With growing focus on employee health, corporate wellness programs are increasingly becoming popular. It is a prevalent program in the corporate world which is treated as an employee perk for large corporations. The corporate fitness programs have become an integral part of the company’s benefit package and provide the employees with incentives, tools, social support, strategies and privacy to maintain healthy behaviors.
The workplace has changed due to globalization and technology advancement, which is making a great impact on the lives of the employees. Jobs in IT industry are knowledge-driven and stress is existent in reality. The reason can be pressure from seniors, target oriented approach, relationship with coworkers, lack of personal time, spouse stress, children stress and the list goes on. This stress can create many mental and health weaknesses which would affect the performance and productivity of the employee. The personal weaknesses of employees due to stress may be due to lack of time management, relationships, assertiveness, goals, lack of confidence etc.
Corporate Wellness programs impose a wide range of benefits for the employees and apparently enhancing the well-being of the corporations.
Early Identification of Disease
Any disease when detected early can be cured effectively in less time under proper medical supervision. For an instance, consider a company which organizes a cancer check-up drive where employees can be called up for the check-up. This will help the employees to detect their disease at an early stage and hence, reduce the complexity of the disease in the future.
Building Productivity of Employees
When employees are inspired to live a better lifestyle, they feel motivated resulting in increased concentration, optimism, and high energy. Thus, company’s healthy work culture gets deep-rooted into the system which can become a rock support in the later stage.
A recent study has revealed that the employees who participated in the wellness program have improved their health by retrieving an average 10.3 hours of additional productivity annually as compared to the non-participants. The study has also stated that incorporating wellness programs in the company leads to the reduction in sick-leaves, worker’s compensation, and disability insurance costs by approximately 25 percent.
Boosting Employee Education
The corporate companies ensure that their employees hold essential medical knowledge and act accordingly in emergency cases. The certified sessions which provide training in CPR, First-Aid, and Automated External Defibrillation (AED) ensure that the employees can assist each other in critical situations until a medical professional is available. Hence, educating employees with these sessions has become essential for every company.
Developing Communication among the Peers
The wellness programs at the workplace are organized in teams which develops an opportunity for the employees to interact with each other on the professional and personal front. The team activities which focus on fitness and health are a great way to promote employee engagement program. They can develop a bond and strengthen the work relationships among the peers by conversing professionally and personally through health programs like walking clubs, sports, and etc.
Healthy Employees Incur Low Health Expenditure
Employees prefer those companies which promote health and fitness strategies which assist in reducing health expenses and thus eliminating the medical claims. Lower health costs are beneficial to both the employer and the employee. A recent case study has revealed that the companies have experienced low health costs due to incorporating wellness campaigns and the employees have also seen significant reductions in chronic diseases.
Improves Employee Focus and Manage Stress
In order to get a good outcome, one needs to have the right focus towards the work. The wellness program relieves employees from stress and pressure and assists them in developing a healthy and stress-free mind. These programs also suggest that taking a break from the work routine can enhance the employee’s productivity with complete focus.
It is observed that employees feel stressful and drained-out at the workplace which makes them less productive. The productivity of the employees can be enhanced by their active participation in different physical activities and sports. These activities allow them to have fun at work by complete removal of the stress. The wellness programs emphasize on trying out new things which is great for the mind and is a fun way to improve health and fitness.
Great Job Satisfaction
Employee centered companies enjoy high retention ratio due to the optimistic attitude of the employees. A high retention ratio results in a low percentage of resignations. A happy environment keeps the employees highly motivated which results in a great performance in the workplace. Thus, the wellness programs create a WIN-WIN situation for the company and its employees.
According to a recent wellness report, the employees who participate in health and wellness programs are happier among its peers and hold a great job satisfaction. A healthy lifestyle generates a feel-good factor, increases self-optimism and confidence, and increases employee’s self-esteem.
The strong idea behind incorporating wellness programs is to encourage the employees to take protective measures to prevent the worsening of an illness and adopt a healthy lifestyle. Thus, the wellness programs have a financial and mental impact on the companies and rejuvenate the employee’s work performance. Through these initiatives the corporate companies will always have financial gains with a focused and healthy work culture.
Wellness Program – An Effective Tool for the Enhancement of Corporate Companies
