In this tech-dominated world, almost everything is available at your fingertips. Our lives have become much easier than before.

As a consequence we also have become much lazier! Consider a normal person’s routine that includes 9-10 hours of work and travel, 2-4 hours of TV & entertainment, 7-8 hours of sleep and a couple of hours with family. This indicates a majority of non-moving activities. Such a hectic schedule is affecting an individual’s health. This is the reason employers need to worry about the well-being of their staff. Today, employee wellness is not only an added benefit but one of the most important considerations.

As per the statistics, a total of 11.7 million working days were lost due to the ill-health condition of the employees in the year 2015/16. This accounts for an average loss of 23.9 days per case. Without a doubt, this is not good for any business!

Neil Carberry, the CBI’s director for employment and skills, emphasises the importance of employee wellness: "Having healthy staff is an essential part of running a healthy business. Investing in the well-being of employees is not only the right thing to do, it has real business benefits."

It is very necessary for the organisations to pay attention to employee wellness. Or in other words, spending on employee wellness is a smart investment. It will fetch quantifiable results with increased productivity and performance. That’s why large companies like Google, Aetna, and General Mills have given taken measures to keep employees healthy, positive and creative!

What are the business benefits of employee wellness initiatives?

“There is no one giant step that does it. It’s a lot of little steps.”
An individual spends a major part of his day at the workplace. Hence, it is the prime responsibility of the employers to address the well-being of the staff. Create a strong working environment by encouraging meditation, exercises, mindfulness sessions, healthy diet, yoga, etc. including the whole team. These activities will form a cheerful and healthier workforce. Here are top 4 reasons that will get you going to encourage employees’ wellness-

1. From Fatigue to Fitness
Ryan Holmes, CEO at Hootsuite is a firm supporter of fitness and regular exercise. He believes that companies that sweat together stay together. To make sure that staff is active at work; the company started a small gym and yoga studio. The company encouraged the employees to work-out within the premises. The impact was fruitful. The employees showed increase in the productivity. They were more fit and dynamic.

Having employees in their sound state of health is very much necessary. The mental and physical fit workforce will be happy at work. They will ensure work completion in the most optimal way. Such a workplace will be joyous, dynamic and industrious. Also, wellness activities will encourage team participation and bonding. There will be no sleepwalking through the day. Instead, they will be willing to work with an alert and open mind.

2. A Progressive & Positive Culture
In a Kaiser Foundation Survey, 81% of large employers (200 or more workers) and 49% of small employers offer employees programs to help them stop smoking, lose weight, or make other lifestyle or behavioural changes. Of firms offering health benefits and a wellness program, 38% of large firms and 15% of small firms offer employees a financial incentive to take part in or complete a wellness program. Among large firms with an incentive to take part in or complete a wellness program, 27% of firms believe that incentives are “very effective” at encouraging employees to participate.
The whole idea of wellness is to ensure the complete well-being of staff. It is not possible to completely avoid stress at the workplace. But, there are many ways to deal with it. For instance, meditation helps in reducing stress and boosting their morale. Such programmes create a positive culture across the organisation. Small incentives act as a catalyst for a healthy competition. The optimism feasts everyone around for a better outcome for the company as a whole.

3. Promoting Employee Engagement
Vitality Health’s annual competition awards Britain’s Healthiest Company based on various parameters. In 2014, Old Mutual was one of the winners. The company was running a holistic employee assistance programme including counselling on various topics from housing and debt to care responsibilities and bereavement, with referrals to healthcare staff and confidential advice. When an organisation cares for their employees, the employees tend to work with more zeal and grow with the company.
Engagement ratio has increased 21% from 2013 to 42% in 2014 of the management supporting health initiatives for their staff by using outbound communications. Companies are now commissioning various practices to engage the workforce. Engaged employees are passionate about their work. They outperform their counterparts. The wellness initiatives boost employee engagement and create an emotional bond. They strive for excellence together, help each other and collaborate in improvising the larger picture.

4. Less Absenteeism, More Enthusiasm
A CBI survey shows that employee absenteeism can cost more than £14bn per year to the economy of the company. This means a business suffers an average total cost of £975 for each absent employee. Also, a different angle to this concern is present employee’s absence- people who come to their office but are unable to do the work. Growing forceful presentism is also not worthy! Many employees confess that they felt stressed and unhappy for these reasons.
Involving employees in wellness activities will automatically reduce their health issues. Meditation helps to heal and rediscover oneself. A calm employee will look forward to his work. Rather than making excuses to skip a day or working without concentration, healthy staff will focus on the targets. Ensuring well-being of the workforce implies reduced absenteeism. They will fall sick less often. And that will reduce the company’s share in their medical costs and insurance claims.

Concluding thoughts
Over 76% of respondents of a survey by the Reward and Employee Benefits Association have taken steps to instigate healthier habits and behaviour among their workforce. With the rise in chronic illness, obesity and stress, there is an utmost need to pin your ears back to employee wellness. It’s no more limited to a good appraisal or salary hike. But, it is widened to include an employee’s complete well-being and development.
To retain your staff, accomplish the business goals; promote wellness in the work environment. In turn, you will reap the benefits of hapiness and productivity. For a better tomorrow, an organisation has to act today. Be a well-wisher, take the wellness initiatives!


Author Bio-
Swati Kungwani is the business analyst and content manager for iTouchVision, a UK-based customer service platform. She specialises in customer experience management and driving new customer initiatives. Connect with her on LinkedIn.