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Employee Perks
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Article 6: Live Well and Prosper
Wellness programs have
become one of the most popular employee perks in
recent years. Employers design the programs to
improve the physical and emotional health of
their employees.
There’s no single formula for creating a
wellness program. They can take different shapes
and sizes to meet the specific needs and
objectives of each company and group of
employees.
The form and structure of a program are flexible
and should be designed with the employees’ needs
and the employer’s budget in mind. Most wellness
programs include some kind of monitoring process
that begins with an annual health screening or
physical examination to establish a health
baseline against which progress can be measured.
At a minimum, this should include a check of
blood pressure, cholesterol levels and pulmonary
functions.
Depending on the size of your workforce, you can
arrange for screenings to be done on your work
premises or for employees to visit a clinic or
their personal physicians. A basic health
screening may cost as little as $30 per
employee. You may be able to negotiate a group
discount with a local clinic or physician.
Beyond this, the specifics of your wellness
program are up to you and your employees.
Depending on your budget and facilities, perhaps
you could set up a small exercise room or gym at
your workplace. You can shop around for used
equipment at substantial savings.
If this isn’t feasible, try negotiating a group
discount with a local gym and pay half the
membership fee for each employee. Make it easy
for employees to exercise by allowing flexible
work arrangements—maybe give a two-hour lunch a
couple of days a week, or let employees leave an
hour early so they can exercise after work.
And look for opportunities to provide health
education as part of your wellness program.
Arrange for health professionals to make
presentations to your workforce on different
wellness topics.
Experts recommend that your plan focus on
results, rather than activities. For example, if
weight loss is a primary goal, everyone could
set a corporate goal of losing 100 pounds as a
company in a certain number of months. For fun,
see if you can find a large scale, like a grain
elevator scale, and weigh everyone together.
Perhaps most importantly, employees need to see
that the program has the support of top
management. This means that you must be actively
involved, not just a passive bystander. Make it
personal by setting your own goals and issuing a
challenge—for example, anyone who loses more
weight than you in a given week will win a
healthy lunch compliments the company.
Whatever you do, remember this: The wellness
of your employees can have a direct impact on
the financial wellness of your business.
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