After three years we have found that our clients like to do wellness because they like the way it has changed their worksite culture. Improves mental health and well-being Finding time for self-care activities that bring you joy and relieve stress is beneficial to your mental health and well-being . For all of us, it's important to stay aware of our mental health work, and a WAP can help with this. That study reviewed 100 different research papers. Self-Care for Intellectual Wellness: In your (minimal) spare time, research a topic of interest that you have never had time for before the pandemic. What does it cost your company when you have employees with poor morale? Remember that it can be unrealistic or exhausting for you to be working on all 7 dimensions at the same time. These are designed to help your organization recruit and maintain qualified employees. Talking with a friend at the start of the day may help set a good intention or plan for the day. I just knew I needed to do something different. Overall physical wellness encourages the balance of physical activity, nutrition and mentalwell-being to keep your body in top condition. Here is the actual healthcare cost trend for this worksite. Having Wellness Actions Plans in place for their team, can also help managers to start the conversation around mental health, as well as demonstrate a commitment to enabling positive wellbeing for the people in the organisation. When I prioritise self-care and maintain connection with my colleagues, I know I am generally able to cope with stressors that might otherwise trigger me. This guide shows what to consider. I then ticked the symptoms of stress that I experience most commonly. Anyone who still thinks wellness programs dont improve health is choosing to completely ignore hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific research papers that say otherwise. Any wellness program that can reduce absenteeism will experience cost savings. I do it with a TreadmilL Desk. Developing occupational wellness will allow you to communicate your values through involvement in occupational activities that are gratifying for you. In fact, until I began working with MHW, I wasnt even aware of the existence of one as a management tool. Your emotional needs are just as important as your physical health. Not everyone gets to fulfill these higher needs, and their lives are not as rewarding as they could be. Personal wellbeing plan. Worksites all across the world are implementing employee wellness programs because they like the benefits of wellness. In fact, one may consider the ongoing practice of self-care to be an ethical imperative. Obtaining an optimal level of physical wellness allows you to nurture personal responsibility for your own health. Intellectual knowledge is engaging in creative and mentally stimulating activities, learning, and skills building around expanding and sharing knowledge with others. And Ive found bringing wellness right to my desk is best. Health behaviors include getting proper sleep, physical activity, eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and moderate alcohol intake. You can read more about our Wellness Action Plan template here. But after decades of scientists evaluating programs, we have an enormous amount of very solid data that show the benefits of corporate wellness programs. Emotional 5. Download. Encouraging Healthy Behaviors. Examples of emotional wellness practice are engaging in supportive professional counseling, holistic self-care such as relaxation or meditation, managing stress and practicing effective emotional boundaries with ourselves and others. From breakdown to breakthroughan HR Directors story, Body Image and Mindful Eating in the Workplace. First, you should know that there is a high degree of skepticism of many of the claims being made in the wellness industry. Stay on track as you create a wellness plan. Our Mental Health at Work Quiz The Results Are In! Wellness programs are not perfect. Slowing down if we feel more tired than usual. Express Yourself Clearly. Look for a religious faith that you agree with. It was energising too, because I know that the working conditions are such that I am enabled to bring my best self to my work, and that if, as inevitably will happen, I am not my best self, I have the tools to identify that (and people who will point it out to me if I dont), and the support I need to revisit the solutions that Ive identified in my WAP, to empty my stress bucket and return to my best self. Intellectual wellness encourages learning, inspires exploration, and stimulate curiosity. Surrounding yourself with a positive social network increases your self-esteem. It can also consist of a series of steps that must be taken to successfully complete a certain strategy. There is more research on the impact of wellness programs than anything else your company does. https://healthysteps4u.org/test/social-wellness/#. Dont worry, this is not a graduate school discourse on the science of wellness but it is a brief overview of why having a wellness program can provide great benefits to any organization. 5666. Below are a few suggestions for you to practice to maintain an optimal level of physical wellness. It is also important to know that spiritual wellness does not mandate you to pick up a religious practice. There is an enormous amount of research to support the benefits of health and wellness. Yet there is not a single published study that shows that offering these benefits as any measurable effect on it worksites ability to recruit or maintain workers. When it is all said and done, your employees want to feel loved and appreciated, and when they do really good things happen at work. Pitch your wellness plan to company leadership. Reductions in elevated health risks are important. Sinek, S. (2013). Maintain a regular sleep schedule and get between 7-9 hours of sleep each night. There are many benefits and advantages to having a set of goals to work towards. All you need is a couple of hours, a little planning and your willpower. It is this information that be used to back up the 7 most popular reasons to have a wellness program. Packed with helpful insights. Employers have been thrust into this position. Here are the results of a recently published evaluation. Creating an environment where people can DOSE themselves up with Happy Hormones, Physical Activity for enhanced resilience, Signposting Support for Compromised Mental Health. New understanding of presenteeism has been revealed in recent research published by the journal Population Health Management. Your employees dontshare your concerns about productivity or absenteeism. I also found that I had additional realisations about myself as a result, which led to me adding more detail to my WAP and things feeling much clearer in my own mind. Wellness is primarily being in good physical and mental health. It will boost and maintain employee morale. Wellness is defined by Merriam-Webster as the quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal (lifestyles that promote wellness). Another researcher looked at all of the published studies to get a consensus. Retention is the ability a worksite has to retain its workforce. Maintaining an optimal level of social wellness allows you to build healthy relationships with others. Havinga supportive social network allows you to develop assertive skills and become comfortable with who you arein social situations. What is the financial value of having employees with high morale? Perhaps this is why many of the companies with outstanding wellness programs have dramatically better financial performance. Among the 22 different studies that looked at wellness programs and healthcare costs, the average return on investment was 3.27. Physical wellness encourages principles of good health and knowledge, which affect behavior patterns that lead to a healthy lifestyle. The date of the wellbeing meeting turned out to be very well timed. Chief UnSitter Socialwellness enables you to create boundaries that encourage communication, trust and conflict management. Getting a good night's rest. It is the single most helpful tool I have found to assist othersespecially loved onesunderstand when my mood shifts. It may involve prayer, meditation, yoga, living by certain principles, morals and faith. The need for social distancing, for some of us, can feel confusing and disconnecting, especially if a large part of our self-care has been social engagement. The pandemic has forced us to take urgent stock of our cultural wellness as individuals and as a whole. A year ago, religious/spiritual practice pivoted dramatically as spiritual and religious communities began to offer services like preaching, prayer, and meditationeven hospital bedside visitsvirtually. Recovery is a principal component to a successful mental health services fit for the twen Poor employee morale can be a company killer. As a professor and CEO I've published 7 books and over 75 research articles on the impact of worksite wellness programs. Harvard researchers looked at the ROI of wellness programs as they relate absenteeism and demonstrated that for every dollar wellness programs spend on wellness they can save $2.73 and reduce absenteeism. Healthy behaviors lead to lower health risks, and lower health risks lead to less chronic disease. Target Efforts. Whether with romantic partners, family, friends, neighbors, or others, social connections can influence our biology and well-being. A Virgin HealthMiles/Workforce survey did find that about 87% of employees said they consider health and wellness offerings when choosing an employer. My simple answer that came straight to mind was just talk to me about it! It seemed insignificant to me, but for Tamsen, it was, in her own words a gift. The academic approach to wellness programs has limitations when we start talking about employee morale. What we do have, however, is experience with hundreds of clients that have migrated away from the ROI of wellness and have moved towards the value on investment (VOI) of wellness. The Wellness Wheel describes the integration of 7 important dimensions of wellness: emotional, environmental, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual. Consulting a doctor to create a personal wellness plan is a great way to improve your life and health. If you experience a life-changing event, take a few minutes to think about what series of events led to this. Yet worksites are doing more disease prevention and wellness than any other entity in society today.