World Health Day – Workplace Wellbeing the need of hour

By Sidhharrth S Kumaar

“The journey of wealth passes through the health” and the current pandemic infused this self-realization among each one to make preventive health and wellbeing first priority in life which was lost in recent time. 

With this buzzing trend in all around our life, has also shaken the corporate world and every senior position holder in the corporate world is paying attention to workplace wellness. 

The trend is due to the rising number of health problems that employees are experiencing due to an unpleasant working environment and tight deadlines.

Workplace issues can negatively impact the employees’ mental, physical, and emotional state and, if not addressed promptly, can lead to life-threatening situations. 

Employee productivity is the bottom line of every organization. And employee health is frequently a stumbling impediment to their productivity.

As a result, fostering workplace wellness has become a worldwide focus. Employers may find that enrolling in a wellness program is a worthwhile investment in quickly resolving difficulties.

It is very important to be able to predict these well in advance and mitigate the challenges by adopting a healthy workstyle.

What is Workplace Wellness?

Workplace wellness is a collaborative effort of businesses, employees, and society to promote the person’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being. It can be a group activity that includes events such as health coaching, exercise programs, employee wellness initiatives, etc.

Importance

A dissatisfied, unhealthy employee will produce poor results, directly impacting your company’s outputs. Employee health has an impact on more than just medical costs. Having a wellness culture in a workplace cannot be overstated. A productive workforce is healthy. Creating a culture that promotes employee wellness reduces job turnover, work satisfaction, stress management, and absenteeism, among other things. It also saves money by lowering the amount spent on employee disease prevention.

One way to take advantage of the wellness culture of your company is to offer employee wellness initiatives. A healthy workplace is a work-life balance, health and safety, employee growth and development, employee appreciation, and employee involvement. As a result, it is important to think about all aspects of wellness while creating wellness programs.

Advantages1. Reduced Health Risks:

A prolonged time of inactivity is usually detrimental to a person’s lifestyle. Some jobs demand people to sit for lengthy periods, harming their health and well-being. Staff wellness initiatives monitor employee health regularly.
Biometric checks, health initiatives, and sweepstakes can all help. It assists in the early detection of high-risk diseases, allowing your personnel to remain agile and energetic at work.

2. Health-Care Cost-Cutting:

The rising expense of health care has everyone worried. Employers are now participating in wellness programs that reduce health expenditures. Employees who actively participated in such programs lived healthier lives than they had previously. Medical bills and checkups decreased, resulting in a significant reduction in personal healthcare costs.

3. Employee Engagement at a Higher Level:

A workplace wellness program can work as a spur for all employees to participate actively. It comprises various walkathons, sporting activities, health fairs, and weight-loss challenges, providing a holistic approach to living a healthy lifestyle. It empowers employees and aids in forming a solid tie with the company.4. Stress and Depression are Lessened:
Workplace burnout might lead to job turnover from time to time. Deadlines that are not met or deals that do not go through can lead to despair, which can be fatal. 

Workplace wellness initiatives, such as meditation, yoga, or one-on-one sessions with a health coach, can assist employees in de-stress and have a good impact on their mental health.

5. Less Absenteeism:
Employees who participate in wellness initiatives are less likely to develop health problems. It helps you focus and be more effective at work. It lowers the rate of employee absences, which directly impacts your company’s success.

Ways to Promote Wellness in the Workplace

1. Being Proactive & Listening to Silence 
Most often one can relate to problem based on symptoms being witnessed by an individual. 

In workplace wellbeing, many things are like silent killers and symptoms may not appear too early. 
Leveraging the beautiful gift of nature i.e., occult sciences such as astrology and numerology with common business sense help workplace in listening to the silences of employees and being proactive in their wellness and wellbeing initiatives2.

Promoting Healthy Lifestyle
This is high time for employers to incentivize healthy lifestyle where one is able to take care of physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing. 

A personalized yoga and meditation led programs customized based on date of birth and name of person infuse positivity and enhances productivity 

3. Travel by Bicycle:

Cycling appears to be good for both your health and the environment. It improves endurance and reduces the number of pollutants produced by automobiles.

Employees that reside near the company can choose to travel by bicycle. Employers can also host mini-cycling activities to support the cause of good health.

4. Health-Related Applications:

Thanks to technological advancements, curing health problems has become a simple matter of a few clicks. Corporate health apps have become a better option.

For instance, Vantage Fit is a health and wellness software that meets all criteria for a pleasant and intuitive user experience. It includes advanced features such as real-time performance tracking. 

5. Stressing the Importance of Flexibility:
Working a 9 to 5 job five days a week may appear challenging. Working from home is now a possibility thanks to advancements in technology. People can now work from anywhere in the world, at their convenience.

6. Take the Stairs:
Limiting the usage of the elevator has substantial health benefits. It aids in the burning of calories and the strengthening of your joints and muscles.
Employers may encourage their employees to use the stairs at least once. It will aid in the development of physical activity among your tired staff.

7. Employee Communication:

A healthy workplace requires effective communication. Employee morale will enhance if you create an environment that encourages employees to talk about their difficulties and ideas. Proper workplace feedback sessions will improve communication and align your employees to share the goals and values of the company.

Conclusion

Every penny invested in workplace wellbeing, leads to at least 10X in gain by virtue of enhanced employee productivity and engaged workforce, The pandemic affected everyone, but your employees are particularly vulnerable. Employees are sticking to their work-from-home schedules, causing many health issues. In the face of work stress, depression, obesity, and even fatal disorders like heart attacks and cancer, creating a culture that fosters health planning has become necessary. 

(The author, Sidhharrth S Kumaar is Founder of NumroVani, and Astro Numerologist, Spiritual Business & Personalized Wellness Coach. He is a renowned name in Astro numerology. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Financial Express Online.)