All the Way to Wellness: Filling in the Gaps

All the Way to Wellness: Filling in the Gaps

As the corporate wellness industry comes of age several innovations are taking place. Workplace wellness no longer simply means offering generic fitness challenges and nutrition classes, with some mindful meditation mixed in. These programs are garnering an engagement rate of about 40%.

Workplace wellness has morphed into its own niche called Well-Being, the notion that each and every person who works for a company has a variety of wellness needs, not simply nutrition and fitness. Maybe they are stressed about finances. Maybe they are having trouble with a co-worker or boss. Maybe they've lost their passion for the job they've been doing for five years. Maybe they have a new manger who isn't really savvy about handling difficult situations. Maybe they are overweight and are pre-diabetic, causing them to miss work.

Whatever the case may be, in order for a person to be productive, they have to be healthy and happy. And in order for them to be healthy and happy, they have to be "well". And in order to get them well, they have to be engaged in wellness. Their boss has to be engaged in wellness, and upper management has to be engaged in wellness too.

So wellness has taken on a whole new meaning, a whole new shape and a whole new purpose: the whole person. Hence, the cultural shift from wellness to well-being. The first step is to create a culture of wellness. Creating a culture of wellness takes patience, planning and support from the top. The C-suite has to be on board for this culture shift to happen.

The second step is to customize the offering. It is not enough to offer generic nutrition education with a one-size-fits-all weight loss program. When people are trying to make major life changes, like the way they eat, they need support, especially at the beginning. Furthermore, the programs have to be innovative and fun.

Third, the inspiration for change does not come about from a simple rewards program. That is not to say that rewards programs don't have a place in the puzzle. They do. But they simply get people in the door. Motivation has to become intrinsic for the changes to stick.

I will be discussing the latest wellness trends at HR West 17, taking place March 6th - 8th at the Oakland Convention Center. Join me in the discussion about how to get buy-in from the top and then how to strategize an engaging well-being program on Monday, March 6th at 10:45 am at my breakout entitled, "All the Way to Wellness: Filling in the Gaps".

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Janice Litvin can be reached at Janice@JaniceLitvin.com, at Twitter:@JLitvin or on Linkedin.