Investing in employee well-being has been shown to provide a significant ROI. When employees feel cared for, they are more productive, less stressed, loyal and have less absenteeism. So as an employer, how can you help your employees be their best selves?
The ROI of Healthy Employees
Employees spend much of their day at work making it a perfect place to put healthy behavior changes into action. In addition, employees often influence one another as they begin to incorporate healthy behavior changes into their day, creating a culture of wellness. Having a wellness program initiative like health coaching in place can translate to lower direct costs, such as insurance premiums and workers’ compensation claims as well as lower indirect costs as employees take fewer sick days and are more productive at work.
According to the CDC, 73% of small companies (3-199 employees) and 98% of larger companies (200 or more employees) offered at least one wellness program, such as health coaching, as part of their health benefits in 2014. Now is the time to take care of your employees to ensure not only a healthy culture but a more productive and successful company and workplace.
How Health Coaching Can Help
Providing employees with health risk assessments does not provide the tools or incentives to make permanent behavioral changes. Employees make greater strides when they have someone to educate and guide them with understanding health information and equip them to make healthier and lasting changes to their lifestyles.
Health coaches engage employees so they are more successful at making healthy behavior changes. Employees drive success by creating specific, measurable goals with their coach while the coach acts as their accountability partner.
Boost Productivity
Having a health coach to assist employees in creating a plan of action works to help them stay motivated. Productivity increases when employers encourage employees to talk about their problems. Engaging with a health coach about their well-being allows employees to become advocates for their own health. Encouragement from company leadership takes the guilt out of self-care for employees and motivates them to seek assistance when they need it, therefore increasing their productivity!
Reduce Stress
Increased levels of job stress have been demonstrated to be associated with increased rates of heart attack, hypertension, and other health issues. Health coaches work with employees to identify their sources of stress and create a plan of action to manage stress through the approach that works best for them making it a more personalized experience.
Enable Permanent Behavior Change
According to a Harvard Business Review article, in order to affect behavior change, it is recommended to focus on one behavior at a time, even though there may be multiple behaviors that need to be changed. Providing a health coach for employees provides accountability and allows them to work with their coach to identify, prioritize, and focus on unhealthy behaviors one at a time. This empowers employees to correct unhealthy behaviors and replace them with healthier ones that promote greater personal performance as well as work to boost company performance.
Learn more on how to empower your employees to perform their best by scheduling a complimentary consultation with Insight Wellness Works.
Insight Wellness Works is based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and has been serving employers in Tampa Bay and its surrounding cities since 2010. We have a team of credentialed wellness professionals offering a suite of workplace wellness services that focus on health promotion and disease prevention. We change lives and transform the culture of health in workplaces. Contact us today to discuss how we can help your business and employees achieve wellness goals.
