6 Benefits of a Custom Corporate Wellness Program

6 Benefits of a Custom Corporate Wellness Program

Over the last decade, corporate wellness programs have become increasingly more popular among companies with 50+ employees. This can be attributed to a number of factors including the competitiveness of the job market, increasing healthcare costs and the general decline in the health of Americans. When considering a wellness program for your employees it is important to remember that not all work cultures and employee populations are the same. When executed appropriately, a custom built wellness program tailored to fit the needs and environment within your company can have profound benefits on your employees overall health and productivity and on your bottom line. Here are 6 reasons why a custom wellness program is a MUST!
1. Reduce Elevated Health Risks
Did you know that Americans now have a 1 in 3 change of being diagnosed with cancer? Or that heart disease is the leading cause of death? In many cases both of these are preventable along with 80% of other illnesses diagnosed here in the U.S. A custom wellness program can help employees take preventative health measure to reduce their risk of many of these common ailments.
2. Decrease Absenteeism
Corporate wellness programs aim to improve health behaviors, stress management, body weight and biometric screening results which directly improve absenteeism rates in businesses. Absenteeism is the rate at which employee must take time off from work, in this case, due to health related issues. Harvard researchers looked at the ROI of wellness programs as they relate to absenteeism and demonstrated that for every dollar wellness programs spend on wellness they save $2.73.
3. Improve Employee Health Behaviors
A corporate wellness program should not just provide one healthy meal or wellness session each quarter, but instead it should educate employees consistently on how to make healthier decisions day in an day out. With proper motivation, resources and support, employees will create behavior changes that lead to healthier lives for themselves and their families.
4. Reduce Health Care Costs
Comprehensive worksite wellness programs that improve employee behaviors see a bending of the healthcare cost trend. Most often they will discover that the savings from the program participation will be greater than the actual cost of the program. Among the 22 different studies that looked at wellness programs and healthcare costs, the average return on investment was 3.27. This means that for every dollar that was spent on the program, the company saved $3.27.
5. Improve Productivity
Poor employee productivity can be defined as physically being at work but not actually working. This type of poor productivity is called presenteeism. It is estimated that the cost associated with presenteeism due to poor employe health is at least 2 to 3 times greater than direct health care expenses. Any good wellness program will focus on workplace wellness and how employees can maximize their health and productivity while at work.
6. Build and Help Sustain High Employee Morale and Retention
According to the latest research from the Global Wellness Institute, employers who care about their employees are expected to have higher rates of productivity, lower rates of absenteeism, lower rates of stress and increased rates of job satisfaction. 57% of employees at “caring” companies rate their health and wellness high versus only 39% at “non-caring” companies.

Here are SweatNET we build custom wellness programs designed to meet employees wherever they are on their wellness journey. Through services such as individual wellness coaching, guided mediation, company wide challenges, biometric screenings, grocery store tours and more we are able to support, educate and motivate employees to make impactful changes to improve their overall health and wellbeing. If your company is interested in a discussion about a custom wellness program, do not hesitate to reach out to our corporate wellness director, Michelle Norris at michelle@sweatnet.com.