BY KARA GUERRIERO, MPH – PRESIDENT

In 2023, it’s time to build on the lessons from the past few years and make employee wellness a strategic business goal. It will help every initiative in your organization succeed. 2022 presented formidable challenges for many healthcare organizations, but with the turn of a new year comes newfound hope. This year brings an opportunity to pivot and push forward from hardship toward success in this ever-changing industry.

Studies have shown that organizations with higher levels of employee engagement and well-being tend to have better overall productivity and financial performance. A meta-analysis of 225 studies found that organizations with higher levels of employee engagement had higher levels of customer satisfaction, productivity, and profitability (Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). Research has also shown that investing in employee wellness programs can lead to a range of positive outcomes for businesses, including reduced absenteeism and turnover, increased productivity and engagement, and improved financial performance (World Health Organization, 2020).

Rocket science, right?! There is a wealth of research and resources available on the topic of employee wellness and organizational success, so where do you start? Here are some strategies to help you create an effective employee wellness program that will have measurable benefits for your organization.

Define your goals. Clearly define what you hope to achieve with your employee wellness program. Do you, and your leadership team, want to improve employee health, reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, or improve retention? Employee wellness strategies that are aligned with organizational wellness can result in lots of collateral benefits. You may be focused on increasing productivity, but you discover that employee health improves as well.

Choose the right activities. With so many options available, it can be difficult to determine what workplace wellness activities are right for your staff. Doing the research and seeking feedback from employees is key in deciding which ones fit best.  (Starting small is ok!) Fitness classes, health screenings and nutritional education have long been considered staples of a successful employee wellness program. Consider adding stress management, goal setting, and resilience training; mental health is equally important as physical wellness. M. Seligman said, “Well-being cannot exist just in your own head. Well-being is a combination of feeling good as well as actually having meaning, good relationships and accomplishment.” Wellness includes spiritual, physical, intellectual, relational, and emotional components.  With all these options, how do we pick the right ones and guarantee participation in these and other non-traditional initiatives? To boost involvement with all wellness programs, make sure appropriate communication approaches are identified.

Choose the right team. With an employee wellness program, it’s essential that multiple perspectives and needs are incorporated. To ensure success, try forming a cross-functional team composed of members from different levels within your organization – they’ll be the eyes and ears to cut through the noise surrounding any possible problems or barriers standing in their way. Plus, make sure you carve out time in their workloads so they can actively participate.

Promote your program. Developing an employee wellness strategy is the foundation for success, but successful execution requires a little extra effort. Make sure your employees understand and engage with all aspects of it by providing clear communication and incentivizing their participation – this will help lead to positive results! Most important? Leaders must lead the way and participate too.

Be Patient and Persistent. Cultural change is a long game but it’s worth the effort. Just like forming any new habit, clear objectives are essential for achieving transformation on an individual or organizational level. Sustained and dedicated leadership makes all the difference in creating sustainable progress over time – so don’t give up!

By leveraging lessons from 2022 into 2023 and beyond, organizations can make employee wellness a strategic business goal which will lead not only to happier employees but also increased productivity and profitability over time. With the right tools and resources in place organizations can make sure that their teams feel supported through whatever challenges thye may face!