Healthcare costs continue to rise and workplace stress is one of the leading contributors to hypertension, heart disease, and related conditions. If employees in the United States don’t change their attitude about wellness soon, it may be too late. This is one of the reasons that many organizations are embracing employee wellness programs to encourage their staff to make healthier choices both in and out of the office. While at a glance it simply sounds like a nice perk for employees, the studies are demonstrating that it may be much more than that. Here is a closer look at creating a wellness program for your company.

1. Lead by example. The only way for an in-office wellness program to truly be effective is to have management provide a good example to the rest of the staff. Gone are the days where you can encourage people to do as you say, not as you do. If you want to lead a healthy revolution in your company, you have to start from the very top.
2. Recruit advocates from your ranks. You probably already have people on your team who are healthy lifestyle advocates. They are the people who eat well every day, make time to exercise, and work hard at reducing their overall stress. These are the people you want to recruit to help create a program that will work for everyone on your staff.
3. Start small. Big things are great. Employees love lunchtime yoga sessions or gym memberships, but these can become costly depending on the scale you need for your company. You can start small and create big changes that will pay off in the long run. For example, replace your vending machines with bottled water and baskets of fruit. If the candy bars, sodas, and salty snacks aren’t there, they won’t even be missed.
4. Know your audience. Of course, no two employees are the same. Your millennial staff will have different health requirements than the baby boomers in your office. You can tailor your wellness program around these groups. The millennials may love that afternoon yoga class but the more mature staff members could benefit from health screening fairs or stress management classes.

Do you want to know more about wellness programs and employee productivity? Talk to the experts at VincentBenjamin today!