Easy and affordable ideas for wellness programs

Many corporations do not want to get involved with wellness programs for their employees because they feel that it is going to cost them a lot of money. What these corporations are not aware of is that there are very easy and affordable things that you can do to create wellness programs for your employees. By minimizing the expenses involved in the wellness programs you are going to be saving your corporation money in addition to the money that is being saved by the wellness program. Wellness programs are designed to save company money by lowering healthcare and workers' compensation costs, but they also lower employee absenteeism and increase employee morale.

Here are some easy and affordable ideas that you can use for your wellness program.

Idea one: Health fairs
Many businesses think that holding a health fair at their place of business is going to be an expensive choice. The exact opposite is true, health fairs can be held at your place of business for around $300 per health fair. One of the best ways to help keep costs down at your health fair is to ask local doctors' offices, community outreach centers, and nutrition and fitness experts to take part in the event. Most of the time these groups will agree to take part in the event for no extra charge because of how big of an opportunity it is for them to reach potential customers. If you can get these people to participate in the health fair all that you have to worry about is the cost of catering the event and the paper supplies that are needed.

Idea two: Fitness centers
If you have the room at your location providing an onsite fitness center is something else that can be done for your employees. How big of a fitness center you include onsite is going to affect the cost of this part f the wellness program, but no matter how you look at it this is one of the more costly parts of the program. However, the extra money that you put towards the fitness center is going to be saved later on by the improvement of your employees' health. If you plan on putting in a fitness center you are going to probably have an initial cost of around $100 per square foot of existing space. To help save money you can start off with just one or two pieces of equipment and then add t that every year until you have what you need.

Something else that you can do to help offset the costs of building an onsite fitness center is to charge all employees who use the fitness center a small membership fee. This can also help make your employees value the fitness center more because they are having to pay to use it. Many times if something is given to people for free they don't really value it and they tend not to use it. For example, you can charge them $3 a week to use the fitness center and have it automatically deducted from their paycheck. If you do not want to provide an onsite fitness center or if you cannot provide one you should look into offering a partial reimbursement for a gym membership that your employees have to a local gym.

Some other wellness programs that you can offer that will make a difference in your employees' lives area wellness newsletter that provides your employees with health tips each month and articles on related topics. You can also provide healthier snacks in the vending machines and cafeteria, and offer exercise programs, such as yoga.