Employee wellness programs have seen a surge in popularity in recent years, becoming essential for attracting top talent in today’s competitive market. In a post-pandemic world, where many individuals and organizations continue to grapple with its lingering impact, employers understand that promoting employee wellness doesn’t only lead to better health outcomes for employees, but also results in better business outcomes for the company.
However, given today’s diverse workforce, it’s clear that when it comes to wellness programs, one size does not fit all, and many employers could use extra help in designing programs that fit the needs of their employees.
Luckily, they don’t have to do it alone. Your valuable insights can help your clients make informed decisions on the right types of benefits to offer their workforce. By supplying thoughtfully selected wellness activities, you can provide them with valuable tools to encourage their employees to engage in healthier lifestyles and habits.
Why Does Wellness Matter in the Workplace?
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of supporting employee wellness. Once considered an optional employee perk, wellness programs have become an essential part of workplace culture.
Indeed, as of 2024, over half of employers in the United States offer an employee wellness program. They recognize that in the face of today’s many challenges, everyone benefits from having healthy employees.
Many working adults spend over one third of their waking hours at work. This can add up to over 90,000 hours throughout one’s lifetime. With piling responsibilities within and outside of the office, it’s not easy for employees to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Amid long working hours, unhealthy food choices, and high-stress levels, health goals often end up on the back burner. Moreover, when employees face health issues, the impact often extends beyond their personal lives. These challenges can permeate the workplace, manifesting as distractions, disengagement, and diminished productivity. A study estimates that poor worker health can cost US employers over $500 billion per year. By taking active roles in promoting employee wellness, your clients can make a significant impact on their employees’ well-being and drive company success.
12 Wellness Ideas Your Clients Will Love
Offering a variety of wellness activities that appeal to different employees can help to ensure everyone feels included. Below are wellness activities your clients are sure to love and can offer both in-office and remote employees:
1. Brief Daily Meditations
Meditation is effective at improving focus and cognitive function. It can also reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Yet, despite understanding its benefits, many people initially find it difficult to meditate. By subsidizing subscriptions to apps such as Headspace or Calm, employers can break this barrier and help their employees get started.
2. Cooking Healthy Recipes
Healthy cooking competitions or potlucks can be fun ways to promote healthy eating habits. Perhaps employers can collect and share quick, easy, and nutritious recipes from these events (and otherwise) on a dedicated communication channel.
3. Healthy Team Lunches
Sharing meals with colleagues can be a great way to get to know them better. By sponsoring team lunches, employers can help promote team bonding as well as good nutrition simultaneously.
4. Lunch & Learns
Team lunch & learns can cover a plethora of valuable and thought-provoking topics. Periodically focusing on themes such as nutrition, sleep, exercise, and hydration can promote discussion and team building while delivering important information about various types of wellness.
5. Walking Meetings
Taking meetings outside (when feasible) can significantly help to keep energy levels flowing, especially if there are safe, scenic, and accessible walking paths near the office.
6. Fitness Classes (Virtual or On-site)
Sponsoring fitness classes like yoga, pilates, cardio, dance, or kickboxing can alleviate challenges like cost, time, and accessibility that potentially get in the way of employees participating in these activities.
7. Team Outings
Some ideas for outdoor wellness activities include group hikes, team sports, bike rides, or rock climbing once per quarter. If a company is sponsoring a 5k race, organizing practice runs could also help with team building.
8. Wellness Week/ Month Celebration
Companies with cultures that promote wellness typically have dedicated weeks or months that focus on specific pillars of wellness. These typically include activities workshops, guest speakers, challenges, and raffles. Some companies may offer pop-up wellness stations where employees can get biometric screenings, vaccinations, blood pressure checks, ergonomic assessments, and even massage therapy. They can also provide resources on nutrition, exercise, mental health, stress management, and other wellness-related topics.
9. Sponsored Health & Wellness Workshops
Employee wellness activities can revolve around any dimension of wellness, such as financial health. For example, given the rise in cost of living, individuals who once earned “enough” may find themselves grappling with unexpected emergency expenses. Providing support through educational workshops and counseling can help relieve stress and allow employees to focus on other aspects of well-being.
Another area of focus that’s particularly relevant today is mindset coaching. Amid rapid and unprecedented changes in the business landscape, it’s common to feel anxious about what lies ahead. However, mindset coaching provides effective strategies to refocus on essential priorities and navigate uncertainties with clarity and confidence.
10. Wellness Challenges
Many companies offer challenges as part of a broader wellness program, engaging employees in friendly competitions like step challenges, running, or cycling events.
Wellness challenges not only encourage physical health, but also foster camaraderie. Some wellness platforms are able to shoulder the work of running wellness challenges at scale and also facilitate the distribution of rewards and provide a social platform for employees to share tips and offer feedback.
11. Educational Opportunities
These may include company outings to cultural events or sponsored educational workshops, conferences, and classes.
12. Charity/Volunteer Work
People often feel good when they do something good for others, so organizing regular volunteer events and providing volunteer paid time off can be great for team building and social wellness.
Closing thoughts
It often takes time to develop healthy habits. The good news is that whether your clients already boast a highly structured wellness program or are just beginning to chart this territory, there’s room to be creative and innovative with wellness activity offerings. You can help them to construct a program that is engaging and effective.
In today’s diverse workplace, the success of a wellness program lies in understanding the unique needs and motivations of each employers’ workforce, offering diverse and inclusive options, promoting participation, and continually adapting the program based on tracked results and employee feedback.
Want to learn more about how you can support your clients in designing wellness programs that work for their employees? Feel free to check out our resources library or schedule a call to talk to one of our Benefits Specialists.
