The welfare of the employee is a business ideal that depends on the facilities, opportunities, and consideration offered by the company itself. It is the trend known as corporate wellness and that many companies. A healthy work environment is part of the value proposition that any company has to offer. The importance of implementing a wellness strategy in all types of companies is so that the worker feels happy, comfortable, and healthy in their workplace.
To speak of corporate wellness is to speak of the awareness of companies in favor of the well-being of their employees. Both physical and emotional. It is something that is becoming more and more present. This is so because it is essential for the smooth running of companies that, in the end, are made up of people.
What is corporate wellness
The philosophy is based on betting on the general well-being of the teams. Thus, promoting a healthy lifestyle, such as the values of self-improvement and effort. Here are some measures, activities and strategies that can be applied within companies to achieve this well-being within teams:
Physical appearance
Regarding the physical aspect, there are different proposals. For example, have a running club to provide the time and coaches to keep fit. In addition, having a physiotherapy service in the office itself and other programs on nutrition and wellbeing.
Mental aspect
A great importance is given to conciliation, facilitating teleworking and offering flexible hours so that everyone can organize themselves as they want or need. Striving to create an inspiring and comfortable work environment, with agile, flexible, versatile and digital spaces.On the other hand, in the mental aspect we committed to development and training. Not only focused on technical knowledge but also with room for skills.
Emotional aspect
Lastly, on the most emotional level in which the human factor comes into play, we work on proposals focused on creating an inclusive culture and a positive corporate environment, promoting closeness, humane treatment, diversity, and respect.
Benefits of corporate wellness
The main advantages that come to mind when it comes to wellness are usually an improvement in the health and well-being of employees. But, in addition to these direct benefits on the teams themselves, we notice that programs of this type have a strong influence on the company itself.
“62% of workers who enjoy corporate wellness increase their productivity and 50% of them reduce their absenteeism due to illness”, as revealed by the Hays Journal last June.
Likewise, implementing wellness programs in companies allows entering a kind of virtuous circle that can influence the positioning and image of the company, turning it into a company to which employees feel proud to belong and an entity coveted by outside talents. A healthy and stimulating work environment is part of the value proposition and the basic benefits that any company has to offer.
How to implement a wellness program from scratch
Implementing a wellness policy goes far beyond offering health activities or programs. It must be a total approach, integrated with all the company’s activities, both internally and externally.
The first indispensable stage, before starting wellness programs, is to establish a good diagnosis and study the real situation of the company to have an idea of what measures have to be implemented, setting priorities and, thus, being able to draw a clear path.
It is essential for the entire workforce to feel involved and motivated to participate.After this step, it is time to draw up the action plan. But the work does not end there. Once the wellness policies have been implemented, it is essential to assess whether they are working and whether they meet the established objectives. To review what is necessary and adjust the strategy based on the needs and lessons learned.In parallel to these guidelines, it is necessary to have a powerful internal communication campaign that manages to “hook” the employees.
We must take into account that wellness policies make it possible to reduce work absenteeism.Although it is true that a small SME cannot implement the same internal policies as a multinational with several thousand employees, if we have the will and initiative, it is possible to get motivated and healthy employees without investing large amounts of money, also getting a good environment to work and increase productivity.
Reasons to implement corporate wellness
Beyond the numerous benefits, if you offer autonomy, flexibility and a healthy environment to your employees, the levels of commitment and retention of talent will be much higher.
Today, it is not just a question of salary, but what professionals value is what we call the ‘Total Reward’. The monetary and non-monetary benefits offered to the employee. Something especially true in the new generations that have entered or are entering the labor market such as millennials and generation Z and that is a fundamental part of our current HR strategy.
It is important that there is a commitment from the entire team when it comes to following the corporate wellness guidelines, also involving the management team.It is also necessary to follow coherence within the development of this strategy and demonstrate that it is not just a RR initiative, but a joint and integrated approach between different departments of the company to offer a healthy and stimulating work environment.
Transformation of the Human Resources department
We live in one of the most intense and motivating times in the field of human resources. In short, our task is increasingly strategic and is no longer limited to managing people but to offering them an experience that motivates and attracts them, since they will be the essential pieces for the future of any company.The world of human resource management has evolved towards designing a true employee experience”
The most challenging thing is finding the right balance between the aspirations and expectations that employees may have and the policies that can be implemented and that add value to the proposal as a company.
The path to implementing a good wellness policy is long and requires the necessary time to return the effort dedicated. The program should be aimed not only at improving the well-being of employees because no matter how many good initiatives are carried out, aspects such as excessive workload or the number of hours dedicated to certain projects will always have a fundamental weight in the global perception. For this reason, it is necessary to work in parallel on good management that leads to the perfection of the model, counting on the people to achieve it.
