Employee wellness programs: Boosting productivity and retention

Keeping employees happy and healthy is essential to maintaining peak productivity and a positive work environment. You already have initiatives and benefits to support employees.

These include health coverage and vacation time. They are designed to help employees prioritize their physical and mental well-being.

However, promoting employee well-being continues after paid time off and health benefits. Many employers are now adding employee wellness programs to their benefits offerings.

Employee wellness programs positively impact employee engagement, productivity, and retention. However, creating an employee wellness program can confuse employers, as there are many different types.

Explore some of the most popular workplace wellness programs and learn how they could benefit your team.

What is an employee wellness program?

An employee wellness program is a workplace program or benefit designed to improve employees’ physical and mental well-being. These programs can address the various types of wellness, such as physical health, mental health, work-life balance, and even financial wellness.

Often, wellness programs combine several different health resources and interventions to offer a holistic approach that addresses all those different wellness areas.

Benefits of offering employee wellness programs

Discuss how implementing an employee wellness program can benefit your team and your company.

Boosting employee health and well-being

Employee wellness programs can meaningfully impact the well-being of your team members if they take advantage of the available offerings.

In the 2023 UnitedHealthcare Consumer Sentiment Survey, 68% of respondents who had taken advantage of an employer-sponsored wellness program reported that it positively impacted their health.

Keeping your employees happy and healthy will affect their performance, attendance, engagement, and overall attitude in the workplace.

Reduced absenteeism

Employees who are healthier, both physically and mentally, will be less likely to call out sick from work. Employees experiencing high levels of stress or burnout tend to have higher rates of absenteeism and tardiness. Prioritizing employee wellness can significantly impact these issues.

Healthy habits like eating well, engaging in regular physical activity, and ditching unhealthy habits like smoking can also improve overall health, helping you better ward off illness or recover more effectively.

Keeping your employees healthy can help them continuously show up and do their best work.

Improving job satisfaction

Wellness plans can help improve employee morale and job satisfaction. Offering improved benefits generally impacts employee satisfaction, but wellness programs can have a particularly positive impact.

Health programs teach and encourage employees to engage in healthy behaviors that can reduce stress and give them a more positive outlook.

Whether giving employees access to a mindfulness app, offering a stress management seminar, or offering free gym memberships to help them release stress through exercise, wellness programs can improve how your employees feel personally and regarding their jobs.

Improved productivity

When employees achieve better health, they work better too. Making healthy lifestyle changes or prioritizing mental wellness with an employee well-being plan can help employees feel more focused, energized, and better prepared for a productive work day.

Employee wellness programs also give employees the tools to navigate personal challenges and issues, such as stress or mental health troubles, that would otherwise distract them from their work.

Employee wellness program examples

There are many different types of employee wellness programs that employers can implement.

Health education programs

Health education programs help employees learn about health topics such as healthy eating, chronic disease management, and how to develop healthy behaviors. More personalized education can be offered through group seminars, webinars, or one-on-one health coaching.

Health screenings

Free worksite health screenings can help employees stay informed on health issues like high blood pressure, cholesterol, or glucose levels. Many people put off primary preventative care and screenings because they don’t have time (or don’t want to make the time) to go to the doctor’s office or can’t afford the copay for a visit.

You can make health screenings accessible and convenient for your employees by offering them on-site or during work hours.

Another option is to partner with a nearby clinic. As a result, you can help employees stay better informed about their health.

Smoking cessation programs

We’re all aware that smoking cigarettes is an unhealthy habit that can have significant long-term consequences. However, quitting can be extremely difficult. Many people, especially young people, are getting hooked on tobacco through vaping as well. Smoking cessation programs provide guidance and resources to help employees kick the habit.

Smokers also tend to have higher healthcare costs, as many insurance providers charge more to insure tobacco users due to the added health risks. As such, offering smoking cessation support may save you and your employees money on health plan premiums in the long run.

Mental health and mindfulness programs

Caring for your employees’ mental wellness is also essential, and that’s why mental health and mindfulness apps are among the most popular forms of employee wellness benefits. These programs can help employees access mental health resources, including telehealth, or guide them through exercises in mindfulness or meditation.

Employee assistance programs (EAP)

EAPs are employee benefits designed to address various well-being concerns, from mental health to financial wellness, through referral networks. EAPs can refer employees to therapists, drug and alcohol counseling or treatment centers, legal aid, financial advising, childcare providers, and more.

They also often cover a certain number of therapy sessions per year. Such programs improve employee well-being by helping them navigate personal challenges as they arise.

Wellness challenges

Workplace wellness challenges are a great option because they can act as both a wellness initiative and a team-building effort. Wellness challenges set a goal or create a competition for employees to take part in.

A popular form of workplace wellness challenge is step challenges, where employees track their steps with a fitness tracker and either try to hit a specific goal (such as 10,000 steps per day) or compete to record the highest number of steps.

Stress management tools and training

Stress is a major issue for employees across all industries. You can provide employees with stress management tools or training sessions. These resources help employees learn.

Specifically, they learn how to handle stress better, including both work-related and personal stress. Furthermore, teaching stress management techniques has additional benefits. It helps employees improve their emotional regulation and resilience.

As a result, they can better manage their emotions throughout the workday. Moreover, they can communicate positively and respectfully, even during high-stress periods.

Fitness of gym memberships

Offering free or discounted memberships to local gyms can help encourage employees to exercise regularly. If you have a dispersed term, a reimbursement model may be better. In this model, you offer reimbursements up to a set dollar amount for employees’ monthly membership to a gym or workout studio.

This provides some added flexibility, especially if you offer remote work options and have employees spread out across different areas with different gym chains available.

Wellness stipends

Sometimes, employers choose not to limit their reimbursements or membership benefits to gyms or fitness clubs and instead leave the choice more open-ended. Wellness stipends can generally be used for various wellness activities, from massage therapy to yoga classes or wellness tracking tech like Fitbit.

Considerations when offering an employee wellness program

With so many options, deciding how to craft the best employee wellness program to fit your team’s needs and company culture can take time. Here are some things to consider as you develop your wellness program.

Prioritizing accessibility and inclusivity

When developing your employee wellness program, it’s essential to consider which program types and offerings will be most accessible and inclusive for all employees. After all, you want people to use these benefits.

For example, if you’re partnering with a local gym to offer free or discounted memberships to employees, choose a gym with multiple locations in the area and a childcare center to reduce employee usage barriers.

When planning on-site physical wellness activities, you should choose activities that can easily be modified to suit different fitness levels and disabilities.

For example, a group yoga class could work well as it’s common in yoga to offer beginner and advanced variations for various poses. However, a high-impact fitness class may not suit beginners or those with certain medical conditions.

Making use of technology

Incorporating technology platforms and tools can make your wellness offerings more flexible and accessible to your employees. Apps and telehealth offerings can make wellness offerings simple and accessible for employees.

Access to health services like mindfulness tools or online therapy on their smartphones can encourage employees to use these services. It can also feel more private than in-person wellness services, which is helpful since there can be a stigma around specific health concerns.

Technology-based wellness offerings ensure availability for your entire team. This is especially important for remote employees. For example, remote staff may miss out on on-site initiatives. They may also miss out on local partnerships. These partnerships could be with gyms or fitness studios. However, technology can bridge this gap

Collecting employee feedback

Every employee population is different, so crafting a wellness program that addresses each employee’s unique health and wellness needs is best.

Collecting employee feedback is a great way to steer this process towards their needs. Find out what wellness programs and tools employees are interested in and would use to build a more impactful program.

Properly educating employees on the wellness offerings

In a UnitedHealthcare survey, 18% of those surveyed said they needed to determine whether their employer offered a wellness program. Suppose employees need to learn about your workplace wellness programs.

In that case, they won’t be able to improve their overall well-being, and you won’t reap the benefits of that improved wellness, such as reduced absenteeism and better work performance.

Communicate your wellness plan offerings to employees frequently and clearly. Ensure employers know what is available and how to access those offerings. Be sure also to communicate any applicable incentives for participation in specific programs.

Additional Resources:
Workplace etiquette: The ultimate guide to professionalism
Employee perk ideas to improve employee satisfaction and attract top talent
Employee rights calling in sick: What you must know