Creating programs that are virtual and can be used for hybrid and remote workplaces, as well as in the office. Even companies that had strong cultures prior to the pandemic are struggling to rebuild a connected workforce. Wellness programming needs to be digital to reach all employees and to create a shared experience where everyone can engage and connect.
The pandemic pause brought us to a moment of collective reckoning about what it means to live well and to work well. As a result, employees are sending employers an urgent signal that they are no longer willing to choose one — life or work — at the cost of the other. Working from home brought life literally into our work. And as the world now goes hybrid, employees are drawing firmer boundaries about how much of their work comes into their life. Where does this leave employers? And which perspectives and programs contribute most to progress? In our newest interview series, Working Well: How Companies Are Creating Cultures That Support & Sustain Mental, Emotional, Social, Physical & Financial Wellness, we are talking to successful executives, entrepreneurs, managers, leaders, and thought leaders across all industries to share ideas about how to shift company cultures in light of this new expectation. We’re discovering strategies and steps employers and employees can take together to live well and to work well.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Brea Giffin. As Head of Sales & Partnerships at Sprout Wellness Solutions, Brea Giffin has spent years working with companies all over the world to help them implement leading employee wellbeing programs and use them to solve complex and costly business problems. Brea holds multiple degrees across various areas of human health — including a BSc in Neuroscience and graduate certificates in Health Promotion and Workplace Wellbeing. During her tenure at Sprout Wellness Solutions, she has been the driving force behind all new client acquisitions — helping the company go from start-up to scale-up.
Thank you for making time to visit with us about the topic of our time. Our readers would like to get to know you better. Tell us about a formative experience that prompted you to change your relationship with work and how work shows up in your life.
I am fortunate to work for a company that has always trusted and supported employees. Long before the pandemic we worked remotely on Fridays. During the lockdown, I decided to leave the city where our head office was located to move to Canada’s East coast. I wondered what would happen. Would I still be able to effectively work with my colleagues living in a different timezone? Would I still feel a part of the vibrant company culture that we had created and what would happen when and if we returned to the office? The outcome was great because my company had put the tools and processes in place to allow each of us to be successful, regardless of where we were located. This experience has made me even more passionate about empowering employees to find meaningful ways to support employee wellbeing.
Harvard Business Review predicts that wellness will become the newest metric employers will use to analyze and to assess their employees’ mental, physical and financial health. How does your organization define wellness, and how does your organization measure wellness?
One of the key takeaways from the pandemic is that our professional and personal wellness are deeply intertwined. We utilize surveys, 1-on-1 discussions with team leaders, insights pulled from our wellness committee and metrics from our wellness program. We strive to take a holistic approach to wellness that looks at the whole person, not just the employee.
What I find equally important in that HBR article is the fact that only a limited number of employees are participating in company wellness offerings. It’s essential to not only provide tools and resources but to think very intentionally about what these programs are composed of, and how they are rolled out and the degree of leadership support.
Based on your experience or research, how do you correlate and quantify the impact of a well workforce on your organization’s productivity and profitability?
The stats are compelling. As the Gartner research shows, employees who utilize wellness benefits report 23% higher levels of mental health, 17% higher levels of physical health, and are 23% more likely to say they sleep well at night. Sprout Real-Time Health Risk Assessment combines a short survey, in combination with user data pulled from wearables, devices and manual tracking to create a personalized score that updates to reflect behavior change. As an integral part of our employee wellness platform, we can see how the adoption of new wellness behaviors lead to improved health scores and cost savings.
Even though most leaders have good intentions when it comes to employee wellness, programs that require funding are beholden to business cases like any other initiative. The World Health Organization estimates for every $1 invested into treatment for common mental health disorders, there is a return of $4 in improved health and productivity. That sounds like a great ROI. And, yet many employers struggle to fund wellness programs that seem to come “at the cost of the business.” What advice do you have to offer to other organizations and leaders who feel stuck between intention and impact?
I ask leaders, “What’s the cost of not running a wellness program?” Productivity losses related to personal and family health problems cost U.S. employers $1,685 per employee per year. Your workforce is your most valuable resource, and poor wellbeing can lead to more sick days, declining retention rates, a negative company culture, an increase in safety incidents and poorer customer interactions. When you think about it that way, the investment in corporate wellness programs seems like a no-brainer!
Speaking of money matters, a recent Gallup study reveals employees of all generations rank wellbeing as one of their top three employer search criteria. How are you incorporating wellness programs into your talent recruitment and hiring processes?
Wellness programs are the foundation of our business. We provide our employees with the same tools we empower our clients with, including a mobile-first wellness program driven by cognitive behavioral science and machine learning that is designed to empower and reward employees for adopting new, healthy behaviors.
We’ve all heard of the four-day work week, unlimited PTO, mental health days, and on demand mental health services. What innovative new programs and pilots are you launching to address employee wellness? And, what are you discovering? We would benefit from an example in each of these areas.
- Mental Wellness:
- Emotional Wellness:
- Social Wellness:
- Physical Wellness:
- Financial Wellness:
I think that I can simplify this answer by talking about what all these elements of wellness have in common: they each need to be informed by personalization. We are all at our own point in our wellness journey, hold different interests and have unique needs. What’s more, we are constantly changing! The future of meaningful wellness programs is delivering personalized solutions at scale. That is where AI, machine learning and recommendation engines built on extensive data sets will be paramount.
Can you please tell us more about a couple of specific ways workplaces would benefit from investing in your ideas above to improve employee wellness?
Investing in employee wellness is a clear signal to your workforce that you take their well being seriously. Employees want more than just a paycheck; they are looking for employers who value them as individuals and are committed to supporting their needs and challenges.
Adopting a well designed, holistic wellness program contributes to:
- Improving recruitment and employee retention.
- Lowering absenteeism. Healthy employees take up to 27% fewer sick days.
- Boosting the physical and mental health of employees. Employees who feel their best are more productive and contribute to enhancing your company’s culture.
How are you reskilling leaders in your organization to support a “Work Well” culture?
- Training managers on supporting remote teams.
- Changing HR policies to allow for flexible work hours & locations.
- Embracing digital tools that enable remote collaboration.
- Offering more programming & content on our platform that supports wellness in the new age of working.
Ideas take time to implement. What is one small step every individual, team or organization can take to get started on these ideas — to get well?
I’ll give you two! Start with buy-in from the top. Leadership drives change. Companies with senior leaders who participate in and enable wellbeing see 34% higher engagement in wellness programming. Secondly, begin with a short team challenge or event. It is important to launch with something that is inclusive of everyone at your organization.
What are your “Top 5 Trends To Track In the Future of Workplace Wellness?”
- Hyper Personalization.
Health and wellness are incredibly personal, and workplace wellness programs need to deliver content and programming that are relevant to each individual.
2. Machine Learning & AI.
Progressive wellness platforms will harness the power of machine learning to provide personalized experiences at scale through the integration of new data sources to power recommendation engines.
3. Expanded Integrations.
Employee wellness platforms will become the front door to a suite of employee benefits, from HRA and EAP integrations, to virtual health appointments and virtual pharmacies
4. Creating programs that are virtual and can be used for hybrid and remote workplaces, as well as in the office. Even companies that had strong cultures prior to the pandemic are struggling to rebuild a connected workforce. Wellness programming needs to be digital to reach all employees and to create a shared experience where everyone can engage and connect.
5. Proactive Healthcare.
The pandemic has highlighted the fragility of healthcare, while at the same time, the importance of health and wellbeing for individuals has grown stronger. Companies that will be looking for proactive solutions that show measurable results.
What is your greatest source of optimism about the future of workplace wellness?
Employers are realizing that their relationship with their employees is a partnership and are listening to what their employees need, becoming more agile and instituting change. With flexible hours, D&I programs, wellness programs and remote work policies, employers are revolutionizing faster than ever before.
Our readers often like to continue the conversation with our featured interviewees. How can they best connect with you and stay current on what you’re discovering?
Keep up with me on Linkedin
Thank you for sharing your insights and predictions. We appreciate the gift of your time and wish you continued success and wellness.