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5 Key Messages to Gain Leadership Buy-in for Wellness 

03.25.21 09:47 AM By Motion Connected

Are you struggling to get leadership to see the true value of offering workplace wellness? If the last 12+ months have taught us anything, it’s that wellness programs have a strategic role to play within your organization. 


Today is a perfect opportunity to present the following, long-standing value propositions and make the business case for offering workplace wellness to employees. 


1.  Employees performance depends on it


You’re only as good as your people. The ongoing pandemic has highlighted the fact that organizations who remain focused on employee engagement, inclusiveness, and social connections, are more likely to overcome workplace challenges and form a productive workforce.

In fact:

  • Productivity improves by 20-25% in organizations with connected employees. (The McKinsey Global Institute)
  • High performing employees have three things in common: talent, high engagement, and 10+ years of service within the company (Gallup)
  • Employees who are engaged are 27% more likely to report “excellent” performance. (Gallup)
  • 57% of employees who said they were very stressed at work felt less productive and disengaged, while only 10% of low-stress employees reported feeling this way. (Tower Watson)

 

By focusing on a building a resilient culture – one that places an importance on supporting employee health and happiness- you will create a high-performing workforce that can overcome any obstacle.

2.  It connects an increasingly dispersed workforce

If your current, or previous program was focused on initiatives like biometric screenings, onsite workouts or lunch & learns, 2020 emphasized the importance of moving beyond in-person, to  more agile communication & virtual offerings. While lockdowns initially forced this dynamic upon organizations, the dispersed and flexible working environment is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

This means having an easy-to-use digital platform that can reach all employees wherever they may be will remain a top priority.

Wellness programs that are focused on virtual, non-location specific initiatives, allow employers to maintain a healthy culture and be more inclusive to the modern workforce.

3.  It addresses the mental health crisis

A light has been shone on the need for health awareness and prevention, especially for mental health.  More people are experiencing anxiety, depression symptoms and chronic stress, significantly increasing the demand for mental health services.

A recent study done by MHA (Mental Health America) sheds even more light on the matter:

·  9 in 10 employees report that their workplace stress affects their mental health

·  4 in 5 employees feel emotionally drained from their work, an early sign of burnout

·  3 in 5 employees are not receiving adequate support from supervisors to help manage stress

·  56% of employees spend time looking for a new position, compared to 40% of employees in 2018

Companies that don’t address these statistics head-on will continue to suffer. By implementing a corporate wellness program with a focus on whole-person wellbeing, you can improve employee mental health across your population.

4.  It is a worthwhile people-development investment

During challenging times maintaining cohesion is important. Like leadership training, wellness programs are a people-development strategy. Healthy employees stay at an organization.

 

A study by Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health shows that organizations with highly effective wellness programs report significantly lower voluntary attrition than do those whose programs have low effectiveness (9% vs. 15%).

Similarly, a client using Motion Connected found that employees that did not participate in their organization's wellness program had a 38% turnover rate versus the only 8% turnover for those who participated in the program.


SHRM also highlighted in their article that 45% of employees working at small to medium-size companies would stay at their jobs longer because of their employers’ wellness program. Further proving that wellness is a worthwhile investment for your people.

 

5.  It attracts desirable top talent

What is your organization doing to ensure you’re attracting top talent? Leverage wellness in your offerings and watch the change.


Today’s employees are looking for more. They want flexibility, good culture, generous benefits, and an organization that truly cares about them and their families.  An effective wellness program is a key component – if a prospective employee feels that their wellbeing is important to the employer, they are much more likely to view that organization as a great place to work.


In fact, an article in Benefit News showed that 87% of employees consider health and wellness packages when choosing an employer.

At the end of the day, a well-executed program creates a more resilient and healthy culture, engages your increasingly dispersed workforce, improves your employee mental health, reduces turnover and helps attract the top talent your business needs to grow and thrive. 


With all those organizational benefits, now is a great time to make a positive impact on the lives of those you employ.


Motion Connected

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