3/24/2023 0 Comments Alula wellness![]() For prospective hires, five-star Glassdoor reviews mentioning perks like free kale salads and onsite massages stand out like glittering constellations. From coal mines to conference rooms, employers’ motivation is simple: keep workers healthy, keep company costs down.īut just because these programs can be positive for business outcomes doesn’t mean their primary purpose is to improve employees’ daily lives. Healthier business.” FitBit Health Solutions is even more explicit: “Business leaders recognize the burden of rising healthcare costs to their companies and their employees.” Then, they offer “the good news” in the form of a sales pitch: “investing in a corporate wellness program…is good business.” Headspace for Work sells bundled subscriptions of their popular meditation app to companies worldwide, boasting a simple but important promise to employers: “Happier people. ![]() Many mainstream wellness products and services have shifted their business models, expanding from direct-to-consumer brands into corporate-benefit giants. In light of these trends, the consumer wellness industry has pricked up its ears. ![]() They are exploring ways to build supportive environments founded on the idea of “psychological safety” and optimizing employee well-being with a gleaming panoply of benefits often referred to as “wellness programs.” (The colorful play areas, themed conference rooms, and data-driven snack offerings at Google’s global offices come readily to mind.) In the U.S., one in five adults suffer from mental health challenges each year, costing companies 200 million lost workdays, along with $200 billion.Īs a result, many American employers are no longer just offering health insurance and complying with safety regulations. Beyond this, refusing to address these issues is expensive. And recent research shows that workplace culture is the biggest roadblock employees face in their efforts to feel healthier and happier. More and more employers are focusing on the importance of mental health across the globe, mental health issues are the leading cause of disability and illness. Fewer jobs pose everyday threats to workers’ physical health and safety, but chronic stress is a specter that haunts us all. Since then, particularly in the last 50 years, the conversation about workplace wellness has expanded dramatically as the economy has shifted from the industrial to the digital. By 1891, the federal government had caught on, mandating minimum ventilation requirements in mines across the country, and prohibiting operators from hiring children under the age of 12. A few years later, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts put a more proactive plan in motion and became the first state to institute a factory inspection program. In 1864, the Pennsylvania Mine Safety Act was codified into law, promising Pennsylvania mine workers minimal ventilation to help prevent the black lung, and marking the beginning of occupational health legislation in the United States. The idea of employee wellness is not new, but it has not always been an $8 billion industry in which employer-subsidized fitness memberships, meditation classes, and catered meals are the norm. With trust at the center of employer-employee relationships, wellness programs can transform from shiny lacquer into authentic elements of an integrated, human system. While there is no one solution to this problem, there are several steps we can take, both as organizations and as individuals, to make work a place of humanity and compassion. ![]() But are these benefits really what we need to feel healthy, engaged, and supported at work? For all the attention (and money spent) on workplace wellness, the jury is still out on whether these programs are really beneficial to our health. In fact, a recent study suggests that corporate wellness offerings may resonate more with already-healthy employees, and even alienate those who are dealing with health issues in the first place, mental or physical. Today, more than 9 in 10 organizations across the globe offer employees at least one kind of wellness benefit, and more than 3 in 5 have dedicated “wellness budgets,” which are expected to expand by 7.8% in the coming years.
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