It’s difficult to have a healthy business with unhealthy or unhappy employees. Several studies have shown that overall employee wellness can have a major impact on productivity and the bottom line.
In a small business, this is especially important because each individual plays a bigger role in the bottom line. Here are a few fun ways that, as a business owner, you can invest in your employees’ wellness:
- Offer good benefits. One of the many reasons people don’t go to the doctor is because they can’t afford it. Offering good benefits like health, vision, and dental insurance, not only incentivizes people to go to their doctors for regular checkups, but it will also help to attract top talent to your company.
- Participate in a 5K. Local races are an excellent way to build employee relationships, as well as get involved in the community. Remember, a team that trains together succeeds together.
- Get the whole family involved. There is often a strong division between personal life and work life, and when given a choice many choose personal life first. Grow your small business community by including family members when appropriate. Ideas include Bring Your Kid to Work Day, inviting family to company events, and sending personalized greeting cards during holidays.
- Start a wellness program. Nothing like a little friendly competition to get people going! Wellness programs where employees track their progress as teams or individuals and earn prizes or other forms of recognition for their achievements are a great way to incentivize an active and healthy lifestyle.
- Send employees away. Not permanently, just for a week or so. Disengaged and burnt out employees are a major drag on productivity and can negatively affect overall team morale. Some employees even fear taking a vacation because they don’t want to return to facing double the workload. Encourage your employees to use their paid vacation time and facilitate collaboration among teams so that the work can go on productively without them while they’re away.
Overall wellness is about having both a healthy body and a healthy mind. Investing in the health and wellness of your team will lead to a happier, more satisfied workforce, which in turn can lead to a healthier business.