by Aaron Martin
4 Ways Health and Wellness Programs Benefit Your Company
At Job One, we pride ourselves on having happy, healthy employees. We’ve done the research and know that employer-sponsored health programs can increase employee productivity by about 4% on average. That’s just one of the reasons why we recently launched our own health and wellness program. When your employees are happy and healthy, they’re more more likely to plant strong roots at your company for future job success. And when your employees thrive, your business grows.
Here are 4 reasons why your company should invest in a health and wellness program too:
1. Increased Productivity
A study by the World Economic Forum and the Harvard School of Public Health reports that employees with healthy habits are 3.1 times more productive than their peers. When you’re feeling healthy, your energy levels are often higher ––leading to an overall more productive workday.
2. Fewer Workplace Accidents
The word “presenteeism” was coined to describe the syndrome where employees are physically at work but not mentally invested. It’s estimated that presenteeism results in 8 times less productivity. Employees who are making efforts to take care of themselves tend to be more mentally engaged in their daily tasks.
3. Better Work Culture
When your employees feel better about themselves, they’re more likely to make strong connections and relationships in the workplace. This will help foster a healthy, collaborative culture at work, which can also positively impact productivity. It also keeps employee turnover low, saving your company thousands in new-hire training.
4. Less Sick Days
It makes sense that your healthy employees would be taking fewer sick days! And the data confirms this theory. A study by Brigham Young University found that absenteeism is reduced by 27% in employees who maintain a good diet and exercise regularly.
About Job One’s Health & Wellness Initiative
Job One recently kicked off our new Health & Wellness Initiative under the leadership of staff, Karen Pickering, Cristy Carpenter and Chelsi Flores. The goal of this project is to help our employees and staff with education about healthy living and eating habits. Karen, Job One’s Occupational Therapist, leads weekly group discussions on various wellness topics including healthy diet, how to read nutrition labels, and simple and accessible exercise routines. The group is now focusing in on stress and how healthy habits can impact your stress.
To start the program, we invited in a researcher with the Center for Physical Activity & Weight Management within the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas. He taught us about portions versus serving sizes, how to eat within our limits, calorie content, what fiber does, and how to make our current diets healthier with a few easy steps.
The schedule for September topics will cover:
Sept 9-13 – Oral Hygiene
Sept 16-20 – Healthy Eating & Avoiding Sugar
Sept 23-37 – Exploring Flavonoids
Watch for much more information on this valuable program coming soon!