Top 10 Benefits Of An Employee Wellness Program

In this modern age, job seekers search for jobs that can cater to their personal needs, goals and care about their health and security. With the number of health problems increasing by the hour, people are becoming ever more conscious about their health. Moreover, people nowadays conceive the idea of health as overall general wellbeing.

For corporate employees, staying healthy seems like a daunting task. As most of their time is spent sitting in their offices, they find it hard to take out time to work towards their health.

Thus, employers must promote good health behaviors and create a culture of wellness at work. Doing so helps attract candidates to work for them as well.

Having a culture of wellness is just an added benefit of employee perks and wellness benefits package that companies offer. One way to create a culture of wellness is to introduce a workplace wellness program for employees.

The Benefits Of Employee Wellness Programs

Corporate wellness programs have been studied for years, and companies worldwide have started introducing such programs in their workplaces. Starting as employee perks for large companies called corporate fitness programs or wellness programs are more popular now than ever.

They are a great way to promote good health behaviors in the workplace. They can be fun, informative, and very engaging. Moreover, well-designed wellness programs help employers bring down employee absenteeism and reduce healthcare costs.

Now, workplace wellness programs are common among businesses of all sizes. Companies across the world are offering wellness programs of their own. Today they are a regular part of a company’s benefits package.

By offering wellness programs, companies give their employees incentives and strategies to adopt healthy lifestyles. Workplace wellness programs do a great job of improving the health behaviors of employees.

According to a survey conducted by Harvard Business Review, 79% of employees who participated in a health and wellness program said they were extremely satisfied with the program. They were also more likely than non-participants to stay with the company.

Download our complete and comprehensive guide to corporate wellness programs to create an effective one for your workforce.

Besides increased work satisfaction and improved health and wellbeing, how do wellness programs benefit employees and employers? To answer this question, we’ve enlisted below the top 10 benefits of wellness programs.

Increases Productivity

A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that participating in wellness programs can help improve productivity levels among employees and save money for their employers.

One of the leading causes of poor productivity is poor health. When you are unhealthy, you are tired and feel less motivated to work.

Taking part in wellness activities that focus on adopting good health behaviors such as regular exercise increases productivity and performance. Your employees will be better focused and more motivated to complete tasks.

Improves Health Behaviors

Perhaps the most significant benefit of introducing a wellness program in a workplace is improving both the physical health and mental health of employees by helping them adopt good health behaviors and reduce health risks.

A well-curated wellness program can help employees adopt and maintain healthy habits such as regular physical activity and healthy eating. It can also help them decrease bad health behaviors such as smoking and substance abuse. Doing so can help employees to reduce the risk of health problems and prevent chronic diseases.

Furthermore, low health risks are the pillars of good health, and a healthy person is also less likely to fall victim to depression and its symptoms.

Thus, by improving employee health in general, providing a wellness program can improve overall satisfaction in the lives of employees.

Reduces the Risk of Diseases

Healthy behaviors decrease health risks, leading to less chronic disease. All health problems like high blood sugar, high blood pressure, etc., are caused by lack of exercise and poor nutritional choices.

A wellness program helps your employees learn to implement healthy choices in their lives, making them healthier in the long run. When they exercise and eat healthily regularly, they improve their health and reduce the risks of health problems.

Increases Employee Engagement

A company that establishes a wellness culture creates a focused and engaged workforce that sees wellness as benefiting their careers.

Group activities like walking meetings, weight loss challenges, etc., involving health and fitness will connect your employees more to your company and their fellow employees. As a wellness program engages all the members of a company, they will form new relationships with people.

Also, a workplace wellness program engages and benefits your employees outside of the workplace. This makes them feel that they have a positive impact on other aspects of their lives. Helping them to choose to stay with the company long term.

Reduces Stress

We all face workplace stress in our day-to-day lives. Stress is an unavoidable part of daily life.

Stress is unhealthy for employees and employers alike. It leads to poor work productivity, poor employee health, and unnecessary sick days.

By offering wellness programs to combat workplace stress, you can improve your employees' productivity and performance. Doing so can also result in lower employee turnover and improved employee health. This further reduces health care costs for employers as well.

Activities like exercise and meditation can help them relieve stress and feel more relaxed.

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Decreases Absenteeism

A wellness program improves employee health, and this impacts if employees are absent from work or not. When employees are healthy and stress-free, they are less likely to be absent from work. Such employees are likely to be more invested in their work and be more productive in general.

Moreover, when employee productivity and morale are high, employees are motivated to work and perform well.

Improves Employee Retention

Wellness programs have a strong impact on employee retention. A successful wellness program can help keep employees loyal. An employer that helps employees work toward achieving their personal goals by introducing a wellness program can make them loyal.

If you offer your employees a wellness program, it shows your concern for their health and wellbeing. It shows how much the company cares about its employees' health and emphasizes its importance.

A survey found that 87% of employees consider health and wellness offerings when choosing an employer.

Offering a wellness program helps employees feel valued and appreciated, essential factors of employee retention and recruitment. When you value your employees as important assets of your company, they are more likely to stay instead of searching for a job elsewhere.

Improves Employee Morale

Employee morale and happiness are significant factors in determining the success of a company. Participating in health and wellness programs creates a sense of and satisfaction among employees. This leads to a happier and more productive workforce in general.

An effective wellness program helps employees become healthier and happier as well. When employees feel appreciated and valued, they engage and communicate with each other.

This creates high employee morale, and they are happier as they have control over their health. Therefore, they start to like taking part in wellness programs as it benefits them. The idea of leading a healthy life makes employees appreciate the incentive of a health and wellness program and embrace it with positivity.

Moreover, employees who practice good health behaviors are physically and mentally healthy in general and have lower absenteeism as well.

Breaks the Monotony

Doing the same thing over and over again every day makes work boring, repetitive, and tiring. This lowers employee morale and productivity.

When your employees take part in wellness programs, they are engaged and feel motivated. Doing and learning new things that promote good health and fitness is fun and beneficial at the same time.

Wellness programs mix things up and create enthusiasm among employees and create a great work environment.

Reduces Health Care Costs

Working at a company that promotes exercise and healthy eating benefits employees' health. It makes them less likely to get injured or fall sick, saving health care costs.

A study shows that workplace wellness programs reduce health care costs. When your employees are healthy, they do not have to go to the doctor and pays their bills and buy medicines. This way, they can also save a lot of money in the long run.

So, get your employee involved in your company's wellness program and keep diseases at bay.

Final Words

A good wellness program helps employees achieve their aspirations and goals. It makes employees feel valued and cared, and this makes them achieve milestones at work. Employee health improves, which causes high productivity, high morale, etc.

It helps a company create a positive image and a great workplace culture, a culture of health. The benefits are endless, and once employees are engaged, they like coming to work.

Request a Vantage Fit demo now to transform your workforce with an effective wellness program.

Besides working as a content marketer at Vantage Circle, Shah Alif Ahmed is also an internationally certified nutrition specialist, competitive bodybuilder and a musician. For any queries reach out to editor@vantagecircle.com