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Many companies think that their employees' physical and mental state is a personal duty to which they have no responsibility. However, it is imperative to maintain their employees' well-being to maximize their workforce. According to a survey by CareerBuilder, about a third of employees say that their work causes excessive stress and induces adverse effects on their health, such as a weakened immune system, insomnia, high blood pressure, muscle aches, stress eating, anxiety, anger issues, brain fog, and depression. Also, 79 percent of these workers stated that their jobs don't provide wellness programs to address these problems.

For that reason, wellness programs were implemented in workplaces. Numerous statistics reported high levels of job satisfaction among employees whose jobs offer wellness programs and claim that it helped them create better personal and workplace decisions. There are also accounts stating that businesses with wellness programs had a significant yield in revenue and enhanced their financial sustainability.

The advantages wellness programs bestow on companies are indisputable. But they are not just limited to improved decision-making and increased revenue. There are many benefits wellness programs can provide, which are still yet to unfold. If you want to know more about these benefits, keep reading as we will tackle the benefits of wellness programs in workplaces.

What are Workplace Wellness Programs?

Wellness is characterized by a person's ability to conform to stress-inducing situations while maintaining well-conditioned physical and mental health. That being said, workplace wellness programs are implemented by employers to enhance their employees' health and help manage stress brought on by work rigors. They also cover employees' intellectual, emotional, occupational, spiritual, and financial issues. Wellness programs can come in the form of training, seminars, third-party services, and such.

Here are a few examples of wellness programs offered in workplaces to provide better insights into what wellness programs are:

• Employee Assistance – employers provide confidential guidance and financial support to their employees. Offering help in resolving these issues allows employees to perform their best in their jobs.
• Nap rooms – allows employees to take a power nap in designated areas. This will enable them to restore their energy after prolonged hours of work and stress.
• Catered lunch and snacks – some companies provide catered food to their employees to ensure proper nutrition to allow them to accomplish heavy tasks.
• Transportation – promoting the use of alternative transit options, mainly eco-friendly options, such as biking or providing public transit incentives.
• Fitness activities – a fitness center doesn't have to be grand or massive. It can be as simple as an area where an employee can exercise and move around. However, some companies took it on to the next level. On-site gyms have been a popular benefit that allows employees to work out and conduct their fitness classes in the comfort of their workplace. Some companies even have their own swimming pools and sports grounds.

Benefits of Workplace Wellness Programs

By providing wellness programs, companies enable their employees to produce better outputs and allow them to actually to enjoy their jobs through incentives and fun activities. Beyond these advantages, we rounded up ten more benefits of implementing wellness programs in your company.

1. Amplifies Productivity

Stress is one of the leading causes of a weakened immune system. Therefore, if an employee experiences constant stress, they can develop many illnesses. Providing programs that will help them manage their stress will prevent this and allow employees to carry out tasks with more energy and motivation.

In tune with a Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine study, wellness programs improved the employees' lifestyles and presented a significant increase in their productive time. The changes in their productivity saved their company a total of $353. Therefore, wellness programs are not only beneficial on the employee's side but also on the employer's.

2. Enhances Employee's Morale

Morale is characterized as the mental and emotional condition of confidence, discipline, and enthusiasm of an individual in carrying out tasks or performing their functions. Wellness programs effectively enhance an employee's morale through competitive games where they uplift and work through a unified goal. Not only does it contribute to their physical fitness, but engaging in group activities allows them to build better relationships with their colleagues and enhance their group morale. 

Enhanced teamwork also improves communication among the team, leading to the innovation of better strategies. This will lead to a strengthened workforce that will help them improve the quality of their work and benefit the company in the long run.

3. Improves Overall Health 

If an employee is used to living an unhealthy lifestyle, wellness programs such as fitness activities, smoking cessation programs, and nutritious meals can help them embrace a healthy lifestyle. These programs encourage employees to strain away from unhealthy habits and adopt healthy ones. Being surrounded by like-minded people vitalizes their inner drive to do the same. 

Living a healthy lifestyle reduces the risks of developing diseases or long-term health problems and stimulates their energy to do their work and maintain it throughout their working days.

Leading a healthy lifestyle is also proven to boost mental health. According to a study by the National Library of Medicine on the effectiveness of the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP), improved nutrition can lower the risks of depression. Several studies prove that maintaining healthy eating habits can reduce the chances of developing mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

4. Reduces Stress

As mentioned in the previous number, stress is one of the leading causes of a weakened immune system. If an employee is not physically feeling well, it can significantly affect their work performance. Employees are also most likely to engage in unhealthy practices when stressed and can compromise their physical and mental health. Employers conduct wellness programs for many reasons but reducing stress is one of the most vital. 

Wellness programs such as exercising, nap times, yoga, or meditation programs allow employees to relax and divert their attention away from their work for a while. This will enable employees to release stress and restore their energy to work productively again.

5. Promotes Work Attendance

Wellness programs encourage employees to go to work daily. Because they are healthy and not experiencing prolonged stress, they become more endowed with their job and are motivated to produce a better quality of work. Since employees can release stress in the workplace, they will have less reason to take day-offs or vacations and end up increasing productivity in the workplace.

6. Strengthens Company-Employee Relationship

Providing wellness programs shows the employer's concern for their employees. This allows employees to add value to their relationships with their companies. When employees are treated as valuable assets to the business, they feel appreciated and get motivated to work harder and stay loyal to their company.

7. Lower Health Care Costs

Health care costs increase over time, making it hard for companies to sustain them. The primary goal of wellness programs is to encourage employees to switch to a healthy lifestyle. By living a healthy lifestyle, employees reduce the risks of developing diseases, which means that they won't need to visit the doctor frequently and save on health care costs. This also roots back to increased productivity as healthy employees don't need to take numerous days off from work and accomplish multiple tasks.

8. Employee Satisfaction

As mentioned in the previous numbers, providing wellness programs exhibit the employer's concern for their employee's wellbeing. This makes employees feel valued and, therefore, be more satisfied in their job. According to a study by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, 63 percent of the employees whose jobs provide wellness programs say that they experienced improved financial sustainability, 66 percent experienced an increase in productivity, and 67 percent stated that they were satisfied with their job.

9. Improves Employer Brand

According to a study by the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 59.4 percent of employees expect their employers to provide wellness programs to improve the health of their employees. That being said, many employees are expected to demand these programs as many companies continue to adopt and implement them. This will most likely be one of the employee's criteria in choosing a job in the near future.

On the other hand, employers can use it to their advantage by utilizing wellness programs as a recruitment tool. By offering wellness programs, you improve your employer brand and entice more employees to join your company. This gives employers an edge over other companies that don't provide them. Companies that offer wellness programs also boast higher referrals and employee recommendations.

10. Happier Workplace

Engaging in wellness programs allows employees to feel more satisfied in their job. Seeing that the company is concerned with their wellbeing and encourages them to achieve their health goals makes them feel valuable. Working in an environment where you feel valued creates feelings of security and happiness. Positive emotions allow them to perform better and produce quality outputs. A happy workplace yields success.

While customers are essential in a business, employees are the lifeblood that keeps them going. Without them, a company will not be able to operate its functions. For that reason, employees must be treated just as important as the customers. Employees, if treated well, are most likely to stay and work hard for the betterment of the company. Therefore, for a business to prosper, an employer must invest in its most valuable asset- its employees. One of the best ways to add value to employees is by providing wellness programs that aid both their physical and mental health, allowing them to perform their best on their job.