ONCE an afterthought, workplace safety, employee wellbeing, and corporate wellness have become of crucial interest for companies of all sizes.
In the post-pandemic context, when companies deal with the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting, employers have discovered that wellness programs focusing on employee safety and wellbeing could retain talent and encourage them to recommend their companies to others. Research shows that employee wellness positively impacts performance, preventing burnout, boosting social wellbeing, and making people feel like they belong.
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Employee safety and wellbeing should no longer be neglected because they have a direct impact on a company’s bottom line. Employee wellbeing is the cumulus of measures a company takes to promote health in and out of the office. These measures promote physical and mental health and focus on creating safe work environments to empower employees to bring their best selves to work and complete their tasks effectively.
What you should know about employee wellness programs
Employee wellness programs aren’t new; they didn’t just appear after the pandemic to combat the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting. Companies have been designing wellness programs for over a century since Johnson & Johnson introduced the Live for Life program. However, too few brands have fully involved and dedicated resources to this initiative until they started losing talent due to stress and workplace accidents.
Employee wellness and safety programs have a positive impact on people’s physical and mental health because they include workplace safety protocols, health screenings, disease management support, and several other solutions to improve employees’ overall wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the front page the importance of wellness and workplace safety programs. The employees who had a chronic health condition before COVID-19 became more conscious of the fact that they must protect their wellbeing, and their workplace is the main factor that impacts it.
Reasons why companies should adopt wellness programs
Wellness programs are beneficial for companies throughout the entire employee experience. Let’s start with the recruitment process when 9 in 10 candidates check the benefits package before choosing an employer. Around 50% of Gen Zers and Millenials pick workplaces with wellness programs. When it comes to retaining talent, studies show that 67% of workers would recommend their employer if they would benefit from wellness programs. The purpose of health, safety and wellness programs is to prevent workplace accidents, injuries, stress, and burnout. Workplace accidents are daunting for companies of all sizes as employees can claim compensation, as it’s seen in this link https://www.accidentclaims.co.uk/accident-at-work-claim.
When an organization develops wellness and safety programs, it boosts employees’ satisfaction, improves retention, creates a thriving company culture, and prevents absenteeism.
Workplace wellness trends expected to gain momentum in 2023
To help employees stay healthy and productive, companies need to allocate more resources to developing wellness programs. Here are the trends expected to have a huge impact on the sector in the following years.
Mental health corporate programs
Since the start of the pandemic, many organizations have been investing and introducing more mental health plans to assist employees and boost their wellbeing. Depending on the resources, they can provide employees with access to counselling or enrol them in programs that help them alleviate stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
It’s crucial for businesses to identify the ideal ways to connect their employees with courses and programs that help them cope and manage stress. Mindfulness meditation is one of the methods that help most people improve their mental health issues. Since most companies employ a hybrid program for their workforces, it’s advisable to make the mental health corporate programs available also to remote employees.
Offer time off to help employees fight burnout
Studies show burnout is the biggest threat to workers’ wellbeing in 2023. A study from the UKG’s Workforce Institute reveals that 42% of middle managers think about quitting in the next year because they suffer from workplace anxiety and stress.
The simplest and most effective way to prevent burnout and retain talent is to offer employees time to recharge and encourage them to take breaks.
Candidates nowadays want to work for companies that listen and act when they don’t feel well.
Offer financial education and guidance
Financial stress is among the main factors that cause burnout and workplace stress. Also, in the present context, people fear rising inflation and recession because they doubt their finances are sufficient to cover daily expenses.
It’s the moment for companies to understand that the uncertain economic outlook causes their employees several concerns. They should find proactive ways to address these concerns and invest more resources into providing them with the necessary financial education and resources to help them deal with these challenging times.
Flexibility
The pandemic pushed remote work forward, and even if the COVID-19 virus is ancient history, remote work remains a trend. Nowadays, people are looking for employees that offer flexible work arrangements because they want to balance their professional and personal lives. Candidates prefer employers that offer flexible work schedules because they want to focus more on their personal lives and improve their mental health.
Besides putting in place hybrid work arrangements, companies should also offer flexible schedules, so the employees can choose when they prefer to come to the office, if they come at all.
Leverage technology
People nowadays are excited about the power of technology because it improves their lives. Companies can rely on innovative solutions to boost their workforce’s wellbeing. Providing employees with tech solutions can help them improve their performance and lower their stress levels because they no longer have to complete repetitive tasks.
Additionally, companies can provide their employees with access to telemedicine, which gained quite a lot of popularity since the start of the pandemic. Telemedicine solutions eliminate barriers and disparities that might prevent remote workers from benefiting from the necessary healthcare. If they have access to telemedicine, they can get professional help from specialists without leaving their homes.
Final words
Employees are looking for workplaces that care for their wellbeing, and companies that invest resources into creating wellness programs are more likely to retain talent in the long run.
