How to create a culture of employee wellness

If you are a business owner you may have begun to realize that importance of creating a culture of wellness within your business. Savvy business owners know how important the health of their employees is to the success of their business. However, it may not be enough to just design and implement an employee wellness program. You will need to create a culture of wellness that will support the program and help it to be successful. When you create a culture of wellness within your business your employee wellness program will have a much better chance of being effective and lasting for the long term. This positive work environment and the support that it provides will be crucial as to whether your employee wellness program succeeds or fades away. Here is what you need to know about how to create a culture of employee wellness-

- There are many ways to create a culture of wellness-The changes that you make in the everyday atmosphere of your business can go a long way toward creating this culture of wellness. Many businesses have begun changing out their vending machines filled with candy, soda, and chips to vending machines that have bottles of water and healthy snacks. If your business offers a cafeteria you may want to bring in a registered dietician to help you revamp your menu and offer healthier options for your employees. Ergonomics can also go a long way toward promoting health. When your employees have to deal with eye and back strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other repetitive work injuries it becomes much harder for them to be productive or even focus on their heath.
- You must gain the support of others-While it will be helpful to make changes in the work environment of your business it won't be enough. You will need to be able to market a positive image of your employee wellness program to the employees and their families. This is the best way to gain the amount of participation that you are looking for. In addition, when you can gain this support the chances are much higher that your employee wellness program can bring about more permanent changes in behavior. Finally, it is crucial that you gain the support of upper management long before your employee wellness program is put into place. Having the support of management can go a long way toward creating a culture of wellness for your employee wellness program to grow and develop in.
- The employee wellness program will need to be easy to understand and use-Long before your employee wellness program is rolled out you will need to focus on making it easy to understand and even more importantly easy to use. Keep in mind that your employees have a lot of demands on their time and energy and they won't waste it trying to figure out what your employee wellness program can offer them. Part of creating a culture of wellness is making sure that your employee wellness program is positive, clear, and user friendly right from the beginning. If you fail to do this it won't matter what other changes you have made and worse yet, your employees will quickly become frustrated, lose interest, and drop out.
- Make your commitment to the employee wellness program consistent and long term-Many times employees are afraid to begin a program since they assume that it will quickly be forgotten and left by the wayside. If you want to create a culture of wellness then you must make it clear that you are committed to your employee wellness program for the long term.