Corporate Wellness Programs

September 18, 2017

Corporate Wellness Programs matter to both employees and employers. A healthy employee is happier and more productive, which reflects well on the business and keeps everyone satisfied. 

The Business-Side Benefits of Employee Wellness

Health and wellness is a personal thing, clearly benefiting the individual more than anyone or anything else. But the advantages of having a corporate wellness program and having healthy employees extend far beyond the employee-side benefits. Businesses gain from putting employee wellness first. Here are some of the specific benefits:

• Happiness. According to a 2012 study by AFLAC, employees who participate in corporate wellness programs are more satisfied with their jobs. This is tied to the fact that wellness programs show employees that the company cares for them. They also make people  feel better.
• Enhanced productivity. It’s no surprise that physical activity and good nutrition positively affect the brain. The long-term benefits are more energy, better focus, and extra motivation. Those are valuable benefits, regardless of the industry or role.
• Team Building. Corporate wellness programs are great for companies that are trying to strengthen their culture and bring employees closer together.
• Cost savings. Harvard Business Review reports that, since 1995, the percentage of Johnson & Johnson employees who smoke has dropped by two-thirds. Furthermore, the number of people with high blood pressure and physical inactivity has been cut in half. Why does this matter? It’s tied to the company’s investment in employee wellness, which has saved J&J $250 million on healthcare expenses over the past decade. In fact, the return has been $2.71 for every dollar spent.

These are just a few of the business-side benefits of an investment in  corporate wellness programs, but they show the impressive return a health and wellness program can bring to the organisation.

The Key to a Successful Program Launch

According to the Harvard Business Review report, organisations with programs that are deemed as having “low effectiveness” experience volunteer attrition rates of 15 percent, while companies with “highly-effective” programs see, on average, just 9 percent voluntary attrition. Specifically, software company SAS Institute has seen voluntary turnover drop from 19 percent in 2005 to just 4 percent. 

In other words, if you’re going to invest time, energy, and resources into developing and launching a corporate wellness program, you have to focus on a successful launch and execution and ensure your employees have input into the programs on offer.

The Wellness Union can assist you in selecting the right corporate wellness programs for your team. Contact us for further info

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