Easy Ideas for 12-Months of Employee Wellness

Sick, injured, or burned-out employees cost American businesses more than $225 billion a year in lost productivity. But more than the impact on your bottom line, absenteeism can be disruptive to workflow, projects and also impact teammates and colleagues around the office or across your organization. After benefits program renewals in late 2023, and as work gets back to normal after the holidays, the first few weeks of the new year can be an ideal time to review your proactive practices when it comes to encouraging happy, healthy workers. Invest the time, attention and focus now to put into place 12 months of initiatives or programs that can promote better overall wellness, improved mental health and employee support and it will pay off throughout the months ahead. Here are some thought starters (in no particular order).

Year-Round Mental Health Programs

Start by writing a comprehensive mental health checklist for your program that should include regular workshops, seminars, and resources addressing issues like stress management, mindfulness, and offering strategies for resilience.

Flexible Work Arrangements

Reduce employee stress over juggling schedules, commuting and work life-balance problems by offering flexible work schedules or remote work options to help accommodate different lifestyle needs and preferences.

Wellness Tech Subscriptions

Provide your employees with subscriptions to wellness apps like Fitness On Demand that provides seamless access to guided meditation, relaxation, stretch and fitness classes. Grant your workers a set number of hours a week to explore the content, take classes and work on their overall wellness as a priority.

Fitness Challenges and Incentives

Use your app to create and launch fitness team-building and motivational challenges throughout the year. Simply name the challenge, choose the details and launch it to all of your employees at once. Try virtual fun runs, cycle challenges or fitness class attendance and encourage participation with fitness tech and wellness prizes like fitness trackers and spa days.

Financial Wellness Workshops

Increase financial literacy to reduce one of the top causes of stress – financial worries. Conduct workshops on financial planning, budgeting, and investment strategies to help employees tackle debt and plan better for their own and their families’ futures.

Monthly Wellness Themes

Designate each month to a specific wellness theme, such as nutrition, sleep, or mindfulness, and organize related activities, educational materials, and resources. Doing this gives employees a broad awareness of wellness factors and triggers and keeps the topic fresh and engaging.

Focus on remote workers

Ensure ongoing attention to wellness challenges and initiatives are understood by, and available to, remote workers, encouraging them to participate in virtual events and activities. This helps create equal opportunities in terms of benefits for all workers and fosters bonding across the entire team regardless of where they work.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)

Offer confidential counseling services through Employee Assistance Programs to support employees who may be dealing with personal or work-related challenges. The support and recognition in the long run will improve coping skills and resilience for workers.

Health Screenings and Preventive Care

Provide on-site health screenings, vaccinations, and wellness checks for in-person workers and tools to schedule local services for remote workers to aid with early detection of problems for employees and boost overall health.

Leadership Training on Mental Health

It’s important proactive wellness understanding starts at the top, so provide leadership training on recognizing and addressing mental health concerns, creating a supportive and stigma-free work culture. Doing so will drive a wellness culture and improve employee trust in management.

Wellness Days and Mental Health Breaks

Offer additional wellness days or mental health breaks throughout the year for employees to recharge and prioritize their wellbeing. The strategy can lead to reduced burnout, increased productivity, and enhanced job satisfaction.

Community Volunteer Programs

Try arranging community service initiatives with causes that employees are passionate about, allowing workers to engage in volunteering activities together. This can have enterprise-wide benefits from boosting employee morale to increased team cohesion, and a positive impact on corporate social responsibility.