Employee wellness programs: What you need to know

Improving employee health and wellness benefits everyone — employees, their families, and their employers. How? Healthy, well-adjusted employees are generally more productive, have a more positive view of their workplace and are less likely to leave the company.^1,2 This can help reduce turnover and training costs.

A focus on workplace wellbeing is becoming increasingly important to workers. In fact, 80% of working Canadians report that their overall wellbeing would improve if their employers offered a personalized wellness program.² A company that provides a wellness program exhibits a high level of care for employees’ health and, in turn, can earn trust and generate job satisfaction.

What’s in an employee wellness program?

Wellness in the workplace is geared toward preventing injuries and keeping the workers healthy and functioning to the best of their abilities. To accomplish this goal, wellness programs provide services that include:

• Dedicated wellness consultants

• Organizational health audits

• Workstation ergonomic assessments

• Personal injury prevention plans

• Workshops and webinars

• Lifestyle coaching

• Online nutrition programs

• Corporate fitness programs

• Exercise plans

• Wellness action plans

• Meditation and mindfulness sessions

Benefits of a wellness program

According to the Harvard Business Review, a well-designed, well-run employee wellness program can provide an impressive return on investment, sometimes as high as six to one.³ Among the benefits that employers cite for instituting employee wellness programs are that they have the potential to improve employee health behaviours, reduce healthcare costs, reduce worker stress, improve productivity, contribute to employee morale, decrease absenteeism and improve recruitment and retention.^4-6

From a personal and business perspective, employee wellness makes sense. This is why TELUS Health Care Centres across the country are committed to providing quality programs for organizations. By making it as easy as possible for Canadian workers to take better care of their physical and mental wellbeing and that of their loved ones, we’ll contribute to a positive impact for years to come.

Discover what TELUS Health Care Centres can do for your organization.

References:

1. Health and Wellness. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Available online at https://www.ccohs.ca/topics/wellness/.

2. Majority of Working Canadians Say Personalized Wellness Programs Would Improve Wellbeing. RBC Insurance Poll. Available online at https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/majority-of-working-canadians-say-personalized-wellness-programs-would-improve-wellbeing-843928130.html.

3. Berry LL, Mirabito AM, Baun WB. December 2010. What’s the Hard Return on Employee Wellness Programs? Harvard Business Review. Available online at https://hbr.org/2010/12/whats-the-hard-return-on-employee-wellness-programs.

4. How Workplace Wellness Programmes Benefit Business: Latest Research. Emerald Group Publishing. Available online at https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/archived/realworldresearch/wellbeing/how-workplace-wellness-programmes-benefit-business.htm

5. Kaul A. March 5, 2020. Benefits of Corporate Wellness Program. Entrepreneur India. Available online at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/347207.

6. Key Benefits of Corporate Wellness Program. HR Tech Outlook. April 2, 2021. Available online at https://www.hrtechoutlook.com/news/key-benefits-of-corporate-wellness-program-nid-1888.html.