As we become more conscious and informed employees in this ever stressful modern working environment, we must begin to insist that our employers start setting up corporate wellness programs. Many people separate work from normal daily life, but if we are really honest with ourselves we must acknowledge that sixty percent of our life is spent at work. We all know by now that we are highly influenced by the environment in which we place ourselves. If we choose to work for a company that does not promote health and well-being in their employees, then we are saying that we are okay to settle for less.
Corporate Responsibility
A smart employer knows that healthy workers come to work. Unhealthy workers will have many more days away from the job. If at the end of the day the final goal of a company is profitability and product or service quality, then having their employees healthy and vibrant will ensure that they have the best possible arena in which to achieve these business goals.
Scope of a Corporate Wellness Program
What would a successful corporate wellness program look like? As all things corporate lead to the top, it's necessary that top management begins to take an interest in the physical fitness of the people that work for them. A company that cares about providing wellness will offer discounts or incentives to their employees to lose weight, to get massage or to join a health club. They will bring in a speaker once a month on average to educate the entire staff about proper eating. There will be signs posted in the office inspiring people to keep their hands clean. There will be group activities planned bimonthly in which the staff gets together outside in a natural setting or inside in a recreational hall to enjoy an event that will raise their heart rate, bring sweat to their pores and create a sense of camaraderie. If there is not already a small gym or exercise room within the office premises, a place will be set aside for a yoga, Pilates or aerobics teacher to come and offer lunch time or after work classes to the staff. That same room can be used for a corporate massage therapist to come on a weekly basis.
Commitment to Corporate Wellness
Corporate wellness programs are not meant to babysit or judge anyone within the company. It merely says, ‘we have hired you, we put our faith in you, and therefore we want to invest in your well-being so that we may continue our positive working environment for as long as possible’.
Wellness is not always an easy accomplishment and some of us really need to be pushed away from the table, out of the fast food line, and educated to what a healthy habit really consists of. If you are a concerned manager or colleague and your company does not have a corporate wellness program, then take it upon yourself to initiate the first stages, and before you know it everyone in the office will look and feel better.
