A recent Workscore survey of 12,500 Australian employees across multiple industries revealed the following:
- When a workplace cares about their wellbeing, 78% of people feel engaged at work, and 54% reported higher energy levels.
- By contrast, when an employee doesn’t prioritise wellness, only 38% feel engaged and 26% experience high energy.
How do you engage employees in a wellness program?
The growing interest in employee wellness and its myriad associated benefits has resulted in more workplaces investing time and money in formal wellness programs.Wellness apps are playing an increasing role in supporting individual health and fitness. With most people carrying smartphones around, mobile apps are a great way to encourage employees to become more engaged in their own wellness for better health and job performance.For employers, they offer:- Lower cost As most wellness apps are free or low-cost, they won’t blow your budget.
- Ease A simple, intuitive app is likely to be used regularly and encourage new, healthy behaviors.
- Biometric technology Smartphones and smartwatches now include functional, easy-to-use features for monitoring the user’s health vitals; such as step count, heart rate, and even their stress levels.
Maximising wellness app adoption
Half the challenge can be getting your employees to embrace wellness apps, and use them consistently enough to make a difference to their lives. Ways to do this include:- Purchasing a company-wide app license or access code, so that employees can download and use the app free of charge.
- Promoting the app widely across the business, for example, via company-wide emails, flyers, posters, intranet, and staff communication forums and groups.
- Scheduling regular wellness events, such as lunchtime walking or jogging groups.
- Using leader boards, scorecards and special prizes to share and reward people’s progress, and incentivise them to build on their efforts.
- Integrating employee surveys to gather feedback and find ways to further improve your use of such apps.