If there were any doubts that employee wellness was instrumental to an organization’s bottom line prior to COVID-19, it has now become evident that the way forward is to make employee wellness a priority for their financial success. If we are to recover quickly and rebuild the economy to pre COVID19 levels, organizations need to change the way they approached employee wellness.
Following this pandemic, every responsible organization should have a line item called employee wellness on its shareholders, board of directors and investor meeting agenda item post COVID19. I want to see this as an investor as it will give me confidence that the future of my investment is secure.
COVID19 has shown us more clearly than very that a company’s financial health is dependent on the wellness pf their employees. Employers should be held accountable to showcase the health and wellness of their employee as an expenditure in the future of their growth, innovation and success. Employee wellness is indeed the organization’s greatest asset.
The first warnings about COVID19 from the WHO stated that the virus was not as severe for those who had healthy immune systems. To have a healthy immune system, one needs to be living well. Thus, employees who are supported by their wellness plans at work will have a greater chance of maintaining a healthy immune system.
Millions of businesses and hundreds of countries closed their doors and borders to protect the health and well-being of employees and citizens, reminding us that the health of our economy is reliant on a healthy nation.
While organizations look for areas to cut back and save post COVID19, it is essential that they remember that without healthy employees their company’s future is insecure.
Training departments and leaders should be given the budget needed to provide their employees with the wellness supports needed to reduce their stress levels to secure their organization’s financial health. Maintaining a vibrant employee wellness program is clearly the gateway to a healthy organization post covid19.
In my conversations with organizational leaders and decision makers over the past month they are banking on employee wellness to boost their bottom line and grow our economy post COVID19. Let’s explore key reasons central in these discussions:
- Fast Pace Learning – The pace of learning necessary to understand this virus and its impact on humanity has accelerated. We have had to learn to do things differently very quickly. In less than sixty days we have learned to take our entire workforce online. We have had to learn to adapt to physical distancing orders and to forego many luxuries and pleasure we took for granted. In addition, we have had to learn a whole new way of being together and sharing resources with each other. We have become used to a new pace of learning technology and adapting our life that will continue post covid19. Healthy employees learn faster and retain more of what they’ve been taught allowing for the transfer of learning in the workplace faster and more accurately.
- Employee Engagement – Healthy employees are happier since employee engagement occurs where employees are happiest, organizations with healthy happy employees will see increased employee engagement. This means greater participation, commitment, better service and customer satisfaction, which will result in referrals and repeat business that will boost sales and boost the bottom line.
- Optimism – Healthy employees are more optimistic. There are the key health and wellness benefits to optimism that will be a part of the workplace culture. This will ensure that employees get along better with each other and with your customers. A robust wellness program with providing a safety net for employees and help them understand they are more than a number on a spreadsheet but rather they are an asset that is valued and well cared for by their organization.
- Innovation – Healthy employees are more creative and think better with more clarity and focus, this allowing them to bring a higher level of innovation to their workplace duties, responsibilities. This stimulates innovation in technology, meeting customer’s needs and in dealing with challenges their organization faces.
- Attract Top Talent – As the economy shifts, it’s important to attract the brightest and best talents on your team to help your organization scale faster. Organizations with a vibrant workplace wellness programs will be more attractive to those great talents who want a place with the environment that will allow them to do great work.
- Stronger Immunity – Health employees have a stronger immune system. This means they will have fewer sick time off work, will have fewer doctor’s visits, will make fewer health insurance claims, will have more time. They will also be less likely to have a major illness if when they get exposed to the covid19 virus.
- Resilience – Healthy happy employees will be more resilient. Employees with a vibrant workplace wellness program will feel safer at work. They will feel that they are more than a number and cared for by their employers. This will improve the mental and emotional resilience to weather the tough days ahead.
Whether you had a workplace wellness program or have been thinking about it, the time has come for employee wellness to become central to running our organization. If you have a program in place you will need to do more to make it more relevant to your employees and boost engagement. It is essential that it relates to their key needs and not just a way to collect corporate data. If your workplace hasn’t yet invested in the workplace wellness program, then it’s time to get things going. There are some very inexpensive workplace wellness strategies that we have helped our clients to adopt that are central to their employee resilience. If you are looking for a fast, inexpensive workplace wellness program to get your employees engaged and motivated then check out the QuickStart workplace wellness program. A comprehensive program that covers your leadership, management and employee wellness needs.