Health Handouts : Popular Employee Wellness Programs

Some of the top wellness programs currently in use today include:

Health Risk Assessments or HRAs

Health Risk Assessment is a top corporate wellness program currently in use globally. Employers that start it determine the safety and health problems of employees by the assessment of appropriateness of the facilities and equipment against the needs of the employees.

It can, for example, guide the employer into determining how the air quality within an office room affects the users and then help the assessment group to come up with the measures necessary to correct the concern. An HRA can also evaluate the level of exposure staff members have to certain hazardous or dangerous materials and practices.

Immunizations

This isn’t always practiced in every country since there are regions where government sponsored immunization shots are available. Nonetheless, it has also become an significant component of the top Workplace Health Promotion Programs in many companies in North America.

Immunization shots, such as those used to combat flu, for example, are offered to employees for free.

Employee Assistance Program(EAP)

EAPs consist of a wide variety of services. It can range from providing educational resources to staff members regarding health issues to sponsoring health services and healthcare. In many businesses, medical and insurance have also become a staple part of their benefits system.

In-house diet drives

This is another wellness program that employers use, particularly those that offer in-house commissary or cafeteria services. Instead of serving richer, high-calorie fare, cafeterias offer options for a healthier diet, usually in the form of low-calorie foods and sugar substitutes.

In-house employee wellness newsletter and campaign drives

One of the top wellness programs that businesses can implement is a self-powered tool using a newsletter to encourage wellness, coupled with a visible campaign. The campaign may be done periodically and focus on a specific topic, such as smoking hazards, cancer, stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, safety in the worksite, etc.

The employee wellness newsletter in itself can be an effective means to deliver information to employees or members of a organization but it is far from perfect. Some employees, for example, may not read the newsletter entirely or even pay attention to it. If the concerns outlined in the newsletter are promoted through an active and highly visible campaign, it will be easier to maximize positive results.

Exercise and physical activity drives

Another top wellness program for businesses is one that involves physical activities. Companies often sponsor exercise-related programs such as marathons and business sports programs to advocate workers to remain fit or lose excess weight. In mid- to large-sized businesses, businesses may even pay for health club memberships or in-house exercise facilities.

Incentives and Rewards

Some of the top wellness programs implemented by employers involve Incentives/Rewards. This involves organization-sponsored programs that reward workers for achieving specific wellness-related goals and objectives. Participation in health campaigns and signing up for wellness programs are two of the most frequently rewarded schemes. Rewards can range from special recognitions to over time acquired points (for bigger rewards) to specific gifts. In a few cases, cash may also be used.

Nonetheless, incentive systems have had mixed reactions and levels of success. But it continues to be one of the top choices among employers who are willing to modify it in order to fit their unique needs.

Peer Pressure

In countless companies, companies take advantage of peer pressure in order to promote staff members to participate in wellness programs. This is currently one of the favorite Workplace Wellness Programs currently in use today and growing in popularity. Peer pressure is often leveraged to help reward competitions referring to worksite wellness and to persuade staff members to be active in corporation-sponsored health and wellbeing fairs.