20 May, 2022
Employee Wellness for the Hybrid Work Era
The connection between employee wellness and business performance is a hot topic in the HR community. Extensive research conducted into the same has confirmed the correlation over the years. For instance, mental ill-health and stress were cited as the top two causes of absenteeism in a CIPD survey, and it is also one of the reasons for increased employee turnover.
On the positive flip side, Gallup research found that engaged employees experience even higher performance outcomes when physical wellness programs are added to the mix. This involves a simple train of logic- when employees are healthy and engaged, productivity levels thrive and consequently, positive organizational outcomes ensue.
Aligning Wellness Strategies with the Hybrid Work Culture
As more organizations shift toward a hybrid work model, employee wellness initiatives need to undergo a readjustment that can enable accommodation of the flexible nature of work. This includes reimagining past strategies, expanding the horizons of total rewards, and exploring innovative solutions that can support wellbeing irrespective of location. Thus, in order to ensure the wellbeing of your people whether in-office or remote, it is imperative to adopt digital solutions that can facilitate equality and inclusion amid demographic or geographic diversity.
Examples of Employee Wellness Strategies from Top Companies
Recent research has found that companies that adopt wellness initiatives are able to improve employee loyalty by 79%, helping retain top talent and reduce recruitment overheads. Therefore, it is no surprise that businesses across the globe are embracing a range of innovative approaches for wellness that can revitalize the essence of employee experience.
Here are a few examples of organizations that have figured out apt hybrid wellness strategies; this list can work as an inspiration to get a head-start on your employee wellbeing approach!
1. Health-based rewards
Apart from on-campus health care services, a leading organization has initiated wellness allowance for its’ employees. Employees are disbursed a pre-defined amount to spend exclusively on fitness-related items such as tennis shoes or gym memberships. The prime advantage of this scheme is that the workforce is empowered with the freedom of choice– they can pick and redeem their preferred health-based products, thus boosting authority whilst keeping employee wellbeing in check.
2. Virtual medical knowledge
A wellness-oriented organization introduced a dedicated platform operational org-wide that is designed for the sole purpose of convenience and accessibility to medical knowledge, available hands-on anywhere, anytime. The platform works as an educational channel regarding functioning of body organs and their prevalent diseases. Wellness segments such as lifestyle, meditation, supplementation, yoga, nutrition etc. are also available in the form of session briefs.
3. Analytics
Tech-savvy firms leverage the power of analytics to boost employee wellness. Analytics are used to gather health-related data that pinpoints major fitness concerns of employees. Additionally, intelligent nudge architecture is also incorporated that sends reminders to practice healthy behaviors such as drinking sufficient amounts of water throughout the day.
4. Behavioral recognition
Employees receive recognition and are rewarded for healthy activities such as taking a walk, practicing breathing exercises, and tracking of daily footsteps. Health-based recognition and associated rewards is a great way adopted by organizations to promote wellness and encourage employees to practice reward-worthy behaviors.
Invest in Wellness by Adopting a Multidimensional Employee Engagement Platform
Now that the business case for employee wellbeing has been reiterated in a strong manner, it’s time to revamp wellness strategies in your organization as well. A multidimensional employee engagement platform works as a one-stop solution for employee engagement, rewards & recognition, as well as employee wellness for a hybrid workforce, courtesy features such as a comprehensive health module with activity tracking and mindfulness reminders, virtual discussion forums and focus groups for mental health, counselling helplines in-platform, and health-based incentives.
Connect with us to explore the versatility of our employee engagement platform, Gratifi. Book a demo today!