What is an Employee Wellness Program? Do you currently have one? Employee Wellness Programs (EWPs) reduce employee insurance costs, improve office morale, and create an overall healthier and happier working environment.

Wellness Programs used to be considered a “value add” not a “need to have” but recent skyrocketing health care costs, economic challenges and research supporting the value of such initiatives has caused a jump in the number of companies offering these programs.  As these programs become the norm, it is important to understand how and why your company should get engaged.  We found an article that provides a great summary of the Top 10 Reasons to Implement an Employee Wellness Program.

Whether you are designing your program organically or seeking a vendor to provide a comprehensive EWP, the bottom line benefits of incorporating this initiative into your corporate culture are significant.  According to a study published in the Harvard Business Review, $6 in healthcare savings were achieved for each dollar invested in a wellness intervention program.   The return on investment is there – the question now is how do you implement an EWP that maximizes the return for your company.

While planning and designing your EWP, there are three key areas to address:  Physical Wellness, Mental Wellness, and Social Wellness.   In a previous post, Too Much Work, Not Enough Play?, we discussed how important work/life balance is to employee health, happiness and productivity.  By investing in a program that empowers employees to improve each of the wellness areas, you are laying the foundation for long term success and savings.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to provide our expert HR advice, and we will be doing a deep dive into each of the three wellness areas to understand what makes a strong program and how each focus impacts your employees.  Stay tuned!

For more HR Management Best Practices, or to get started on an Employee Wellness program sooner rather than later, call the HR professionals at HR Shield, (813) 251-3181.