Building a Workplace Culture around Wellness – Your 3 Step Guide

While many organizations and employees have embraced the remote work lifestyle, just as many are headed back to the office for community, collaboration, or just an excuse to leave their house. As employees ease into a new normal, organizations have an opportunity to rebuild their in-office culture around wellness and help workers make their health a priority. After two years of delayed care, this move is long overdue.

From onsite fitness classes and massage services to prescription refills at the dedicated pharmacy, here is your three step guide to building a corporate culture around wellness.

1. Make Return-to-Work a Fresh Start

Many employees see returning to the office as a loss of flexibility – but that doesn’t have to be the case. Instead of telling teams how and when to work, allow them to re-structure their week and find a balance that fits their lifestyle. To incentivize employees back onsite, focus instead on providing value to them through onsite or nearsite health and wellness benefits.

After a 40-hour work week, finding time to go to the gym or see your physician can be tough. Instead of asking employees to work wellness in around their day job, flip the script and make wellness the priority. Focusing on mental and physical health will not only minimize the effects of delayed care – and therefore your healthcare costs – but also refocus your company culture on what truly matters: people.

2. Offer Workplace Wellness Programs that Meet Your People’s Needs

Every employee has a unique reason for why they’re returning to the office and certain expectations about what benefits you should offer. Whether through surveys or listening tours, make sure that what you’re offering is attractive to your unique population and is additive to their work day. For example:

• • Offer onsite fitness classes or massage services and allow employees the flexibility to join them during lunch breaks or other downtime
  • Recommend that employees see their onsite provider for routine checkups or fill prescriptions with the onsite pharmacist on days they’re in office
  • Provide onsite mental health counseling for employees who need support during the week

Additionally, don’t rely on breakroom encounters to re-create connections and spur collaboration. Consider starting a run club after work to bring together like-minded individuals, offering step challenges to get people moving, or giving out prizes to team members that engage with your new benefits. Rebuilding these workplace relationships is a great way to boost engagement and motivate employees to return to the office more often.

3. Communicate Your Return-to-Work Policies and Benefits

As with all benefits offerings, on campus perks don’t work if people don’t use them. In order to re-engage your workforce and drum up excitement around your onsite offerings, leverage your communication channels to their fullest extent. Whether that means sending targeted email blasts, cascading information through your people leaders, or posting signs around the building, make sure to meet your people where they are.

Returning to the office is a complex process and every employee has their own needs and expectations after two years of remote work. By leveraging onsite and nearsite wellness programs, organizations can truly meet the needs of their employees and insight renewed enthusiasm and motivation in their population.

Interested in offering onsite and nearsite health solutions to your population? Contact us today to learn more.