Wellness Dollars: Easy Ways to Invest in Your Employees’ Health
After the craziness of 2020, studies are showing that nearly half of workers plan to search for a new job (Maurer, 2021). Why? Unprecedented challenges from the past year leading to job dissatisfaction and burnout. Now is the time to invest in your most valuable asset - your employees. Rather than let your employees continue to feel dissatisfied and burnt out, invest this year’s wellness dollars into programs and products that will benefit your employees and prove to them that you care.
What are Wellness Dollars?
Wellness dollars are funds that your insurance carrier sets aside specifically for wellness-related programs or offerings (Mika, 2020). Check out our infographic for more information on what wellness dollars are and how to use them.
How to Invest in Your Employees’ Health
Using your wellness dollars to invest in your employees’ health is a great way to show them you care. Investing in their health can be done in several ways (Hppy, n.d.):
Employee training
Offering training for your employees to achieve job progression can help them feel more motivated and productive during the day. In addition, offering regular training meetings is a great opportunity for employees to get to know each other better and build those strong connections.
Surveying staff
A big issue for many employees is feeling like their view or opinion on different matters is not heard or valued. Providing the opportunity for open, honest conversations can help bridge this gap. Be open to suggestions from your employees and listen to their opinions and views to ensure they feel valued and appreciated.
Incentives/Bonuses
Another way to use your wellness dollars is by offering incentives or bonuses. This is a great way to keep employees engaged and connected through fun, friendly competition. Some examples of incentives or bonuses to try are:
Dress-down Fridays
Offering birthdays off from work
Going out for a meal together
Having a fun day
Wellness Programs/Services
One last way to use your wellness dollars is by offering a wellness program or service to your employees. This could be a comprehensive program with a portal, onsite services and biometric screenings, and much more. Whatever the offering, it is a great way to show your employees you care about their health. As a bonus, you can also tie your wellness program to additional incentives!
Wellness Dollars in 2021
Now is the perfect time to invest in employees’ health. Taking the time to show you care can be the difference between someone staying or finding a new job. With your 2021 wellness dollars, consider investing in programs that support employee emotional well-being, relationship building, and financial well-being, all areas that are essential for employee growth and can help reduce burnout.
Also consider programs aimed at team building and connection as well as more individualized, one-on-one programs. Both types cater to different groups of employees, those who prefer the group competition and those who crave more one-on-one involvement. Including both types of programs will ensure that all employees stay engaged and one their way to reaching their goals.
In Conclusion
After the unforeseen challenges employees faced in 2020, now is the time to show your employees you care. Investing in them can be done by providing training, creating open communication channels, or offering more robust wellness programs. Regardless of the path you select, choose to use your 2021 wellness dollars in a way that will promote health and well-being and positively impact all of your employees.
If you are ready to show your employees you care, consider one of Alyfe’s offerings:
If you are just getting back into the swing of things and need something simple to ease into, Wellness Kits are perfect for you! They are easy-to-use, fully prepared packages of materials covering a range of topics from Emotional Fitness to nutrition and mindfulness, all designed to make implementation as simple as possible. Use the already crafted email templates to get the word out, setup discussion groups using the worksheets provided to spark conversation, and wrap it all up at the end with a carefully constructed presentation with speaker notes included.
In need of something a little more substantial? We have you covered! Alyfe Choice consists of digital well-being programs covering specific topics related to health and well-being that aim to build healthy habits by focusing on behavior change. Topics include emotional fitness, financial well-being, and creating connection.
Onsite Services
Sometimes it can be helpful to have a health and wellness professional onsite to assist with your goals. At Alyfe, we offer a variety of onsite services, from visits with registered dietitians to one-on-one in-person health coaching sessions. Both are great opportunities for employees to get that one-on-one professional assistance they may desire.
If you want to learn more about any of these offerings, reach out to us at hello@alyfewellbeing.com. Or 1-866-483-4343 today! At Alyfe, we are here to help, and we are ready to partner with you to keep you and your employees healthy.
Resources:
1. Maurer, R. (2021, March 21). Turnover ‘Tsunami’ Expected Once Pandemic Ends. SHRM. Retrieved June 14, 2021 from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/turnover-tsunami-expected-once-pandemic-ends.aspx
2. Mika. (2020, October 26). Wellness Dollars: How can you make the most of them? Goomi. https://goomigroup.com/wellness-dollars-article/
3. Hppy. (n.d.). Four Ways to Invest in Employees for Better Satisfaction and Productivity. https://gethppy.com/productivity/four-ways-to-invest-in-employees-for-better-satisfaction-and-productivity