Studies increasingly show that happier employees stay longer, remain engaged with their work, and are more productive throughout their careers. Recognising the value of health and well-being, an estimated 70% of global employers offer wellness programmes for their personnel. But what do these programmes look like, and how exactly do they deliver benefits to the organisation as a whole?

A corporate wellness programme is any initiative designed to improve the health and well-being of employees, without a direct link to productivity. Examples may include a fitness station at the workplace, healthy snacks available in the break room, yoga or meditation breaks, a resting or napping area, an outdoor walk or team-building exercise, on-site health checkups, and more.

When properly implemented, these programmes can lead to the following benefits:

Reduced costs

Many managers have an instinct to push employees to work harder every minute of the day. Yet the short-term gains of such a strategy are more than offset by long-term losses, as stressed-out employees are more apt to be fatigued, lose morale, and begin looking for another place to work.

By contrast, healthier and happier employees mean lower healthcare costs and fewer sick days, not to mention better team spirit. Businesses with effective wellness programmes are also likely to save money on recruitment, as there will be more demand among top talent to join your organisation.

Increased productivity

For employees, a full day’s work can be demanding even at the best of times. Now imagine that you’ve slept poorly, been sitting in the same position for hours already, are distracted by an unaddressed health issue that has been bothering you lately, and are surrounded by colleagues who are also dealing with similar issues.

Put in this way, it is unsurprising that healthy employees have better morale and perform at a higher level, making fewer mistakes because they are more engaged with the tasks in front of them. Moreover, when employees recognise that their employer truly cares about them and is investing in them, they feel more motivated to contribute to the company’s success.

Improved retention and recruitment

By making your organisation a place where people enjoy working, turnover will decrease and more people throughout the talent pool will be knocking on your door and asking about open positions. 

As wellness programmes foster a sense of community, stronger interpersonal relationships within the company will lead to the potential for more fruitful collaborations built on familiarity and trust. The business will then be able to focus less of its energy on retention and recruitment, and more on leveraging the benefits of cohesive personnel groups that enjoy working together.

The benefits of a corporate wellness programme will be in proportion to the amount of care put into its design and implementation. Businesses must be in tune with the needs and interests of their employees, and then invest in making the initiative work toward the maximum benefit of the entire workforce.

The right wellness programme is even more effective when offered in conjunction with a comprehensive employee benefits programme. LawtonAsia can help you find the ideal benefits scheme to match your needs and budget.