What Is Included in Corporate Wellness Programs?

Many organizations want happier, healthier, and more productive employees – they know on a certain level that a wellness program can help them achieve it.

But how do you know what to include in your program for the best success? A program should be data-driven and designed around your employees and your organization’s goals.

Whether you’re building a program from scratch or refining an existing strategy, this post breaks down everything you need to know, including must-have corporate wellness program components for the best results.

What Is a Workplace Wellness Program? 

A workplace wellness program is a structured plan to support employee well-being, productivity, and work-life balance.

Typically, wellness programs are run through vendors or external providers, delivered internally and through apps and other software.

A strong program includes a range of tools to encourage sustainable behavior change inside and outside of the workplace.

What Should a Wellness Program Include? 

The most effective wellness programs at work are holistic. They focus on everything from improving physical well-being through workouts and step challenges to supporting emotional and mental wellness with guided meditation sessions and workshops to support sleep and mindset.

We’ve broken down what should be included in more detail below.

• Physical Wellness 

Regular physical activity is often associated with better mental well-being, including improved mood and reduced stress. At a broader level, more active people are often linked with lower rates of certain health conditions and, in some settings, reduced healthcare utilization and costs.

Conversely, those who exercise regularly see many benefits for their mental and physical well-being. Regular exercise can improve mood and mental state, confidence, and body image, while reducing the risk of certain diseases, which can be costly (1).

Many workplace wellness programs include initiatives and activities such as pre-recorded or live workout classes held over Zoom. A mix of workouts that cater to all abilities should be included to allow all employees to participate.

Example sessions include a 15-minute Move Your Body session, a beginner bodyweight strength session, or an intermediate HIIT workout.

Physical exercise is one of the more obvious, but most beneficial components of any successful corporate wellness program. 

• Mental and Emotional Wellness 

In addition to physical interventions, a holistic well-being program should include mental and emotional well-being components.

For example, you can host stress management workshops and provide psychological safety training for managers.

In addition, many workplaces use dedicated mental wellness apps and sometimes offer direct access to therapists in a confidential setting (usually using a platform such as Zoom).

You can also deliver mindfulness and meditation sessions online or in person (these can also be pre-recorded).

An individual approach to the fitness, nutrition, and mental health of your employees, together with BetterMe employer support – you’ve got everything at your fingertips. What are you waiting for? Access all the benefits now!

• Preventive Wellness 

Preventive interventions may be beneficial for employees with increased risk factors for chronic disease.

Lifestyle management incentives commonly include nutrition and weight-loss activities and advice, in addition to smoking and drug cessation programs. Examples include weight-loss or step competitions, personalized phone support from coaches, and smoking cessation activities through educational programs and workshops, in addition to phone counseling (2). 

If you offer free health screening as part of your program, you can tailor your preventive wellness interventions much more accurately for the best results.

• Workplace Adjustments 

In addition to offering various workouts, guided meditations, and other benefits, workplace adjustments are easy to implement and typically only need to be done once:

• Ergonomic workstations (quality office chairs, standing desks)
• Flexible work hours
• A hybrid or work-from-home policy – 66% of employees said they are forced to work in offices despite their desires as workers (3)
• Inclusivity and accessibility 
• Lighting, noise, and environment adjustments

Read more: Thank You Wellness Week: A Complete Guide to Celebrating Your Team

What Makes a Good Workplace Wellness Program?

The best corporate wellness programs are tailor-made to the organization. While cookie-cutter programs may work, a bespoke program that is designed around your organization’s goals and needs (and employees’ needs and wants) will achieve better buy-in and be more likely to succeed.

Your program should also be accessible and inclusive to all employees. Whether an employee works in the office or at home, or even on a different continent, they should have access to the same perks and benefits.

Furthermore, you need support from management and leadership – employees need to feel they can make the most of their program, not that it was created just to tick another box.

Challenges of Workplace Programs 

For a well-being program to be effective, it can help to know common challenges many workplaces encounter when implementing a new program.

By identifying these before you create a program, you’re more likely to develop one that drives meaningful change.

Not Tailoring Your Program to Your Workplace

Workforces are diverse, and your wellness program needs to reflect this.

A successful program should reflect varying ages, abilities, health goals, cultural backgrounds, and roles. For example, frontline staff and knowledge workers have different needs. 

Knowledge workers may benefit from stress management workshops, burnout prevention training, and better access to mental health support.

Frontline workers may appreciate functional strength and conditioning, sleep hygiene workshops and training (particularly relevant for shift workers), and access to physiotherapy services.

If you don’t know what your employees need, ask them. You can do this by holding a meeting, asking for suggestions in an anonymous box, or by completing confidential employee surveys and questionnaires to address your employees’ needs, wants, and desires.

Poor Participation and Engagement 

When starting a new wellness program, you may notice poor participation and engagement.

This can be due to several reasons, but most notably a lack of relevance, poor communication, or inconvenient scheduling (such as an after-work fitness class rather than an online, anytime option). 

Ensure your plan and its activities are communicated effectively so employees know the opportunities that are available to them and can make the most of them.

Not Measuring Success

If you don’t track the outcomes, it’s impossible to know what’s working.

Corporate wellness software provides the tools to track participation and overall program engagement. You can use this to see which activities are popular (so you can do more of them) and identify what can be improved.

You can also find out directly from employees, through surveys or meetings, what they like or dislike, and what they’re looking for in a program to achieve better buy-in.

BetterMe provides members with tailored plans that are based on their unique physical, psychological, and lifestyle needs and health goals. Start using BetterMe corporate wellness solutions to transform your team and business!

How to Measure Workplace Wellness Program Success

Measuring the success of a workplace wellness program may not be as straightforward as you think. However, there are various metrics you can measure and track, including:

• Participation and engagement rates
• Employee satisfaction scores (surveys and interviews)
• Absenteeism data (particularly when compared to non-participants)
• Staff turnover and retention
• Productivity indicators

You can also measure program success on productivity gains. This is easier to measure for certain industries. However, one example is a laundry plant that introduced a wellness program. They measured productivity by the number of garments processed per hour (4).

You can record productivity similarly, such as the number of calls per hour, sales closed, or how long it takes to restock shelves.

While you shouldn’t rely exclusively on productivity measures, they can be a useful metric to consider alongside participation and engagement rates and employee satisfaction scores to get a broader view of how successful your employee wellness program is.

Read more: What Is Corporate Wellness Week?

Examples of Companies with Wellness Programs

Approximately 85% of large and 54% of small organizations provide some type of wellness program, with a further 9 out of 10 companies making wellness-related efforts to improve employee health and productivity at work (3).

Here are two health and wellness program examples from top companies:

• Google

The search conglomerate Google has a world-class benefits experience, with a strong focus on supporting physical, financial, and emotional well-being. Their program is data-driven and designed for employees and their families (5).

They provide employee assistance programs that are focused on mental well-being, with access to mental wellness apps and workplace accommodations for physical or mental health concerns. There are also on-site wellness centres and support programs for menopause and a medical advocacy program for transgender employees.

Google also has on-site fitness centres, free, nutritious food, mental well-being resources, confidential counseling, and much more.

• Nestle

The food and beverage company Nestlé provides employees with a variety of dedicated physical and mental well-being services (6).

They run an employee assistance program that provides support in various areas, including stress management, conflict resolution, mental well-being, financial issues, and family problems. Employees and their families can also access free and confidential counseling.

Nestle also provides free occupational health services, such as fitness assessments and confidential counseling, in addition to training on topics such as sleep, physical activity, and mental well-being, to equip employees with the essential knowledge to thrive at and outside of work. 

How Employees Can Get the Most out of Their Wellness Program 

Having a wellness program is one thing, but getting employees involved is another.

For some workers, even though a program is available, they may feel that they can’t use it to its full potential.

To combat this issue, let employees know what’s available to them and how they can use it.

Furthermore, there is clear evidence that for a program to be successful, senior managers and leadership need to consider wellness as an organizational priority (2). This is particularly important for large organizations and those with a dispersed workforce, whether geographically dispersed, remote, or using a hybrid model.

Leadership support is absolutely vital. 

The Bottom Line

The strongest corporate wellness programs combine physical, mental, and preventive support with practical workplace adjustments. They’re tailored to employee needs, backed by leadership, and measured consistently so the program actually delivers value.

Take the first step toward a more engaged, happier, and more productive workforce today and book a call with us.

We would love to find out more about your team and goals so we can build a program that works for you and your workforce.