As healthcare costs rise and work-related health deterrents make headlines (the risks of screen time and sitting, for example), workplace wellness programs are gaining traction – among corporations especially. According to the University of Kansas Medical Center, nearly 90% of large employers in the United States offer some sort of wellness initiative[1] designed to improve wellbeing of employees.
Comparable statistics for small and mid-market businesses are harder to come by; however, from myHR Partner’s vantage point, workplace wellness programs are becoming the norm in businesses of all sizes and stripes. Causation can be hard to pin down, but we have a few informed hunches:
For one, employers across the board are adopting more whole-person approaches to HR – that is, working to nurture all aspects of an employees’ larger wellbeing, from physical and mental wellness to social, emotional, and even financial health. This is a shift in line with larger cultural trends and dovetails perfectly with workplace wellness programs.
Then there are the benefits of workplace wellness programs for businesses themselves. Workplace wellness programs, it turns out, boost businesses on two critical fronts:
Employee retention and engagement.
Retention & Engagement: Evasive Yet Essential
Understanding the value of increased retention and engagement starts by understanding the reality facing most modern businesses. Employee retention rates have improved dramatically since the height of the COVID pandemic. Still, according to Gallup, currently 50% of employees are watching for or actively seeking a new job.
Combine this sobering reality with the high cost of employee turnover, and it’s easy to see why businesses are perpetually striving to keep talent in place. However, they often struggle with how.
Now consider this: Employee engagement (the extent to which a hire feels committed to and energized by their workplace and role) and retention go hand in hand. The two have a reciprocal relationship in which more of one often means more of the other. And in 2022, Forbes identified “increased engagement” as the number one benefit of wellness programs, also noting the connection between engagement and retention. The story mentions that in one study, voluntary attrition dropped from 15% to 9% among organizations with well-considered wellness programs.
Put simply: When employees feel taken care of, they’re more likely to show up, deliver, and stick around.
What Wellness Programs Look Like
Sometimes called employee wellness programs, or EWPs, workplace wellness programs are employer-sponsored initiatives designed to promote and improve some aspect of wellbeing. Some are overtly health-centric (health screenings, fitness challenges, mental health support); however, a growing number are better described as health adjacent, designed to enrich life, decrease stress, and enhance interpersonal connections.
myHR Partner has helped many client businesses design, implement, and maintain workplace wellness programs and initiatives. Below are some we’ve worked on or seen firsthand. Note that the details of each of these can vary dramatically based on factors including company culture and whether or not a workplace is partially or fully remote:
Physical wellness:
- Holding walking and standing meetings
- Providing subsidized gym memberships
- Offering on-site gyms and fitness classes
- Guiding/scheduling desk stretch breaks
- Subsidized and catered healthy lunches and meals
- Nutrition education workshops/lunch and learns, including cooking classes
Mental wellness:
- Mindfulness and meditation sessions
- Counseling, including employee assistance programs (EAPs) that offer free and/or discounted counseling services
- Mental health days off
- On-site therapy animals, or the ability to bring pets to work
Social wellness:
- Team building activities
- Lunch and learn sessions on financial fluency and other lifestyle topics
- Employee recognition and appreciation programs
- Book clubs
- Community service days
- Company matches for employee giving
Workplace wellness programs can be designed to complement employee benefits, too. For example, a company that lets its people bring pets to work might also offer bereavement days for the passing of a pet, and/or pet health insurance.
myHR Partner: Practicing What We Preach
myHR Partner’s unfaltering belief in workplace wellness programs is evidenced by how many wellness programs exist under our own proverbial roof!
Fully remote since 2020, our team of employees enjoy many opportunities to better ourselves and our relationships with one another. Here are a few:
- Walking/step count challenges – team members track their steps using a shared document offering a friendly competition
- Group mediation sessions with Rajesh Ramani from Mindfulness and Beyond
- Virtual team activities – most recently, myHR Partner team members created individual succulent terrariums during a remote event, with all materials shipped in advance
- Virtual holiday happy hours and social gatherings
- Surprise ‘lunch on us’ days for appreciation
- Winter Blues day off – an annual extra PTO day used at each employee’s leisure
- Annual donations to a charity or cause of each employee’s choice
Wellness Programs: Let's Build Yours
For their many merits, workplace wellness programs come with a caveat: Not any program will do. In myHR Partner’s experience, EWPs will only boost retention and engagement when they’re selected and developed thoughtfully. After all, as Neepa Patel, CEO of Wellright, said in a 2024 conversation published by Forbes, “Field workers and nurses have very different needs compared to office workers.”
Start by listening to your employees. What do they want and need from you as their employer? You can gather this information via anonymous surveys, a focus group, or informal conversations to get a feel for what would be most helpful.
Next, consider company culture relative to possible initiatives, and the ways each initiative might be implemented (Zoom versus in-person, for example). What would feel natural and meaningful for your team?
From there, consider your budget and the feasibility of maintaining a wellness program over time. And remember, you don’t have to do everything at once. Start small, track how an initiative is going, make sure it’s sustainable, and build and grow from there. The best wellness programs are those that feel personal, flexible, and easy to use.
Looking for expert guidance in improving your employee retention and engagement? Want to design a right-fit wellness program to boost your employees’ wellbeing – and maybe even the wellbeing of your business? Turn to myHR Partner’s employee relations service. Our expert team has been helping elevate businesses through people since 2002. Reach out today for a complimentary myHR Partner consultation.
[1] https://www.kumc.edu/communications/about/publications/kansas-medicine-and-science/fall-winter-2024/the-big-business-of-employee-well-being.html
