Massage at work, a separate training room for employees, anti-stress trips. Sounds unprofessional? By no means! More and more Western companies invest in Corporate Wellness programmes, and European companies have also shown growing interest in this area recently.
What is Corporate Wellness and what is it used for? In the most simple approach, the term stands for various activities performed by an organisation, aiming at improving the health and shape of its employees. Why would they do such a thing? Because healthy employees are happy and more effective. They feel that their company cares not only about their knowledge and skills, but also about them as human beings. Wellness programmes can have various forms: ranging from pro-health education, investing in office ergonomics, allowances for healthy lunches, creating training rooms at the office, to collaboration with health care centres and individual monitoring of each employee’s health. Companies exercising this type of care assume that employees are the most valuable asset in the company and that it pays off to provide complete care for them.
We should keep in mind that everyone is exposed to some kind of health risk. It can be unhealthy food, smoking, exercise or sleep deficiency, alcohol abuse or genetically inherited predispositions to specific diseases. Implementation of a Wellness programme can be the first step on the way to change unhealthy habits. It is not only functioning at work that will be improved; you will also increase the level of energy and vigour, allowing your employees to make better use of afternoon time and find a good balance between their private and professional lives.
Wellness programmes favour pro-healthy awareness and have a great impact on the health of employees, even if it’s only learning how to cope with stress or how to relax stressed muscles after several hours spent in front of a computer. Depending on the requirements in the company, you can also provide assistance in losing weight, lowering the cholesterol level or blood pressure, or other activities which can contribute to the general mental and physical well-being of employees. Sometimes, it is enough to make a small move to set an avalanche of changes in motion, which can change the quality of life at work as well as in their private time.
As an additional advantage, Wellness programmes establish a sense of community among colleagues. People who know each other only at work suddenly have a possibility to discover their entirely new faces and to participate in activities which are not related to their duties. Whether it’s a Wellness trip, trainings in the gym or having a healthy lunch together, openness and integration are improved. It is also worth to mention the role a support group plays when changing the lifestyle. Colleagues at work can become a source of positive strengthening for each other and can strive at goals together, keep an eye on each other and encourage themselves.
The advantages of Wellness programmes are quite obvious, both for employees and for employers. Investing in the employees’ health, companies follow a long-term strategy, which – in a broader perspective – will make it possible to lower costs, both by increasing the effectiveness of employees, reducing their absence from work, and by cutting costs of health care. Moreover, an employer taking the health of employees into consideration boosts their job satisfaction and loyalty. The employer also creates a positive image of the company on the labour market, which makes it easier to attract new and talented employees. We can definitely claim that the well-being of employees has a direct impact on the success of their employer.
