How to Create a Culture of Wellness in Your Organization
The employee mindset has changed dramatically over the past few decades. As older workers retire and are replaced by younger generations, the expectations of those workers have shifted along with the culture.
Today’s employees are looking for organizations that do more than provide a weekly paycheck. They want full benefits, paid time off, and sick leave. And they’re looking for a whole list of perks and benefits that are designed to support their success, both at home and on the job.
A recent poll from Gallup found that only 23% of U.S. employees agree that they can “apply their organization’s values to their work every day.” And only 27% agreed that they shared their organization's values.
These statistics show that building a culture of wellness, positivity, inclusivity, and support is no longer optional for organizations – it's essential. If companies don’t pivot their mindset to match the expectations of workers, they will quickly find that hiring is harder and more expensive, as is keeping current employees on board.
Creating a culture of wellness isn’t as hard as it sounds. That’s why it’s surprising that so many organizations aren’t taking a proactive approach to the topic. Maybe it’s because they don’t understand the value or importance that employees are putting on company culture. But as the past few years have shown, businesses can no longer wait around and find out.
Building Wellness into the Workplace
What is wellness? It’s the state of being well, both physically and mentally. Organizations can work to create that state for their employees by directing resources toward wellness programs and initiatives. And knowing where to direct those resources is key. Our best advice? Ask your employees what they want! They will be more than happy to tell you.
Build Policies that Support a Work-Life Balance
One of the keys to wellness is maintaining a healthy balance between work time and personal time. Many employees and executives alike find that work tends to bleed over into their personal time more often than they would like. The result is employees who are fatigued, both physically and emotionally, more stressed, and less productive during actual working hours.
Paid time off, both vacation time and sick leave, are essential for maintaining that balance. Other ways to achieve it are by offering employees flexible hours and remote or hybrid work options. Including options like this has been proven to increase productivity and improve retention rates.
Support Physical Health
Supporting your employee's physical health means more than offering comprehensive healthcare and insurance packages (although that’s important too). It means giving them the tools and spaces they need to maintain their physical health both in and out of work. For example,
Comfortable, ergonomic furniture
Walking paths indoors and outdoors
Standing desk options
Well-lit, green spaces
Gym memberships or on-site exercise facilities
Health food options in the break room
Free health screenings
Free telehealth visits
Promoting Mental Health
Wellness programs must pay equal importance to both physical and mental well-being. Supporting your employee's mental health helps to improve morale, reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, and reduces turnover.
Ways to support your employee's mental health are easy to implement and vital for the success of your employees and your organization. Free mental health counseling is something many companies are implementing. Frequent breaks during the workday and comfortable spaces to relax help build a stress-free environment. And having an open-door policy that allows employees the ability to approach their supervisors with any kind of internal or external problem helps as well.
Building a Culture of Recognition
When building wellness in an organization, don’t overlook the importance of recognition and gratitude. Employees who receive frequent feedback and recognition for a job well done from executives are more engaged and motivated and perform better.
Another component of recognition is offering employees a path forward. Educational, job training, and career resources can persuade employees that they can build a successful career with your organization instead of viewing their job as a temporary stepping stone.
Conclusion
Workers today understand that they have more negotiating power than they used to. After the pandemic, businesses were left in a hiring crisis. Part of that was due to the number of workers who left long-held positions, either in search of something better or to start their own businesses.
Another component is that highly skilled workers are retiring faster than they can be replaced. What resulted is a labor force that now holds the bargaining power, and a nation full of companies struggling to adapt their offerings to bring in and retain new talent.
Organizations that incorporate wellness programs into their foundation and culture will be better positioned to compete in this new labor market. And they will find greater success because they will be building a well-adjusted, happy, and satisfied workforce.