Choosing the best corporate wellness programs can be the difference between a happy, cohesive team and a less motivated one. They can also make a huge difference in productivity, and even save your company big time on healthcare costs, because prevention works! There are all kinds of trendy corporate wellness programs on offer these days, and many are wildly effective in making a difference for teams. That said, even among so many great options, some stand out more than the rest. Here are a few top wellness programs that WORK!
The Best Corporate Wellness Programs To Try With Your Team
1. On-Site Fitness Centers
In our ultra-busy lives, it can be hard to find the time to take a break for exercise - and that’s a bummer, because these breaks can provide a big boost to both happiness and productivity. Enter on-site fitness centers. These corporate wellness programs provide the opportunity for employees to break a sweat on their lunch breaks, work on projects on the treadmill, or bookend their workday with exercise without adding an extra errand into the mix.
Why They’re Great
Midday fitness breaks are great for the brain. Besides the fact that regular exercise is great for your overall health, it also packs a powerful punch for the mind. Taking 30 minute to an hour to remove yourself from your work enables you to come back refreshed with new ideas, joy, and energy. It can increase focus and help evaporate any stressors that were hindering creativity earlier in the day.
There’s also the fact that exercising with someone is an excellent bonding experience. If employees choose to hang out in the fitness center together (or even amp things up by creating a team fitness club or running club), that bond will extend beyond the workout and into the boardroom. Those team-like feelings will make it easier to work together on demanding projects and important ideas.
Provider To Try
Kinema Fitness is one of the most popular fitness corporate wellness program options, and for good reason. The company offers fitness center design and management, personal trainer options, and virtual wellness opportunities. Kinema is all about holistic wellness, so their focus extends beyond just the elliptical into ensuring that your employees are experiencing lifestyle, work, and relationship benefits from these fitness programs. Kinema’s virtual wellness options include at-home fitness classes, social experiences, and healthy cooking activities.
Companies That Love It
General Mills, Genentech, and Verizon have fantastic on-site gyms.
2. Meditation And Mindfulness
Meditation and mindfulness can fill an important role when it comes to workplace stress relief. More and more companies are encouraging employees to dive into mindfulness both in the office and at home. Whether it’s a team mindfulness challenge, daily morning meditation breaks, or group workshops, meditation at work is taking the lead in helping companies thrive.
Why It’s Great
Meditation at work helps reduce employees’ stress and anxiety, increases vitality, improves self-esteem, and heightens focus. Concentration, memory, creativity, and problem-solving skills are easier to tap into when you’re regularly meditating. Meditation also improves communication skills, which can forge a path for greater bonds between coworkers and easier conflict resolution. Of course, meditation is also known by experts as a great way to improve overall health and wellbeing by reducing stress.
For employers, all these benefits equate to increased productivity, improved response time, stronger memory, and deeper focus. Corporate meditation programs can lead to lower absentee rates and reduced employee burnout, as well as greater efficiency which can translate to higher profit. Of course, there’s also the fact that your employees will simply be happier! When you have a more positive work environment, your team will move through their days with a greater sense of purpose around what they do - which means higher drive and increased creativity.
Provider To Try
The Unplug corporate wellness program draws on the principles taught in the company’s top-rated meditation app to help your employees thrive. Unplug’s teachers can come to your office or lead sessions online. Unplug will set up a meditation challenge tailored specifically to your team on the Unplug app, so your employees can embark on healthy meditation habits together.
Unplug has created customized meditation corporate wellness programs for more than 150 companies to help create workplace cultures that your team will want to be part of. They can also provide alternate modalities like breathwork and sound baths depending on your company’s needs - the sky’s the limit.
Companies That Love It
Major companies like Morgan Stanley, the Ritz-Carlton, Google, and Paramount have offered meditation at work to great success.
3. Team Challenges For The Greater Good
When you tap into healthy competition to serve the greater good, everyone wins. Team fitness and wellness challenges for charity have the dual benefit of ramping up employee wellbeing while serving communities in need. They’re excellent corporate wellness program options.
Why They’re Great
Even when we know how beneficial it is, it can be hard to get motivated to exercise or make healthy choices. But when you bring the idea of helping someone else into the mix, motivation is much easier to find. When employees know that sticking to their healthy habits will make a difference in someone else’s life, they’re more likely to be committed - and to forge strong bonds with team members on the way to reaching these goals. This is a great antidote to historically low engagement on employee wellness programs, and it’s an especially helpful motivating factor right now, in an era when everyday challenges make it more difficult to stick to wellness routines. Helping a social cause as part of your corporate wellness program creates powerful intrinsic motivation.
Provider To Try
With Givhero, you can choose a cause and receive a custom digital system to help your employees track their goals. With customizable benchmarks and achievable results, your team will feel eager and encouraged. Because Givhero takes on the process, you’ll be able to automate your wellness program without excess strain on the company’s planning resources. Givhero helps your employees find their common connection over a shared desire to help others - and that connection will keep them focused on their goals.
Companies That Love It
Fitbit, Google, and Zappos are all well-known for their thriving wellness programs.
Learn more about the Unplug corporate wellness program HERE