Workplace wellness tips for small to mid-sized businesses

Nearly 70% of employers see increased productivity and employee satisfaction due to workplace wellness efforts.

Hearing this, you decide to shop around. The problem is, you can only find corporate wellness programs. What about small to mid-sized businesses who can't afford or simply don't need corporate-grade wellness programs and benefits?

Here are a few ways small to mid-sized employers can invest in workplace wellness without breaking the bank.

Physical Wellness 

Organize a step challenge that encourages employees to reach the recommended step count of 10,000 steps per day for a certain period of time. This option requires nothing but pedometers for those who sign up ($3), posters for the workplace, email announcements/updates and a prize for the winner(s).

This prize should be valuable enough to encourage participation. For instance, an employer could offer a $500 gift card to a healthy meal delivery service or meal-kit provider. 

An employer with 50 employees would probably end up paying about $700 for this entire production. As a return, the employer would increase employee engagement—a metric with significant employer benefits.

Nutritional Wellness

Incentivize employees to use free online resources such as ChooseMyPlate.gov. ChooseMyPlate is a USDA-sponsored site that provides users easy-to-understand physical activity and nutrition information for every age range. The site includes tools to understand each individual’s nutritional needs and guides to eating healthy on a budget.  Educate employees on how to use this site as a resource, ChooseMyPlate as an instructional tool for employees. Each week, post a new cheap and healthy (and yummy!) recipe in the workplace kitchen. 

Mental Wellness

Create an easily-accessible library of mental health resources. These libraries can include free tools such as worksheets, smartphone apps, mental health support groups, emergency mental health helpline, or any Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) your company may have access to. 

When putting together this library, take advantage of  public mental health resources in order to identify and accommodate mental challenges in the workplace. For instance, the Center for Workplace Mental Health offers free tools such as “depression calculators” that identify the mental challenge, avenues for treatment and reasons treatment may be the best option for your company as a whole.