefit both sides. Examples include:
- Increased productivity
- Happier staff overall
- Better customer/client service
- Higher employee retention rates
- Positive press and word-of-mouth from employees
For employers, understanding this on a personal and professional level can make it easier to relate to how wellness programs are necessary. How is workplace stress impacting you? Now turn the lens onto your employees. Given the overwhelm of the pandemic and shifting of perspectives regarding the workplace, many people are now more aware of the negative impacts stress has on the body.
Revisiting wellness programs, benefits, and health perks once a quarter is a good starting point for ensuring your company is offering valuable resources to workers.
When reviewing company programs, consider:
- Physical wellness - This is one of the cornerstones of any workplace wellness program. How can your company integrate other areas of wellness into physical wellness? Encourage employees to try new physical activities and prompt conversations about physical wellness strategies.
- Occupational wellness - How do your workers feel about the work they do? Ask them if they need anything to make their jobs easier. Enforce healthy work boundaries and create a collaborative and healthy environment that is productive for your workers. The investment is well worth it.
- Cultural wellness - When planning programs, be diverse in your offerings by asking a diverse group of employees for their input. Start focus groups or send out surveys to ask for opinions on how to approach discussions around stereotypes and wellness privilege.
- Emotional wellness - This must be prioritized just as physical health is by getting enough rest, slowing down when necessary, watching how much is piled on work and personal plates, etc.
- Financial wellness - Stressing about money while at a job that’s meant to pay the bills is never fun. Look into ways that financial wellness can be brought into your programs to help employees feel financially independent.
- Social wellness - Social distancing took its toll on most people in the last few years. Relationships are essential to the human experience; find ways to help workers connect regularly with one another, family members, and the community to keep them from feeling isolated.
Helping workers focus on well-being can change their lives if they’re willing to adhere to a wellness plan that works for them. But, sometimes, workplace wellness can get stagnant. Below, we look at what hinders many programs when it comes to success.
What’s Getting in the Way of Workplace Wellness Programs?
It comes as no surprise that the pandemic made everyone’s health worse at one point or another. Overall, it kept us from socializing (a must for good mental health), exercising (plenty of gyms closed down), and staying on top of our overall health. Now that the pandemic is seemingly over, many are dealing with long-haul Covid, feeling generally tired, and are dealing with a variety of other mental issues.
Workplaces blindly adding more health challenges or wellness perks without consulting their employees first are missing out on an opportunity. According to the Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence survey, one in three executives and employees are dealing with poor mental health and fatigue.
But that’s not all.
Other reasons workers may not be as interested in wellness programs:
- Work - The work itself may be keeping employees from investing time into wellness practices. Being short-staffed and taking on too many clients are just two reasons your employees may not enjoy simple work wellness strategies like breaks or walks.
- Busy - Managers and employees are often task-oriented and tackle numerous projects professionally and personally at the same time. As a result of not considering this, even the most exciting wellness programs will get forgotten or ignored.
- Budget restraints - If your company doesn’t invest in wellness programs, workers may not take them seriously. For example, a step challenge would be made easier if a pedometer or fitness tracker were offered. Buying participants a tracker would engage them sooner than if they’d have to go out and get one on their own.
- Not aligned with employee needs - The smartest way to spend wellness budgets is to ensure wellness campaigns are what employees actually need. Starting with a biometric screening is a great way to see where employees are health-wise. Survey workers and ask them what wellness options would move the needle for them.
Your company impacts all areas of well-being including social, financial, physical, and mental. Workers aren’t just cogs in a wheel and they recognize it, too. As a manager, looking at a holistic approach that helps the whole person — not just one area of well-being — will keep workers better engaged.
How to Keep Your Wellness Programs Alive and Relevant
What it comes down to is keeping employees excited about wellness at both work and home. How can your wellness committee keep workers pumped up about optimal health in life and work?
Here’s a look at ways to do it:
- Focus on the needs of workers - When your workers are healthy, they can do a better job at work than if they are spending more time at the doc’s and worrying about their health. Create wellness campaigns that encourage healthy lifestyle habits including free health screenings, on-site yoga, healthy snacks in the breakroom, and more. Try SurveyMonkey (it’s free!) to poll your workers on what they need.
- Market - Even if you have the best wellness benefits, programs, etc. in the world, it doesn’t matter if you don’t market them. In whatever way you need to, reach out to your workers and share the news of your workplace wellness programs. Emails, text messages, newsletters, portal banners, office whiteboards, meeting briefs, etc. are all great ways to let your team know what offerings are available.
- Keep leaders well-trained - Managers are a key resource when it comes to getting the word out about your wellness programs. They’re also employees, so ensuring they are well aware of offerings can help them include them in team operations. Train your managers via HR to know the answers to questions around wellness campaigns. Be sure they have access to promotional tools as well to make it easier for them to market to workers.
- Offer easy access to information online - Make it simple for your workers to access wellness resources. Whether that’s a portal, a drive folder, or another wellness platform like Beata. By offering online access to programs, resources, and health plans, your employees can access that information anywhere at any time. This is especially important for healthcare plans. Make sure your team knows how they can easily find doctors, review explanations of benefits, get cost estimates for a doctor’s visit, or manage claims, among other healthcare-related activities.
- Keep C-suite involved - Being proactive is a must in keeping wellness programs afloat. Most executives are planning on starting with benefits expansion as part of that. In fact, according to the Deloitte Insights survey, 83% say that over the next two years they’ll improve their company’s well-being benefits. Given that only 61% of workers are currently happy with their company’s current offerings, this is a wise move for C-suite leadership.
Investing in Your Wellness Programs is Investing in Your People
As workers demand more from their employers, it’s important for company leadership to not let the wellness messaging fall flat. The Deloitte Insights survey found that 57 percent of individuals may soon quit for a better, more supportive job.
Don’t let that happen to you!
While revamping workplace wellness programs isn’t always easy, it’s worse to see the health of employees go downhill due to resistance to change. If you don’t have a wellness committee, create one. Get at least one leadership member involved. Take chances and explore fun ways to get workers on board the wellness train. This will drive them to be healthier, more productive workers in your company and community.
Sure, it’s an investment of time, resources, and funding, but one that’s well worth it when the return is loyal, hard-working employees who feel rewarded for their time.
How are you keeping your wellness programs relevant? What trends are you noticing in wellness that you plan to bring into the workplace? Share your valuable insights below!
