How to Create Cultural Wellness in the Workplace

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Culture is a hot topic in today’s workplace, and rightfully so. It’s what makes work enjoyable and helps us feel connected to the entity we work for. Establishing a company culture may seem daunting, but yours is sure to shine if you focus on helping employees feel valued. One way to exhibit this is to build a culture focused on wellness in the workplace. Once you’ve established cultural wellness in your office, you’re sure to see a healthy, efficient workforce emerge.

That said, cultural wellness won’t take shape overnight or simply because you invest in a workplace wellness program. Providing gym memberships, coordinating office-wide challenges or offering healthy vending machine options are great ideas, but they won’t establish wellness as a core company value on their own.

Follow these three guiding principles as you mold your company’s environment, and health and wellness will surely stand out.

3 Steps to Cultivating a Culture of Wellness in the Workplace

In order to weave wellness into the office environment, it must first be adopted as part of what the company stands for, its mission and how it treats employees at all times.

1. Adopt Health & Wellness as Corporate Values

When you clearly define and express wellness as a part of your company’s values, it will eventually emerge as a core component of the company. All levels must adopt and promote wellness in the workplace through actions both large and small. Whether it’s serving a fruit and veggie tray rather than doughnuts at the next meeting or organizing weekly lunchtime walks, all wellness-focused actions help set the tone for the workplace.

2. Focus on Individuals to Establish Cultural Wellness

Each employee brings their own approach, needs and personality to work. Showing an employee that their health and wellness matters by offering support in areas they care about can go a long way. For instance, offering gym memberships or fitness bands may be a great incentive for people who already implement activity into their days. But for those who aren’t necessarily ready to go all in with exercise, smoking cessation aids or meal-planning classes may be more in line with their current health goals.

3. Create Opportunities for Employees to Shine

Developing a well-rounded workplace culture requires that employees feel valued. Any opportunity a company has to help employees feel accomplished, proud and valued is a step toward establishing cultural wellness in the workplace. For many individuals, this means having a sense of autonomy, trust and meaning at work. Ask employees via surveys or during performance reviews how they feel about the company’s culture and what suggestions they might have to improve it. Taking advice from the people you’re trying to please is always a good idea!

Developing cultural wellness won’t be immediate, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Once you’ve clearly defined your company wellness goals, make it a priority to ensure company-wide adoption, focus on individuals and allow employees to shine. When employees come to work feeling valued and appreciated, you’ve truly achieved wellness in the workplace.

Have you had success implementing cultural wellness at your workplace? Tell us what techniques worked best for you in the comments!