While well-being programs started as ways to reduce absenteeism in large corporations, the benefits a proper well-being program offers are immense. In fact, a study has found that a well-being program can offer an ROI of 3.27 on average!
Furthermore, due to the recent outbreak of the COVID pandemic, corporates are understanding the impact of bad health of their employees on their performance and efficiency. Hence, improving the well-being of employees has become necessary for employers to ensure the optimum performance of their operatives.
Today, employee well-being has become much more than just providing medical care benefits to workers. More than just physical health; other necessary aspects such as effective collaboration, proper employee recognition software, empathetic leadership, and even stress-relief exercises are coming into the limelight that impacts employees’ health and performance.
Still not convinced why you should offer employee well-being. Well, these following points will change your mind:
1) A decrease in absenteeism:
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The lifestyle of employees, whether in an industrial or corporate sector is quite sedentary and stressful. This exhausting lifestyle increases the possibilities of diseases such as blood pressure, thyroid, and diabetes among employees and compels them to take leaves due to burnout at work.
A proper well-being regime helps companies to feel relaxed at their workplace and prevent employee absenteeism. As per a research, for every dollar employers invest in wellness programs, they can save an average of 5.82 dollars on absenteeism cost.
This is because reacting to issues such as employee sickness, stress, burnout, or other health-associated factors is not as profitable as preventing them. Hence, having a proper well-being program helps employers to save costs associated with unwanted absence.
2) Employee retention and attraction:
“How your employees feel on their way out matters just as much as how they feel on the way in — if not more.”
Gary Vaynerchuk
One of the biggest challenges a hiring manager or talent acquisitionist faces is to attract good talent to their company. The hiring market is already very competitive, and candidates consider various options before joining a new organization.
A company that cares for its employees will definitely attract better talent than the one that only offers some leaves with a paycheck. By providing well-being to employees, a company shows that they keep their employees in the highest regard. This in turn not only retains existing employees but also spread good vibes about the company which further helps it to attract new and best-in-breed talent.
3) Increase in employee coordination:
Well-being and fitness programs offer great opportunities for employers and managers to engage employees and get them to know each other. Such exercise sessions also act as a team-building opportunity for employees; and lead to improved workers’ health and a happy working ambiance that further leads to better coordination within the team.
4) Improved employee morale:
With wellness programs, companies can also create individual fitness goals for their employees. By accomplishing their respective goals, employees can enjoy their success and bring the same energy to their workstations to complete their tasks at hand.
Additionally, companies can also conduct stress-release workshops, mental health sessions, fitness competitions, and other similar activities to increase morale among employees and improve collaboration among departments. This further creates a healthy work culture in offices that encourage employees to give their best and take their company to a new height of success.
5) Improved employee productivity:
Fitness programs not only help workers to better connect with each other but also helps them to get rid of detrimental habits like smoking and boost their productivity at work.
As per a research, obese workers take more sick leaves than their colleagues and smokers are more likely to take 2 times more breaks during their working hours. With wellness programs, companies can help their employees to fight their obesity and habits like smoking and drinking, focus more on work, and boost their efficiency drastically.
6) Well-being Programs Reduce Health Care Costs:
Other than the psychological effects of well-being programs, the financial impact is also quite immense. For every single dollar, a company invests in the well-being of its employees, it saves $3.27 in the form of reduced healthcare costs.
However, the ability of a well-being program to reduce healthcare costs is directly proportional to the effectiveness of the program. Normal awareness sessions or health checkups won’t make the cut. A strong regime that focuses on changing the behavior and lifestyle of the employees is important if companies want to see good ROI.
CONCLUSION:
With millennials climbing the corporate ladder and Gen Zers getting ready to enter the professional space, employers need to revamp the idea to create a workspace that is both fun and productive.
Offering casual leaves alone won’t do the magic. Providing a nurturing environment is very essential and offering well-being at work is one of the best ways to do so. According to a recent survey, 77% of employees believe that wellness programs do bring a positive change in them and 87% of employees do consider such offerings before joining a company.
Hence, providing a well-being program in any form has become necessary for employers and companies in the long run.
Take care of your employees and they will take care of your business. It is that simple.
Author Bio
Nathan Figg is the Founder and CEO of Woliba a Software as a Service company in the wellness and engagement space. Woliba helps organizations consolidate their HR software tools into one comprehensive platform to enhance company culture, morale, engagement, and workplace wellbeing. With built-in automation and Artificial Intelligence, Woliba helps organizations easily manage wellbeing, engagement, recognition, and reward initiatives in one mobile-friendly platform