Gone are the days when employee wellness programs were only about physical fitness, eating healthy, and reimbursements. With the pandemic shifting the focus on holistic wellbeing, it is vital for employee wellness programs also to evolve with the latest trends.
With a Global Wellness Institute study reporting that the global wellness market will hit $7 trillion at a 9.9% annual growth rate by 2025, workplace wellness programs have become a must-have to have a competitive edge for employee engagement and retention.
Corporate wellness programs have currently started focusing on mental, physical, and other holistic health dimensions. Moreover, the key to its success lies in easy accessibility to all employees, irrespective of on-site, remote, or hybrid working models.
In addition to the previous workplace wellness trends here are the 3 possible corporate wellness program features that are likely to be in vogue in 2023.
1. Corporate Wellness Apps
Corporate wellness apps, along with a well-designed wellness platform, make it easier for employees to access all the modules of the wellness program. The app and wellness platform become a centralized spot to take assessments, participate in challenges, log activities, earn rewards, and track progress, conveniently from anywhere, at any time.
Well-designed employee wellness apps can streamline all wellness program activities, enhancing employee engagement. This simplifies wellness tracking improving their healthy habits, and reducing potential health risks and consequent healthcare costs, thus boosting productivity and overall business.
However, all these benefits can be availed only when the right wellness company and vendor are chosen. The key considerations while choosing the right employee wellness app should include –
- Scalability, flexibility, and customization capacity
- Is it HIPAA compliant?
- Third-party integrations
2. Flexible Working Schedules
The remote working transition has disturbed employee work-life balance for many. While it allowed some of them to spend extra time with their family and for personal work, many others felt they were not able to cut the cord between work and personal life. However, according to a Glassdoor survey, around 60% of employees preferred working remotely. And so, flexible working conditions, including paid vacations and regular time-offs have become a vital inclusion in the employee benefits and perks packages. Since flexible working schedules have become a priority, offering it can improve employee retention and recruitment rates, while enhancing the workplace culture and company EVP.
3. Diverse Personal Benefits
Employee benefits and perks are not only limited to professional and wellbeing aspects – it expands to many
other features. Apart from the holistic health benefits that focus on mental wellness programs and financial wellbeing, here are a few other personal benefits that have been trending in employee wellness requirements.
- Family-Friendly Benefits – Employee benefits for family planning, maternity, paternity, and adoption leaves, child-care assistance, and others.
- Student Loan Employee Benefits – Benefits solutions to help employees who are struggling to repay student loan debt through tuition assistance, payroll deductions, and scholarships.
- Social Responsibility Benefits – As much as the employees today are concerned about themselves, they care equally for the environment and community. Employee benefits solutions must include volunteering services, wellness challenges ideas for environmental sustainability, and workforce diversity for a profitable business and positive workplace culture.
While employees are looking forward to living a healthy holistic life ahead, employers are envisioning a healthy workplace with an engaged workforce. So, if businesses want to garner loyal employees in 2023 and grow their business, they must redefine their employee wellness programs with modules and resources that support the latest health and wellbeing trends to boost employee engagement and motivate the workforce in achieving their goals.
