Having an employee wellness program can help attract potential job applicants and reduce the cost of providing healthcare for your workers. However, adopting these programs is important for other reasons as well. From boosting productivity to decreasing absenteeism, employee wellness programs can help improve your bottom line and enhance your organizational culture.
Why Employee Wellness Matters
When you use the Proactive Health Management Plan or a similar wellness program, you can support the well-being of your workers for no net cost. This kind of plan can reduce your tax burden and lead to a happier workplace. Depending on the type of wellness activities and programs you adopt, your workplace can enjoy some of the following benefits.
1. More Productive Employees
By incorporating employee wellness into your organization, you can make your employees more productive. Chronic illnesses are known to significantly decrease employee productivity. In fact, the top five chronic conditions cost American employers $36.4 billion a year through just missed days of work. Healthy employees are more likely to show up for work, and they get more work done when they are present.
2. Better Organizational Culture
When you invest in employee wellness programs, you signal to your workers that you value innovation, collaboration, and healthy living. You also demonstrate that you value your workers and their well-being. Over time, these types of programs can completely transform your organizational culture and help your employees feel like they are appreciated by your company.
3. Healthier Workers
Unhealthy workers can end up costing your company money. For example, people who have diabetes cost their workplaces $16,750 per year in healthcare costs. Through wellness programs, you can prevent chronic illnesses and current medical conditioners from getting worse.
4. Lower Absenteeism
Employees who get at least 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week miss an average of 4.1 fewer days of work each year. By adopting employee wellness programs at your workplace, you can encourage your workers to get more physical exercise. As a result, your workers will be less likely to miss work because of an acute or chronic illness.
5. Fewer Claims Filed
When your workers are healthier, they are less likely to need medical care. Insurance claims, especially high-cost claims, are less common among workers who have better health. You might pay more for the added check-ups, routine blood work, and care for chronic conditions, but this type of preventative care ends up reducing the frequency and size of expensive claims.
6. Reduced Levels of Stress
Studies show that employees who report higher levels of stress have 50% more healthcare expenditures than their peers. While each employee wellness program is different, many programs include mindfulness meditation apps or similar programs that can help employees manage their stress levels.
7. Improved Morale
Wellness programs can help create a sense of belonging and improve employee morale at work. These programs boost employee satisfaction and make them feel excited about going to the office each day. They also help to foster a sense of belonging among employees.
8. Higher Employee Retention
Healthy employees tend to be happier employees. Because of this, employees are more likely to remain with a company that offers wellness programs. If they do leave the organization, a significant number of employees report missing these supportive programs. When one company, Nelnet, asked its employees what they missed most after they quit, the most common answer was Nelnet’s wellness program.
9. Decreased Healthcare Costs
Along with reducing the number of claims filed, employee wellness programs can decrease your overall healthcare costs. As Larry Dust, the CEO of Key Benefit Administrators, talked about in his podcast interview with Mission to Grow, switching to regimens of care and employee wellness programs can lower your overall healthcare costs by 11 to 17%.
You might pay more for employee wellness programs and preventative care upfront, but these programs will prevent major healthcare expenditures from happening later on. A good example can be found at Johnson & Johnson. They invested additional money upfront to institute an employee wellness program, but it ended up saving the company $250 million on healthcare costs in a single decade.
10. Enhanced Mental Wellness
Employee wellness programs are known for playing an important role in supporting mental health in the workplace. Workers who take part in these programs are less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. In addition to reducing their stress levels, these programs can also contribute to a better overall environment at work. An estimated 37% of employees report a better workplace environment because of employer-provided mental health resources.
Discover More Information on Employee Wellness Programs
By adopting employee wellness programs, you can increase your organization’s productivity while decreasing your healthcare costs. In addition, you can foster a sense of belonging among your employees and decrease absenteeism. To achieve these benefits, you have to encourage all of your employees to take part in an evidence-based employee wellness program.
If you are interested in learning more about incorporating employee wellness programs into your payroll, reach out to our small business payroll and HR experts today.