How to Get Employees Healthier

The health and wellbeing of employees impacts everything from the quality of their work to their engagement to their absenteeism. As a result, the health of any organization rises and falls with the wellbeing of its people. Organizations that are proactively concerned with how to get employees healthier are more likely to be better off in the short and long term. Companies that incorporate holistic health programming into their culture will have the biggest impact. 

How to get employees healthier emotionally

1. Make your workplace psychologically safe.  Dr. Amy Edmonson, professor at Harvard Business School, reports that “psychological safety predicts quality improvements, learning behavior and productivity.” Building psychological safety at work improves the engagement and performance of your most valuable resource – your people. 
2. Bring happiness to your workplace. Oxford University discovered that “workers are 13% more productive when happy.” Happiness in the workplace is most often attributed to work-life balance, health and safety, employee growth and development, employee recognition and employee involvement. 

How to get employees healthier physically

1. Incentivize wellbeing practices. Companies that offer incentives as part of their wellness program see a 20% increase in participation. There are many creative fitness incentive ideas to support your employee’s health, ranging from friendly competition to paid time off for participation. We offer a few ideas in this article.   
2. Recruit technology to help. Digital wellness software offers physical wellbeing support by tracking progress, participation, and nudging employees who need help reaching their goals. Fitness trackers, digital health apps, and other customized solutions help get employees healthier and help you track the ROI of your initiatives. BetterYou is one solution that’s proven its effectiveness time and again.  

How to get employees healthier socially

1. Build community in your organization. For 30 years Gallup’s research has shown that having a best friend at work leads to greater performance and twice the level of engagement at work. Additionally, social wellbeing is an important dimensions of wellbeing and building community supports this employee need.
2. Provide opportunities to boost relational wellbeing. As life shifted away from real life interaction to a world behind screens, it became more difficult to nurture relational wellbeing. If you’re leading a hybrid workplace, then consider adding virtual wellbeing sessions to your wellness programming.  

How to get employees healthier financially

1. Adjust employee benefits. 67% of employers report that they are prioritizing financial wellbeing over the next two years. In response to how hard employees and organizations were hit during the pandemic, leadership teams need to keep an eye on the employee benefits that are changing in the year to come. 
2. Personalize financial assistance. When survey respondents were asked about their top five wellbeing priorities, “reducing current debt” and “not living beyond my means or staying within a budget” were two and three. There is no one-size-fits all financial support program, so consider the unique needs and personalize your offerings to your organization and team. 

Focusing on how to get employees happier includes giving attention to all aspects of their wellbeing. Small shifts in any of these areas will make an impact on the health and wellbeing of your team and your organization.