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In the fast-paced workplace, it may be easy for employee well-being to take a backseat. Enter the superhero of the workplace: the employee wellness program.

Employee wellness programs are essential, not just an optional perk. This lays the foundation for a healthier, happier and more productive workforce. Investing in employee health is has also been proven to be beneficial. It has been proven to increase success, encourage loyalty, and create a better work environment.

Employee wellness programs can take many forms. For example, they can offer incentives to encourage physical health. They can also provide mental health resources. Additionally, training and development skill programs can be introduced. However creating these programs can seem like a daunting task if you’ve never had to create one before.

For this mental health awareness month we looked into 3 well-known organizations and what they are doing to meet different employee wellness needs within their corporate wellness programs. Check out what they are doing below:

Peloton

We are starting off strong with Peloton and how they help employees reach their full potential and wellness goals through building community. While many companies give physical wellness incentives like gym memberships, the genius behind the Peloton’s wellness program is that it is perfect for both in person and remote workers to both take advantage of and build team morale. With the ability for their employees to schedule classes with coworkers and friends or join communities online there is ongoing potential for growth.

They have also had proven success within their wellness program with 65% of members felt that their overall mental health was improved and 64% of members reported feeling more productive at work. It’s important to set goals and motivate employees to not only improve their overall wellness goals but personal and professional goals too.

Taking care of your employee’s physical health doesn’t only have to look like exercising also. Cater in a healthy meal for your employees to share together. Offer rewards or team building activities to accompany your physical wellness program to get your employees excited about their progress and motivated to continue. Peloton’s employee wellness program builds a better, healthier, and happier culture and your program can too!

We would recommend these books to accompany a physical employee wellness program:

1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Habit Tracker: (Life Goals, Daily Habits Journal, Goal Setting) by Stephen R. Covey
2. Genius Kitchen: Over 100 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Make Your Brain Sharp, Body Strong, and Taste Buds Happy by Max Lugavere

Boeing

Boeing has set an impressive standard for not only taking care of their employee’s physical wellness but also their emotional wellness. With 34% of employees reporting a decline in their mental health according to The Conference Board, it is more important than ever to take care of your employee’s mental health. Boeing’s employee well being program has been recognized as one of the nation’s best workplace well-being programs for its ability to focus on their employees’ individual wellbeing so that their teams can thrive.

Addressing common employee mental health problems such as burnout and stress can help your employees not only enjoy their job better but want to show up in their work. With long hours and excessive workloads overwhelming employees it’s important to introduce rewards like a special half day or mental health break options. Provide resources such as mental health resources or group activities to boost morale as a team. Also introduce training workshops on strategies to avoid burnout and stress in the workplace.

Boeing supports their employees reaching goals, managing daily stresses, and developing relationships through their mental health focus through having on site therapists and mental health programs. It’s important to help your employees find happiness and fulfillment in their lives so they can show up and live and work well.

We would recommend these books to accompany a mental health employee wellness program:

1. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brené Brown
2. The Joy of Well-Being: A Practical Guide to a Happy, Healthy, and Long Life by Colleen and Jason Wachob
3. The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams by Seth Godin

Chick-Fil-A

Last but definitely not least we have Chick-Fil-A and how they use incentives and giving back to boost their employees’ morale in their corporate wellness programs. Chick-Fil-A when creating their wellness programs asked their employees what happiness, balance and fulfillment meant to them. One thing they found was focusing on developing their employees’ for their bright futures and giving back to the community increased their overall well being.

Focusing on bright futures for their employees meant bringing in college counselors and awarding more than $136 million in educational scholarships in their Remarkable Futures program. Giving back to your employees doesn’t have to look like financial incentives. Consider bringing in workshops based on their interests that can help develop their skill sets or introduce them to a new skill!

Another great option to boost team morale and create a company culture of employee wellness is to create opportunities for your employees to give back. Chick-Fil-A started an optional Employee Volunteerism Program where employees can choose how they want to serve their community from planting trees to serving meals. They even allow their employees to use paid hours away from their work to use as “wellness hours” for these volunteer hours at nonprofits. This creates an amazing opportunity to not only boost overall employee well being but also is a great team building activity.

We would recommend these books to accompany a giving back employee wellness program:

1. The Art of Quiet Influence: Timeless Wisdom for Leading without Authority by Jocelyn Davis
2. The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle
3. The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment by Marshall Goldsmith

Hopefully you’ve been inspired by these great companies who have spent the time to figure out what their employees want in their corporate wellness programs! Take some ideas that fit with your organization and what you feel your employees would get excited about. Our dedicated account managers are always happy to give title recommendations to accompany your organization’s wellness programs or provide quote requests to help you get your program off the ground. Time to get planning, and remember a healthy mind and happy employee is crucial to a successful company.