5 Steps to Building an Inclusive Employee Wellness Program

Whether you’ve completely adopted a culture of wellness in the workplace or are still brainstorming exactly how to implement an effective program, there are a few steps you can take to establish an inclusive employee wellness program.

Many offerings in an employee wellness program target high-risk employees — those suffering from conditions like obesity, diabetes and smoking addictions. And for good reason: In the US, about 18 percent of full-time employees suffer from chronic conditions, and those conditions cost employers money.

The Productivity Costs of High-Risk Employees

According to the CDC, full-time employees who are overweight or obese and suffer from other chronic health problems miss about 450 million more work days each year than their healthy co-workers. This results in an estimated $153 billion (billion) in lost productivity each year.

Even reducing the level of four common health risks — weight, blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol — by one percent has been shown to save $83 to $103 annually in medical costs per person.

Obviously, helping high-risk employees overcome unhealthy behaviors is a justified investment. But there are also substantial benefits to making wellness a companywide effort.

5 Steps to Building an Inclusive Employee Wellness Program

While one outcome of your corporate wellness program may be reduced healthcare and lost productivity costs, it should ultimately serve to promote employee wellbeing. At the end of the day, an inclusive employee wellness program will help to improve work/life satisfaction, physical health and mental outlook for all employees.

And this, in turn, means happier and healthier workers, increased productivity, lower absenteeism, and higher job retention. But focusing solely on high-risk employees can result in embarrassment, retaliation and undue pressure to meet a specific objective. The best corporate wellness programs include and motivate all employees to live healthier lives.

1. Promote Total Wellbeing

Rather than focusing solely on weight loss or diet, consider providing a list of wellness outcomes that support financial, emotional and social wellness in addition to diet and exercise. Encourage all employees to set wellness goals in multiple categories.

2. Establish a Company Wellness Committee

Enlisting a group of employees to lead the direction of workplace wellness activities can go a long way in ensuring the adoption of the program. This group should represent the diversity of your workforce and include employees who have disabilities or consult with a disability organization to ensure programs are developed with inclusivity in mind.

3. Ensure a Top-Down Commitment to Health

From C-level executives to committee leaders, everyone should use language that supports wellness at work. Inform all employees about wellness programs and incentives, and equip team leads to answer questions promptly and informatively.

4. Make Health a Part of The Work Environment

What message does it send if you encourage employees to improve their health, yet only offer vending machine snacks like chips and soda? Not a good one. Improve food and beverage choices at work, foster a collaborative work environment, and ensure all healthy options are accessible by employees who may use a wheelchair or have other disabilities.

5. Use Inclusive Health Messaging

Consider the needs of all employees as you develop marketing materials for inclusive employee wellness programs. Materials should include images of people with and without disabilities and use language like “moving meeting” rather than “walking meeting.” The National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) has developed an Inclusive Health Communication Scorecard to help you evaluate the language used across communications.

Adjusting your wellness program to be more inclusive is sure to pay dividends — in both employee productivity and job satisfaction.

Does your corporate wellness program measure up? Call us today to see how Cover-Tek can provide value to your workplace wellness program.