Workers are constantly stressed. This is no secret. The demands of a person’s private life coupled with work demands has created the perfect recipe for workers who are constantly stressed out. While some amount of work-related stress is normal in most people’s lives, throwing everything into the mix can make for unhealthy stress levels.
In a 2006 study, the American Institute Of Stress found that 46% of work-related stress was due to workload, 28% of people mentioned “people issues” as the reason why they were stressed out and 20% of people had a difficult time balancing work and their private lives.
Needless to say, stress is an endemic problem that is not just up to employees to solve.
It’s time for employers to have a hand in helping everyone reduce their stress levels. As an employer, could your workplace wellness program cut down on the stress your workers feel?
In this post, we’ll talk about how your company can use a well-designed wellness program to reduce work-related stress.
Use technology to your advantage
If your employees are worried about their health, it is natural that work can add to that stress and make them less productive. We live in an era where anybody can take a Health Risk Assessment test in the comfort of their home and with a few clicks of a button or mouse.
If your employees complete a Health Risk Assessment as part of your wellness program, they will identify problem health areas.
A health risk assessment will also provide your employees with the steps they need to take in order to reduce their risk or get rid of that health problem altogether.
Using a comprehensive wellness portal will not only provide your employees with health risk assessment results that they can take care of, it will also help them keep track of their progress as they make those healthy lifestyle changes.
An employee who is empowered to take control of their own healthcare is a confident employee. And confident employees are more likely to produce at a high level at work.
Company-wide exercise programs
Exercise is beneficial to both the mind and body. While many of your employees may already have an exercise regimen they stick to, a company-wide exercise program with incentives may help the less active people sold on exercise.
Ideas you can incorporate into a company-wide exercise program include:
- As mentioned above, financial incentives for taking part in such a program
- Incorporate exercise into what your employees already do. Research has shown that people are more likely to adopt good habits if they combine it with something they already do. So could these exercises be incorporated into their work-day? For instance, a 30-minute break where people can do stretches on the company roof (and if you don’t have a roof, your office space could work well too!)
- If your company can partner with manufacturers of wearable exercise trackers, this could be a way to encourage more employees to get started exercising.
Incorporate mental health resources into your wellness plan
Does your wellness program emphasize mental health? This is an area that is easily glossed over when companies are designing employee wellness programs.
Don’t overlook it. Since stress falls into the domain of mental health, this is an excellent item to add to your wellness program.
- An on-site mental health counselor or psychologist is great if your company can afford it.
- Managers who have an open-door policy and who are willing to talk about work-related issues that may be causing employee stress are helpful here too.
- Letting employees know the mental health resources available to them through avenues like their health insurance and the community is helpful here as well.
- Providing a safe space where employees feel heard is another way to incorporate mental health into your wellness program.
Value what your employees value
Now this may sound like an upside down idea. But here is what we mean. In a recent survey, millennials stated that they valued work-life balance even above other incentives like paid vacation time.
Thus, if you have more millennials working in your company, it would be in your best interest not to fight that shared tendency; and to find out how you can make this work for your company.
Valuing your employee’s and making it work for your company will produce workers who are less stressed and happy to work hard.
