Are Your Employees Well?

Leaders face many concerns while attempting to run a successful business. Although they know that employee wellness is an important issue many small businesses, which account for the majority of all employees, generally don’t focus on the area of wellness.

The motivation for employer-based wellness programs is straightforward. If employers can help workers cut back on alcohol consumption, quit smoking, or increase exercise, improve nutrition, etc. The idea goes, workers’ health will improve. This will generate savings on health care costs and lower the number of sick days people take and improve the overall well-being and productivity of the workforce.

But many studies of Wellness Programs are not showing the results they promised. The people who participate already live a healthier lifestyle and are getting slightly better results, but the majority are not participating. So, you are incentivizing those that are already incentivized.

What does work is increased listening to your employees. Understanding the barriers is key to preventing them from engaging in these programs or their work in general. Our real desire is to improve engagement while having well employees.

Wellness is important but our thinking about wellness has been too limited. Matthew Kelly’s book The Dream Manager parallels Gallup’s research which indicates that a focus on five of the Eight Dimensions of Well-Being—career, social, financial, physical and community—allows people to thrive. The other three dimensions - intellectual, spiritual, and emotional have become critical (9 of 10 doctor’s visits, 46% experiencing burnout), however, few specialize in all eight areas like I do.

For wellness programs to be more successful in the future they must be treated as more than a series of benefits. Leaders must lead by example and provide the necessary expertise, tools, support, and encouragement so that functional leaders or your dream manager can provide wellness resources locally. They must be part of companies’ overall decision-making and instilled into corporate cultures.

Employees who feel that their employer cares about their well-being are more engaged and likely to stay with the company long-term. By prioritizing and personalizing the eight areas of wellness above, you will be creating a positive company culture that shows your employees that you value them as individuals, not just as workers.

If you are considering a wellness program for your business, I would love to talk with you about one that truly leads to greater engagement of your employees.