We touched on why wellness intervention will benefit both your company and your employees, but lets narrow in on the journey taken to reach your destination. The journey taken is equivalent to the practices of corporate wellness, and we want to provide you with the BEST in order to achieve maximum benefit. Following are five of the best corporate wellness practices which help drive employee participation, leading to positive outcomes for the company and the employees:

• Health and Risk Assessments
• Incentive-Based Approach
• Technology
• Creating a Supportive Environment
• Gathering Management around Wellness Program

A Health and Risk Assessment is a 10-15 minute questionnaire which evaluates health habits, making employees more aware of their health and whether or not they need to make a change. While helping employees with self-awareness, Health and Risk Assessments also educates employers on the health of their employees, which in turn, helps navigate them through the implementation of wellness programs. According to a critical meta-analysis of the literature on costs and savings associated with wellness program implementation, “the most frequently used method of deliver is the health risk assessment,” with results showing “that medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent”

An incentive-based approach is shown to be a common and successful practice of corporate wellness implementation. An incentive system encourages employees to live a healthier lifestyle by offering rewards for completing certain tasks. According to safeway, “70% of healthcare costs are driven by behavior,”. An incentive-based approach changes behavior, implying that health care costs will drop if this approach is implemented.

Technology is everywhere and most people own at least one form. Technology is a great tool for communication, which is a huge component of wellness intervention. Having multiple platforms, like a website and a phone application, can help make intervention more attainable, therefore resulting in maximum benefit. At WhyFit, we provide employees and employers with a profile which is accessible via online or a phone application which can be accessed anywhere and everywhere. That means work outs, recipes, stress/meditation resources, and everything else we have to offer is available on-the-go for your convenience. Technology is revolutionizing corporate wellness practice!

Supportive environments play a vital role in achieving any health and wellness goal, but when in regard to a corporate wellness environment, getting the utmost support could truly be a make or break. Each employee and employer in the company is in this together, so having a work environment which supports health is essential. Ways to create a supportive environment include:

• Accessibility to healthy foods and drinks
• Healthy snacks
• Fruits
• Carrots and hummus
• Hard boiled eggs
• Nuts and seeds
• Healthy drinks
• Unsweetened iced tea
• Flavored waters
• Implementing fitness classes after-hours
• Having monthly check-ins

Finally, one of the best corporate wellness practices is educating the management on the importance of wellness implementation. Start at the top of the pyramid; if management finds implementation important, it will be continuously communicated to the employees which will emphasize the importance of wellness programs and how it could help benefit everyone in multiple ways.

At WhyFit, we aim to make corporate wellness as successful as we can for both employers and employees. By applying corporate wellness best practices, we will help improve health and wellness and create better and stronger work environment.