The Benefit of Employee Wellness Programs

Why would I want an Employee Wellness Program for my company?

Employee Wellness Programs have been rapidly growing in popularity in recent years, with businesses of all sizes jumping on board this trend. But, “Why?”, you might ask. With all of the proverbial balls that business owners must juggle, what makes paying for and allowing time for your employees to participate in a wellness program worth your time and money? 

Tax breaks and government incentives 

There are many grants available for businesses to start an employee wellness program. These can help cover or offset the cost for those looking to start new programs. Many of the larger grants are disease or topic specific and focused on things like tobacco use, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes. If you work in an industry that employs people who are at increased risk of a certain illness, these could benefit you. 

A shockingly high hard return on investment 

Employee Wellness Programs are typically still viewed as a “nice-to-have” rather than a “need-to have”. The data, however, shows that for business owners that couldn’t be farther from the truth! A paper in Harvard Business Review by Berry, Mirabito, and Braun reports that the return on investment can be as high as 6 to 1. Johnson & Johnson estimated that their return was $2.71 for every dollar spent. The ways to save are impressive: increased productivity, lower workers comp premiums, fewer missed work days, lower employee turnover, and decreased healthcare claims. The research backing employee wellness programs is only growing, showing that a well-run program is an investment that you can count on to make money for your company. 

Company Morale

We all know that money is the bottom line when making most decisions for your business. So, often times the conversation about employee wellness programs focuses only on hard dollar returns and company morale is overlooked entirely. Pause for a minute and consider things from an employee perspective. Have you ever worked for a company with a great work culture? A single vision and a strong identity? Have you ever had a job where the employees had a bond and common ground to discuss outside of work activities? If done right, a thorough employee wellness program can create all of these things! A well-designed program, over time, will create a culture of prioritizing health and integrating health into the everyday work life of all employees.