An ounce of prevention is, according to the old proverb, worth a pound of cure. If so, many employers have taken this thinking even further, proving that a proactive, carefully planned wellness program can increase worker productivity, improve morale and heighten overall job satisfaction.
But what will work best within your walls? And what are some of the top considerations when planning and implementing a wellness program at your company? To tackle those questions and make it easier to put together the initiative that’s right for you, let’s look closer at several popular wellness-promoting options.
Some wellness initiatives aim to achieve a specific, quantifiable, predetermined end result. For example, team competitions targeting a specific goal have successfully helped employees quit smoking, lose weight and exercise regularly. In addition to providing extrinsic motivation and improve overall wellness, they’re a great way to build camaraderie among employees. What specific health outcomes are most important for your employees? Consider a wellness program that has its eyes on those prizes.
Another popular push toward wellness involves making it easier to live a healthy lifestyle while onsite. Some companies find it beneficial to offer on-campus fitness centers. For a less capital-intensive option, consider a cardio or yoga class. Or it could be as simple as surveying the lunches and snacks currently offered and replacing them with more healthful options.
This third variety of wellness program is also the most ambitious and controversial. Here’s how it works: Employees volunteer to undergo a health risk assessment (HRA) and get rewarded for various actions, such as completing a physical and online health assessment or taking part in healthy activities throughout the year. If you currently have one of these programs or plan to implement one soon, you should know that in December the Equal Employment Opportunity Council (EEOC) will issue revised rules on the amount that can be rewarded for voluntarily offering personal health information.
It’s important to remember that these different approaches to wellness aren’t mutually exclusive. There’s nothing stopping you from putting together an “eyes-on-the-prize” employee smoking cessation program and offering “build-it-and-they-will-come” yoga classes over lunch. Or tying it all to an ambitious, paycheck-incentivized program.
At Payroll Data Services, we’re paying close attention to workplace trends, including what’s happening in the world of wellness programs. For the latest updates, be sure to follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.