Wellness Program
Employee Wellness Programs Help to Foster Retention and Wellbeing in the Workplace
J
P
MGMT 351
Abstract
Amid the stress and tension most employees face on a daily basis in the workplace, wellness programs are setup to help alleviate the health risks brought on by prolonged stress. Along with the health benefits of wellness programs, they also maintain employee retention and job satisfaction. From the research, wellness programs have grown considerably since the 1980’s. Even though wellness programs are a direct cost to the employer, the positive benefits that they produce are a great return on investment for the business as a whole. Further research also suggest that even in this economic climate, businesses should not be focusing on the costs of time and money for these wellness programs but should be looking at them as an asset that will give their business a competitive advantage over others. Still some businesses revert to the conventional wisdom that employees in the workplace need to focus solely on work and nothing else, however this unfashionable way of thinking is steadily in decline. It is becoming the norm that large businesses are implementing employee wellness programs, as they recognize the lasting positive effects on the employee and the employer.
The concept of well-being
The Merriam-Webster dictionary (2012) defines well-being as “the state of being happy, healthy or prosperous”. What defines if a person is happy, healthy or prosperous? One could say that a happy person smiles a lot, says positive things or gives many hugs throughout the day. Healthy seems easy to discuss. If a person has good working body systems with no apparent diseases, then medical science could call them healthy. A number could define prosperous. If a person makes over a certain income per year, then they would be considered prosperous. Right? Actually, no. What defines happiness, health and prosperity is “all the things that are important to how we think
J
P
MGMT 351
Abstract
Amid the stress and tension most employees face on a daily basis in the workplace, wellness programs are setup to help alleviate the health risks brought on by prolonged stress. Along with the health benefits of wellness programs, they also maintain employee retention and job satisfaction. From the research, wellness programs have grown considerably since the 1980’s. Even though wellness programs are a direct cost to the employer, the positive benefits that they produce are a great return on investment for the business as a whole. Further research also suggest that even in this economic climate, businesses should not be focusing on the costs of time and money for these wellness programs but should be looking at them as an asset that will give their business a competitive advantage over others. Still some businesses revert to the conventional wisdom that employees in the workplace need to focus solely on work and nothing else, however this unfashionable way of thinking is steadily in decline. It is becoming the norm that large businesses are implementing employee wellness programs, as they recognize the lasting positive effects on the employee and the employer.
The concept of well-being
The Merriam-Webster dictionary (2012) defines well-being as “the state of being happy, healthy or prosperous”. What defines if a person is happy, healthy or prosperous? One could say that a happy person smiles a lot, says positive things or gives many hugs throughout the day. Healthy seems easy to discuss. If a person has good working body systems with no apparent diseases, then medical science could call them healthy. A number could define prosperous. If a person makes over a certain income per year, then they would be considered prosperous. Right? Actually, no. What defines happiness, health and prosperity is “all the things that are important to how we think
References: Baicker, Katherine, Cutler, David, & Song, Zirui. (2010). Workplace Wellness Programs Can Generate Savings Baun, William B., Berry, Leonard L., & Mirabito, Ann M. (2011). What’s the Hard Return on Employee Wellness Programs?: Interaction Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2012) Rath, T., & Harter, J Voit, Susan. (2001). Work-site health and fitness programs: Impact on the employee and employer Wright, T. A., & Bonett, D. G. (1992). The effect of turnover on work satisfaction and mental health: Support for a situational perspective Wright, T. A., & Bonett, D. G. (2007). Job satisfaction and psychological well-being as nonadditive predictors of workplace turnover Wright, Thomas A., & Huang, Ching-Chu. (2012). The Many Beneftis of Employee Well-Being in Organizational Research