Welcome to The Era of Wellness at Work.
Did you know that less than half of all workplaces have a wellness program that supports their employees’ efforts to live and work optimally?
It is quite disturbing to think that millions of employees go to jobs they love, put in countless hours daily, yet fail to receive the financial support of their employers to stay well and healthy.
So, what’s the answer? I don’t think it’s to stop having wellness programs because you and I know of many friends and colleagues who are being struck with chronic diseases, mental health diseases, and cancer in the prime of their lives.
Diseases that should be experienced in old age are becoming the norm for most professionals in their mid-life. So, what is the reason why more employees don’t participate in wellness programs at work? Employees tell us they want to manage their own wellness. They want to make choices that are relevant to them culturally, socially, religiously, or spiritually.
What is an organization to do in this case? Some have created expansive assessment tools, programs, gyms, and elaborate programs yet still have less than 40% participation.
Many employees say they want access to certain wellness modalities and practitioners that are not covered by their employee plans or offered at work. The road wellness is different for everyone, what’s key is for wellness programs to support and empower employees to stay well and happy, even when they are unconventional.
Many employees are what we call socialized by the “Amazon experience”. Thus, they are used to having many options to choose from. They want variety and diversity in the wellness program offerings, or they become bored and lose interest in your onsite program. This makes it difficult for any one organization to keep its program interesting and engaging for a prolonged period.
So, what’s the answer? Give your employees access to a wide range of services and modalities that they can use to improve their wellness on their own terms. You may be thinking that this is a very expensive process, but it doesn’t have to be.
Global Workplace Wellness Summit
The Summit provides free webinars and summit sessions that can be streamed from employees’ desktops, in a boardroom setting, as part of a staff meeting, in the lunchroom or from your wellness area.
To Your Wellness
