In recent years, corporations have come to the realization that workplace wellness programs are beneficial to both employees and management, and more importantly, to their bottom line when it comes to profits. The building blocks of wellness programs may vary from program to program and from company to company, but overall, many wellness programs share many of the same characteristics and certainly the same goal – to improve the health of your employees.
Health Screenings
On-site health screenings are either the most basic of the wellness program building blocks, laying the foundation or starting point when it comes to improving your employees' well-being. It is worth the time and effort to find a company that offers quick screening in 30 minutes or less, with a turnaround time of about four days to deliver results and ultrasound images. Many companies take up to 21 days to inform the employees of their findings, but most doctors agree this is not optimum. When it comes to health, time is very often of the essence.
Most importantly, health screening companies can identify many health-related issues before they become debilitating, or even deadly. With simple, painless tests administered by trained professionals, your employees can find out if they are at risk for heart attack, stroke, abdominal aneurysms, or osteoporosis. Their own doctors can utilize the findings to develop a strategy of medication, or surgery, or sometimes both, to correct or improve any potential problems.
Motivating Your Employees
Of course, your company's wellness program has little chance of succeeding without the enthusiastic involvement of your employees. Motivating them to find ways to better their health is a key issue. Health screenings can often assist in encouraging employees to do just this, especially if they get a wake-up call from their findings. If they find that they have atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, they may be more likely to quit smoking, lower their cholesterol intake, or find ways to lower their blood pressure. If they find that they are at risk for osteoporosis, they may be more inclined to increase their weight-bearing exercise and add calcium to their diet each day. Motivation can also come from healthy competition, such as seeing who can improve their numbers by the next screening.
Making the Workplace Healthier
Another way to motivate workers is to make the workplace itself healthy. Add a small gym or walking track for employees to utilize during breaks, and change out the junk food in the vending machines to healthier options. Implement "fun fruit Fridays" where a variety of fresh fruit is handed to employees as they come for work in the morning. When given more healthy options, many employees will take advantage of them.
Your company may also consider offering stress counseling, nap suites, or in-house mini-massages on a regular basis to combat burn-out and short tempers, making for a mentally healthy workplace environment.
Corporate wellness programs offer a wealth of advantages, including lowering a company's health-care and overall costs, cutting down on the amount of needed sick days, increasing profits, and making for happier, healthier employees.