What is health and well-being in the workplace?

Today workplace health and wellness is … nothing less than healthcare. You find programmes and best practice in workplace wellness on corporate websites…Workplace health and wellness is an important element in employee physical, mental and emotional health — not just the quality of life, but their ability to work. Workplace wellness or workplace health promotion is the array of initiatives, programmes, services and policies that are the most effective in promoting employee fitness and health.

Several studies have confirmed the tendency for more committed and productive employees to be happier ones. And for many organisations the goal of a workforce that is happy, motivated and engaged is no longer a ‘nice to have’. Instead, benefit is seen as an indispensable prerequisite for any organisation’s long-term commercial success. But however well-established the ‘why’, the ‘how’ always seems more elusive.

The benefits of focusing on health and well-being in the workplace

The promotion of employees’ health and wellness in the working environment has several benefits on the employees, the company and also their customers. It is very good to offer occupational health program for your company as your firm will potentially save on health care expenditure as your workers will less likely report work-related conditions and accidents.

How to develop a culture of health and well-being in the workplace

There is no such thing as a healthy business, unless a culture of well-being at work is built up. It takes time – a management commitment, a funding commitment for middle management and some effort from the employees as well.

Analyse the needs of the workplace

For instance, firstly, considering good workplace culture is beneficial if employers would allow workers to provide feedback regarding their level of well-being employee-wise. In my opinion, managers can’t pinpoint what the workers’ mental, physical or professional well-being is unless they ask them directly. This is the core reason why we create focus groups, surveys and individual interviews to get information from workers regarding anything that would possibly address stress, money matters and work conditions.

Create a program that fits your employees

Draw upon the findings from your surveys and focus groups to develop a program that not only resonates with, but also caters to the accessibility of all employees and their families. Co-create health policy and regulations with employees.

Regularly evaluate the success of the program

Check in again with the managers and employees periodically during the pilot to track how the program is going and what about the programme is supporting increased wellbeing at work, as well as aspects in need of revision.

What Is The Role Of Education And Training In Health And Wellness?

Health and wellness concepts help you to make better choices if you understand the body. You already know the importance of a balanced diet, regular exercise and reducing your stress levels for your wellbeing.

Statistics show that the mental and physical health of the Australian workforce has deteriorated dramatically in the past few decades. Obesity has reached shocking levels and hence the related medical problems. The problem of mental ill health is similarly rising.

Today, we know that one in six workers might have mental illness at any given time. And we also know that as new workers, particularly younger ones, enter the workforce, there is an increasing focus, and perhaps an increasing expectation around the search for meaning and meaning-making at work.

Given the above, it is perhaps unsurprising that there is a huge investment being made in corporate health and wellbeing programmes and resources. For instance, there has been a massive amount of research and change in relation to leadership and management capability; stress management; personal and team effectiveness. Investment in wellbeing is viewed by many organisations as the critical component of employee engagement and also an enterprise risk-management must-do.

What is a wellness program?

Wellness programmes, or corporate wellness programmes, are evidence-based approaches to address issues that affect the health and wellbeing of employees. Generally, they are preventative in nature and are intended to stave off the onset of poor health outcomes, and can also be used to reinforce culture within workplaces to help organisations become more employee-centric.

Wellness programs embedded in organisational operations become more effective than ‘add on’ policies, processes or procedures This could include health-promotion programs, effective and appropriate reward and recognition pathways, wellness and mental health programs, better matching of demands and responsibilities, flexible working hours, sharing of organisational responsibilities, vocational training and so on.

In summary all these factors, physical, nutritional and mental wellness, the rise of chronic diseases, personalisation, preventive care, technology, career flexibility and acceptance, are behind the current growth of health and wellness coaching as a career.