The health of your business (i.e., its ongoing success) directly corresponds to the health of your employees. Without a motivated, productive, and happy workforce driving your operations forward, it is nearly impossible for any business to succeed. Conversely, when employees are consistently overwhelmed, stressed and unmotivated, high turnover, low retention, and profit stagnation become the norm.
So what does it take to ensure a happy, healthy workforce that is motivated to help your business succeed? In short, it requires making the physical and financial health of your employees a top priority for your business. Here’s why.
Why Employee Physical Health Matters
In a world where the future of healthcare is uncertain at best, offering your employees (and their families) comprehensive healthcare benefits with the best coverage possible accomplishes two things.
#1. It attracts top talent
#2. Safeguards the physical health of your employees
Healthcare is expensive and getting more so every year. And, with the ACA influx, individuals are looking for the best, most affordable ways to get the coverage they need for themselves and their families. In short, businesses can no longer afford to not offer group health insurance that offers full medical, dental, vision, disability, and more.
Why Employee Wellness Matters
While healthcare plans can do a lot to attract top-level talent to work for you, even the best health insurance plans don’t address the day-to-day well-being of your employees. Solely offering a great health benefits package isn’t enough anymore.
While corporate wellness programs are nothing new, the traditional approach won’t cut it these days either. You as a business – and the people who lead it – must actively WANT your employees to be healthier. In order for real changes in behavior to occur, truly caring for the well-being of your employees has to emanate from your leadership down. It must be culture-wide. This encourages employees to make changes in their personal lives, making them healthier and happier, in your workplace, in turn, healthier and happier as well.
An integrated employee wellness program – one that includes great health benefits in addition to company-wide wellness initiatives – works best. Some effective strategies might include:
- Stress management (meditation, yoga, massage)
- Health incentives (FitBit challenges, biometric screenings, 5Ks)
- Making it a social event (exercising as a team)
- Nutrition (bringing in a nutritionist, healthy food potluck)
Again, in order to affect real change in behavior, employee wellness must be integrated into your workplace’s culture and implemented by your leadership throughout the whole of the company.
Why Employee Financial Health Matters
More and more companies are now offering financial health programs to their employees for a simple yet powerful reason: financial stability plays a huge role in employee health and happiness. According to a 2016 Employee Financial Wellness Survey, finances cause the most stress for workers, which impacts their health, relationships, and productivity.
And while a 401k and retirement planning are beneficial, a true financial health program goes deeper, helping employees to identify and achieve their financial goals. A successful financial health program could include:
- Financial health assessments and education
- Debt reduction coaching
- Personal budgeting planning
It’s time to face the facts: the financial health of your employees directly impacts their entire well-being. This is an area where you CAN make a difference and contribute to making your employees healthier and happier.
Ensuring The Health Of Your Business By Improving Workplace Health
When you as a company promote physical, emotional, and financial health within your workplace culture, you make your business as a whole that much healthier. Healthier, happier employees translates into people who are motivated and passionate to work for you and help you achieve whatever goals you have set out for your business.
Fun fact: all of this is a lot more affordable for a small business than you realize. If you’re a small to midsize business and you’re ready to talk about group health benefits, employee wellness, and financial health for your workforce, contact Sunflower Benefits Group today. Agent Connie Jabara is ready to show you how a dynamic benefits package that encompasses all of these crucial elements of employee and workplace health will help your business soar. Contact us today for a free benefits evaluation!