It’s true that healthier employees are happier employees. It’s also true that a huge percentage of you and your employee’s lives are spent in the workplace. That’s why corporate wellness programs are so important. Contributing and implementing wellness programs can improve the lives of everyone, through greater happiness and productivity on the job. Here are a few ways you can make wellness a key part of your company culture.

1. Get Clear on Your Goals

The first step toward wellness for your company lies in the definition of wellness itself. How can you help your employees get happy and healthy if you don’t know what those terms mean to you and your business. Wellness covers a wide range of health topics, including exercise, nutrition, stress management, even mental and emotional well-being. Before you dive into helping employees achieve these wellness goals, clearly identify what your goals are. How are you going to measure them? Who will be involved? What matters most to them? Think things through as much as possible before you announce your new wellness program.

2. Step Up and Be an Example

The quickest way to see a wellness program fail is for corporate leadership to not support the initiative. They show support by taking advantage of the program themselves. Employees look to their managers to show them, rather than tell them, whether wellness programs are actually important to the company as a whole. If you preach work-life balance, you have to walk the walk. That means avoiding sending emails outside of business hours, and taking advantage of vacation or sick leave. Employees see what is expected of them modeled by their supervisors, their management, and C-level employees. Make sure that when you set out to implement a wellness program, you have buy-in from staff at all levels, then lead by example to show them how serious you are.

3. Create Wellness For All

There is nothing worse than a wellness program that rewards employees who are already healthy. That really defeats and undermines the core purpose of such a program. Don’t set your program up in such a way that you end up punishing those who have the most to benefit from getting healthy. Make sure you build a program that supports a holistically healthy lifestyle, one that tackles big topics such as emotional well-being, mental health, and even financial wellness. Consider extending the benefits to spouses and dependents, too. Wellness programs should provide opportunities for each and every individual within your company to create a better life for themselves.

4. Be Patient

Chances are, you won’t create a wellness revolution overnight. These programs take time to grab hold and make a difference. Start by communicating the goals of the program thoroughly. Know it might not take hold right away. But if you keep at it and make sure the support is there to make it succeed, your employees (and you) will see the benefits of a more balanced and productive lifestyle.

For more tips on building an effective wellness program, contact the team at Verum Technical today.