Just as most students only study 5 days a week, working adults like employers and employees are only meant to work 5 days a week too. Sadly, that is not the case for many of us as different jobs call for different hours. Some work through the weekends, while others work 365 days a year. With so many employees striving and working hard towards growing their business or helping others, what can the workplace and employers do to help? The first step is by setting up wellness programs for employees! Sometimes, the stress and responsibilities can be overwhelming and we just need a way to cool off. Feel more at ease. This is why wellness programs in the workplace are great for Singaporeans who can be quite workaholics! So, let’s unwind and let glitz give you some ideas.
How To Establish Wellness Programs
1. Conduct Assessments
Start by getting all the information you need on workforce health and wellness. Ensure that your organisation or business has the willingness to improve based on the information found. To collect all the information, it is best to conduct employee surveys that help evaluate employees needs and personal wellness interests. Next, conduct an assessment for health risks and your organisation so that you know what type of wellness programs to implement. Reviewing employees health plans can also allow you to utilise rates such as pharmaceutical and medical. Lastly, evaluate the company’s health culture by conducting environmental audits.
2. Support From Management
After all that, you need to get support or approval to implement wellness programs in the workplace. Getting the management to agree is critical in terms of funding for these programs. The struggle in gaining the management’s support is letting them understand what the value of wellness programs for employees could mean for the company. So, make sure you are at the top of your persuasion game when you enter that office. Let them know the benefits, as well as how it assists the company’s short-term and long-term strategies.
3. Establish A Wellness Committee
Once you’ve gotten support from the management, an employer can now build a small wellness committee that is employee-driven and internal. This committee will help build and sustain the wellness programs and culture. Either ask for volunteers or invite employees who you might think are suitable for the job. It is also important to ensure there is diversity and a good representation of all departments within this wellness committee. Let members of the committee be aware of all the terms and conditions. Allow them to express ideas and ensure that new members are selected once in a while to prevent burnouts and ensure new ideas.
4. Goals & Objectives
After you have done surveys and gathered all the information you need, start building the goals and objectives of the wellness programs. What is it going to achieve? One of the main goals of establishing wellness programs is typically to improve employees’ health. In this way, the company can also reduce their costs for healthcare. Other goals include better work quality as well. Each goal also has a few objectives that can be completed to achieve the goal over a long time.
5. Budget
The budget is always the most critical step in anything. The wellness programs for employees need proper funding in order to run smoothly. So, when planning a wellness program budget, you should consider the marketing, incentives and program designs. Other items to consider within the budget are HR representatives, meeting provisions, committee members time, basic sports equipment and more.
6. Wellness Program Components
Since there isn’t one standard program you can whip out, employers are free to design the wellness programs as they like. Each wellness program is designed based on what the company and employees need. So, programs can range from very simple, to fairly complex. However, these programs would always need to target the employee’s needs and interests, as well as risk behaviours.
7. Wellness Program Rewards & Incentives
In order to motivate employees and encourage the change of behaviours, your wellness program can offer rewards and incentives. It will definitely increase the number of employees who participate in the programs as well. Rewards are a great motivation for many people and can help them move towards healthy behaviours as well. Of course, your reward system can consist of anything. Whether it be earning points that can be exchanged for something better, or monetary rewards.
8. Communicating The Plan
After you have put together your wellness program, ensure that you communicate the plan to everyone else. It is essentially a policy statement that communicates what the company’s intent is, how it will be involved and the rewards system that will all respect the wellness of employees. You can also put together a slogan that is significant to the program and catchy to remember. Thus, employees will be more inclined to participate.
9. Evaluating Success of The Program
Once the wellness programs are up and running, you would then of course need to evaluate its success. As with any other project or investment, its effectiveness will affect employee support and sustaining management as well. You can measure the success by completion rates, participation rates and even its Return of Investment (ROI).
Wellness Program Ideas
1. Motivation Sessions
Setting up motivations on Mondays may be a good idea as many see Monday as a looming black cloud. Hence, the phrase Monday blues, which suggests that Monday is not a fun day at all. A powerful motivation session will help improve morale and support employees’ mental well-being.
2. Health Resources
Offering health resources to employees can really help. It could be in the form of email newsletters that pop up weekly. This can help remind employees of the importance of wellness and health in the workplace.
3. Walking Challenges
Sitting in front of a computer too long can cause a lot of health problems. Strain the eyes and even hurt your back. So, your wellness program could include walking challenges where you have employees take a walk around the office every 3 hours of sitting in front of a computer screen.
4. Flexible Working Hours
A reminder that since many employees do in fact have lives outside of work, it is important to respect that time. Flexible working hours are a great way to show employees that you care about their work-life balance.
5. Games & Activities
Once every two weeks, you could also host a game night to allow employees to have fun and feel free to be themselves. It helps the company bond and even brings out the competitive spirit in most employees.
6. Yoga
Yoga can be really relaxing and help clear the mind. So, it is a great wellness program idea to use. Have a company yoga day once a month and invite a professional to teach the class!
7. Promoting Sleep
An underrated goal for an employees wellness program is sleep. Most people have messed up sleep schedules and having the company promote a good night’s sleep could encourage them to fix it. Remind employees the importance of sleep and even appoint a weekly power nap they can look forward to. It also helps some to not doze off at work.
8. Drinking Water Challenge
An important reminder to all that you should be drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. To ensure that everyone at the office is taking care of their health, ask for them to track how many glasses they drink. You could even announce that the person who drinks the most by the end of the week, gets a special gift. That should motivate them enough!
9. Surprise Day-Offs
This will definitely improve anybody’s mood. At heart, we are all still kids and when we get word that there might be a chance for a day off, we squeal. Of course, companies would need to ensure that it is acceptable to have everyone or most go on a day off. It also depends on your line of work, so decide accordingly. But, it would make a lot of people happy and offer employees a rejuvenating break.
