Corporate wellness programs have become very popular, and also a key necessity in the workplace. However, employee health and wellbeing trends are evolving, and so, there is always scope for improvement for the corporate wellness programs to meet the changing employee wellbeing needs.

A PwC Health Research study revealed that almost 3 out of every 4 employers are offering some kind of corporate wellness program that focuses on mental health and wellness. However, it was also reported that employee engagement in these programs was very low than the anticipated number. One of the main reasons for such failures could be implementing employee wellbeing programs without the right features or modules.

Employers may sometimes not consider employee interests or wellbeing requirements while planning the corporate wellness program ideas, which ultimately leads to the execution of employee wellness programs that will not only impact employee engagement but will also be a waste of wellness dollars or employee retention.

So simply having an employee wellness program at the workplace is not good enough. Employers must keep improving employee wellness solutions to benefit employees and employers.

1. Access to Preventive and Behavior Management Programs

Studies show that chronic health conditions like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer are the leading cause of a majority of deaths in the US. Incorporating health assessments and preventive health screenings in corporate wellness programs can help in the early or accurate diagnosis of chronic health conditions. While such a diagnosis can help in saving healthcare costs in the future, it will also improve employee engagement as the program modules and wellness challenge activities will be in line with the employee health and wellbeing needs.

2. Fun and Engaging Wellness Challenge Ideas

The same health and wellness solutions tend to get boring over a while, and it can reduce employee engagement and the success of corporate wellness programs. Incorporating fun holistic wellness challenge ideas can boost employee engagement and drive success. When the wellness challenge activities are fun and engaging, employees voluntarily participate and try to achieve their goals, which makes it easy to adopt healthier habits and cultivate healthy behaviors.

3. Gamification Approach for Employee Engagement

Encouraging employee engagement and participation in workplace wellness programs can be quite challenging. In addition to incorporating fun wellness challenge ideas, using other gamification approaches can also be very helpful. Right from comprehensive leaderboard to device integration, tracking apps, team challenges, rewards, and incentives, employers can implement the best-suited gamification techniques to their workplace wellbeing programs. Also, having a robust corporate wellness app can be very effective in boosting employee engagement.

4. Ensuring Conducive Technology-Based Facilities

The rise in remote working due to the pandemic has created many difficulties for employees and employers. Many employers have started prioritizing employee health and wellbeing, especially mental wellness, by providing corporate wellness programs. These programs are designed to focus on holistic wellness dimensions. With advancing technology, employers must look for different ways to integrate modern corporate wellness technology with the wellbeing program modules and the wellness program platform. From virtual wellness challenges to health coaching, mindfulness sessions, and other online educational resources can be accessed through the use of the right wellness technology.

5. Communicate about the Wellness Modules Regularly

A survey by a health and wellness vendor revealed that although many employers are offering well-designed employee wellness programs, only 41% of the employees are aware of them. This lack of awareness leads to a waste of resources – right from the planning to implementation, all the time, efforts, and costs become a waste if it is not executed well. Proper communication is the key to closing this gap. Employers must communicate everything about the employee wellness programs – their registration, benefits, upcoming events, wellness challenges, incentives, and other modules. Constant communication about the employee wellness programs and their modules is the only way to make sure there is no lack of awareness, and boost participation.

In addition to these factors, offering the right employee benefits and perks, along with flexible work schedules, are great ways to ensure employee work-life balance. With employees and employers facing challenges with uncertainties, it is high time to utilize the latest technology trends to tweak employee wellness programs to benefit employees and businesses.