Why You Shouldn't Start a Wellness Program

Your company might be ready to dive in and check the wellness program box.

?STOP.

?Have you really thought this through?

?Too many companies are running a wellness day and believe they are checking the box on employee wellness. It's like going for a 5 minute jog and declaring yourself fit.

?Can you ask yourself honestly, does this company care about employee wellness?

?The consistent actions and messages that ripple through the company the other 364 days of the year are what will? declare your company wellness strategy as fit.

?You may be doing more damage than good if your wellness strategy:

• Doesn't include senior leadership
• Happens only once a year
• Doesn't have enough support (internal or external) to really drive the program
• If people are still eating their lunch at their desks
• If long hours, stress and pressure (without support and boundaries) is part of your overwork company culture
• If leaders aren't equipped to have the wellbeing conversations
• If your benefits packages are lacking
• If you never asked your employees what they actually want
• If there is not accountability or consistency
• If rewards are not attached to results.

?Start your wellness strategy by asking your people what they want.

?COVID sparked a big demand for mental health services which many companies have responded to by providing access to counseling services as part of their EAP programs.

?As cited by the SC Healthy Business Challenge many employees don't need a therapist, they need a compassionate manager or someone (like a coach) to converse with. Mental health is much more than treating depression and anxiety. It's also about feeding the intrinsic dopamine systems within an individual by providing a safe place to work and opportunities for growth to name a couple.

?Other employees want help with education on finances. Three quarters of employees worry about money on a consistent basis. Others want education and access to healthier food, or to know what they can do to better care for their health.

?Let's Start with our managers

?Training managers to know how to have wellness conversations is paramount and you don't need to have a couch in your office to do them.

?Instead of asking 'How are you?' which has become fairly meaningless in our greetings now, try 'How is your energy?' or 'How are you managing with your current workload?' or 'What support can I offer that will make this easier for you?'

?Leadership training for managers will help alleviate some of the stress and pressure they experience as many have had sparse, if any, training on how to lead and manage people. Given 70% of employees say the worst part of their job is their manager then it makes sense to start here.

?Let's Stress Less

?Unspoken company culture of work hard or else is toxic, and I believe will frame potential for lawsuits in the future. Many people will cite workplace pressure or demands as high on their list of stressors.

?We now know stress is a trigger for 90% of diseases - everything from lowering the immune system to make people more susceptible to the common cold, to development of cancers, autoimmune and heart disease.

?If your company has a stress culture then deep breathing classes may be helpful in the moment however a lot more needs to be addressed. After working with many individuals, I know that stress can be significantly reduced through individual coaching however that is not the only thing that can happen.

?Companies can be explicit about encouraging and role modeling to have employees take their lunch breaks away from their desk and to have short movement, stress or social breaks throughout the day - why do you think people do smoke? (and I am by no means advocating for smoking).

?Ensure employees have the knowledge, clarity and resources they need to do their jobs effectively. Just yesterday I was speaking to one of my clients who had been assigned a task without any direction on the expectations or how to complete the task leaving her feeling stuck and stressed. This is not uncommon.

?Make it safe for employees to say no and to ask for help. Asking for help shouldn't be hard but somehow as adults we have learned to suck it up and keep trying to work it out ourselves for fear of appearing weak or stupid if we do ask for help.

?Provide wellness programs that reduce stress or improve a person's resilience. Two of the best things to help with resilience are exercise and a good night's sleep. Some wellness programs will track and even provide accountability for ensuring these goals are being met. As a former pharmacist I have often said that the first thing doctors should prescribe is exercise, not medicine.

?There is a lot to consider when we look at the whole person in regard to wellness and it all starts with what you do 365 days a year. What is the message your company culture says? What are the unspoken expectations?

When you are ready to have a wellness conversation for your small to medium business then grab my 28 page guide on the '7 Steps to Workplace Wellness'. It's a free guide on where and how to start your workplace wellness initiative made simple. Send me a DM and I will get it right over to you!

?Be well!