The Wellness of Your Business Should Be A Priority

Business success is grounded on having qualified, healthy, productive employees. The first step is hiring the right employees who have the skills to perform the essential job functions. The next step is supporting those employees to be productive and engaged. Great leaders understand they are only successful with excellent people in their organization.

A focus on keeping employees “well” helps to ensure they can perform the best for your organization. This is best accomplished through a proactive approach to overall health and wellness. Dealing with a potential issue early on is a proven way to save money. Offering and incentivizing employees to have annual medical screens helps identify potential health issues and reduces organization medical costs. Additionally, promoting all-around wellness, which includes more than just physical wellness, is an area that organizational leaders need to put as a top priority.

The following aspects are all components of a person’s wellness:

• PHYSICAL: proper weight control and education, exercise/activity, proper nutrition, proper sleep (six to eight hours each night), proper hydration (eight-plus glasses of water each day).
• EMOTIONAL: support for employees and promoting a culture of caring/positive attitudes.
• INTELLECTUAL: encouraging lifelong learning, stimulating the brain and reducing boredom.
• SPIRITUAL: taking time to have quiet reflection.
• SOCIAL: social interactions in the workplace and outside work to promote feelings of camaraderie.
• FINANCIAL: providing resources for good financial health.

Offering quarterly or more frequent “wellness challenges” that cover one or more of these topics for employees to choose and focus on is a great way to promote all of the above areas of wellness in your organization. Variety is the key to keeping things interesting and stimulating engagement. Provide a bingo card that has a different wellness aspect each day, such as taking a walk, sitting quietly and meditating for five to 10 minutes, eating five fruits/vegetables, drinking eight glasses of water, having a social lunch gathering, or a short presentation on financial health is a fun way to engage workers. Offering little incentives that encourage employees to fill out four or five days or more each week can prove to be very helpful and rewarding.

Wellness and employee health that lead to productivity are not a one-and-done concept, but rather an ongoing drive to shape and support employees. It is essential that the leaders of your organization are the inspiration to your employees by being very engaged in these challenges.