Why Health Education And Wellness Programs Are Valuable

Introduction

It seems to some like common sense that health education and wellness programs should be a part of their workplace culture – how can one expect an employee to take care of customers if the employee isn't taking care of their own health in the first place? Health education and wellness programs have been implemented by most big corporations, and through using their budget efficiently, smaller companies have also managed the same with a high degree of success. Putting a health education and wellness program in place is useful and beneficial in a number of ways.

History

It follows through simple logic that if employees feel better because of a health education and wellness program, they will perform better, and this translates to better conditions for the business and gains, and decreased health care costs.
Absenteeism levels will drop if employees are in a better state of bodily health, which also leads to better mental health and workplace morale. Though absenteeism cannot be wholly avoided, it can be reduced to a great extent. This results in an increase in productivity.

Employees are also going to stick around at a workplace where they know their well-being is cared for, and that is bound to attract more employees. When the health of the staff is good and their levels of satisfaction with certain aspects of the workplace are high, this translates to goodwill and increases employee responsibility by forging a bond of affinity between the company and the employee.

A health education and wellness plan is very simple to implement: walking clubs could be organized before work hours, healthy snacks can be sold at the canteen and fruits, instead of junk food can be served at company meetings. First-aid lessons during the lunch hours or a talk about the benefits of eating healthy could also be part of your plan. A bonus to workers who give up tobacco or do not use tobacco is another step that is very popular and goes a long way in ensuring the well-being of the workers.

Features

It should be kept in mind that a health education and wellness program is only going to work and be successful if the higher level management is in consensus about the need for it, and if you have adequate involvement of the employees – you need to know what the needs of the staff are before you try to act upon them, and who can tell you better what their needs are than the employees themselves?

Also, if budget is a matter of concern for you, make sure you take small steps at a time and have frequent reviews to see whether your plan is beneficial to the employees or not, because you may face some problems if no results are visible, and these can be easily avoided by identifying costs in advance and keeping them within the budget.

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