The advantages to a health and wellness program

Have you been considering a health and wellness program for your staff for a long time? If you are back and forth on if you should offer a health and wellness program it is a good idea to consider all of your options and to see all of the facts. When you have more information at your side it will make your decision much easier and you may find that implementing it can be a piece of cake.

Let's begin with the basic question of what is a wellness program? Many people think of weight loss when they hear corporate wellness program but in many cases you are dealing with a program that is designed to bring attention to all of the health issues within the company. This means the program will be as much for individuals that have issues with obesity as those that are suffering from smoking, depression, and other health problems. The goal of the program is to shed some light on these various health issues and to really make people take notice of the problems and to have them start taking steps to controlling their health issues.

Companies love these health and wellness programs because it provides a number of great benefits to the company. You will deal with the benefit of reduced absenteeism as employees are healthier and less likely to take sick leave. You will then have benefits based on their performance and the overall productivity of the company. Next you will have increased employee morale as the company is investing in each of the employees to make healthier steps in their life. People that are in good health won't suffer from many of the common illnesses out there and they are better equipped to handle and deal with stress. One of the other great things you will notice when you have employees participating in an employee health and wellness program is how it really does bring everyone together. Your employees will get involved with the program and will encourage and support each other along the way, sparking teamwork and unity in the company. Finally, one of the other things it can do is show others that your company is invested in the lives of its employees and this can do wonders for PR as well as recruitment of future employees.

Depending upon the size of your organization your health and wellness program can be something that is large scale or small scale. Some companies have very small programs that last 6 weeks and are designed for weight loss and getting people to lose weight for an incentive like cash. Then there are the larger programs that are on-going and they help to change the entire culture of the company and really push for healthier lifestyles in the office. These programs tend to encourage more than weight loss but also smoking cessation and other things. You will likely end up redoing your vending machines with healthier food choices and offering gym memberships to your employees that enroll in the program and make a commitment to living a healthier life.

Some companies fear the cost of implementing a wellness program. While the cost may be substantial for some companies, it really does pay off in the long run. For most people you will end up having a huge return from the investment, somewhere around $6 for every $1 that you invest into the program. This is a huge benefit but the boost in employee morale and overall productivity for the company will be noticeable as well and will really show you that the program is worth every penny.