What Is One Workplace Wellness Program That Has Worked Well At Your Company?
To help you know which wellness programs to introduce at your workplace, we asked CEOs and HR managers this question for their best insights.
From exercise challenges to weekly yoga classes, there are several tried wellness programs that may work well in supporting the health of your employees and improving productivity in your organization.
Here Are Seven Best Workplace Wellness Programs:
- Exercise Challenges
- Mental Health Seminars
- Personalized Health and Wellness Stipend
- Employee Recognition
- After-Lunch Nap Time
- Gym Fitness Program
- Weekly Yoga Class
Exercise Challenges
Inspired by WayBetter’s push-up and squat challenges (an app that allows you to win cash for completing consecutive day streaks of chosen exercise), we’ve developed a similar program at our company.
We’ve started with sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups and expanded since then. If participating, you have to agree to at least 14 days of daily exercise (with 21 and 28-day options also available). The catch – you can’t miss a day.
You must submit a timestamped video (every day) proving you’ve done your three sets (of however many reps you’ve chosen); otherwise, you lose. Each push-up sit-up is worth $0.10, meanwhile, a pull-up = $0.25.
Whatever you’ve earned gets donated to a charity of your choice if you don’t make it. If you win, you receive a gift card for your accumulated amount. If you win and decide to donate the accumulated amount to charity, we double it. As you can imagine, the program has been a hit, and we’re all the more glad about it.
Peter Bryla, ResumeLab
Mental Health Seminars
Work anxiety and stress can lead to burnout and impact the employee outside of the workplace, so it’s critical for companies to have open communication and resources for mental health. Businesses can best start a conversation by holding mental health seminars, spreading awareness through internal platforms, and offering additional support in their employee benefits package.
Something as simple as a mental health day can be extremely beneficial for employees, and companies should encourage staff to take them. When employees feel mentally supported in the workplace, it leads to increased job satisfaction and higher work productivity.
Corey Ashton Walters, Here
Personalized Health and Wellness Stipend
At Compt we offer every employee a quarterly stipend to support their whole well-being. Because wellness has a different meaning for everyone, we have a wide variety of perk categories employees can choose from. Some people opt to spend their stipend allotment on a mindfulness app subscription while others use it to pay for their monthly gym membership.
They could even use it toward the cost of a new pair of running shoes or a fitness tracker. If you want to sign up to do goat yoga, go for it! The possibilities are endless because we offer a reimbursement model, so nobody is tied to spending their stipend with a specific vendor or merchant.
By offering a personalized perk program, utilization is regularly above 90%, keeping employees engaged and happy. We’re also always open to suggestions to improve our program!
Amy Spurling, Compt
Employee Recognition
Employee recognition helps workers understand that they are valuable members of the team. When companies celebrate a milestone, it’s important to show appreciation and praise to the employees who got them there. Businesses should consider giving internal recognition through meetings, thank you cards, and company-wide emails, or show gratitude on professional networks and social media platforms.
By giving shoutouts to employees who helped the company reach their goal, it shows the significance of their contribution and how much the company values their work. Not only does it give them a sense of purpose, but also builds positive relationships in the workplace.
Sara Adam Slywka, Nestig
Remote Work Clubs
Remote workers need a sense of community, even in a virtual environment. Spending an increased amount of time in isolation leads to negative mental health such as loneliness or depression. Having shared experiences with others improves employee satisfaction and productivity almost immediately, and the payoff is well worth it.
Companies should develop remote work clubs that team members can make use of, such as a book club or philanthropy organization to get employees involved and connect with each other. They can also experiment with communal working spaces such as a WeWork, coffee shop, or lounge room located in their building.
It’s easy to remain secluded when working from home, however, building relationships in a virtual setting and getting out of their comfort zone is essential to workers’ well-being.
Jodi Neuhauser, Ovaterra
After-Lunch Nap Time
Dreaming about a time machine whenever you recall kindergarten with its daily naps? Good news – more and more companies organize a special place where employees’ after-lunch snooze dreams can actually come true. Although calling it a “program” may sound a little awkward, the benefits that this wellness-oriented solution brings are hard to overstate.
A good nap makes us feel completely refreshed, gives an energy boost, and sharpens our focus. I found a dedicated nap room in the workplace especially helpful when I was pregnant and needed to “recharge my batteries” quite often.
Agata Szczepanek, MyPerfectResume
Gym Fitness Program
We recently launched a partnership with Gympass to give employees access to gyms, fitness apps, wellbeing/meditation programs, and more!
We also have a DailyPay Peloton group where we do group rides together and motivate each other throughout the week. Building a sense of community through fitness is what makes our wellness programs successful.
Dasle Kim, DailyPay
Weekly Yoga Class
A weekly yoga class has done wonders for office morale and peace of mind. When we are hard at work it’s easy to get caught up in our cluttered headspace, and when we feel like we’re going in circles it increases stress and reduces productivity. Yoga, which is considered an active form of meditation, gets us centered in our bodies for an hour, which quiets the mind.
It’s a basic class that allows employees of all levels to participate, and since it’s done via Zoom colleagues can do it if they are working from home, or even from a hotel room if they are traveling on business.
After just one hour of peaceful asanas, when it’s time to return to work, it’s like your brain has been refreshed and rebooted. Employees have reported great results in productivity and well-being!
Meredith Kokos, Guaranteed Rate Insurance
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