The WellRight Blog

Physical health has long been a primary focus of many workplace wellness programs, in part because of how easy it is to translate into measurable wellbeing initiatives. 

While these efforts are effective in improving or maintaining diet, exercise, and sleep, true wellbeing involves a complex web of factors that evolve over time—none the least of which are mental and emotional health.

Today’s employees understand this on a deep level, which is why over 80% agree their employers have a responsibility to help them manage their mental wellbeing, according to a report from Goldman Sachs. While the same report found that 95% of corporate partners do offer mental healthcare, this doesn’t always include assistance for unique emotional conditions.

But what exactly is the difference between mental and emotional health, and how can employers effectively address both in the workplace?

A healthy heart is one of the key components of overall health and wellbeing—but year after year, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

And while cardiovascular disease can refer to a broad umbrella of conditions, the most prevalent is coronary artery disease, which impacts roughly 1 in 20 working adults and poses one of the greatest risks to a heart attack.

Beyond the serious health effects of heart disease, it can also be incredibly expensive for both employees and employers to treat and cover. The most recent data from the American Heart Association shows cardiovascular disease costs the U.S. nearly $318 billion per year in medical expenses, and up to $237 billion per year in lost productivity.

Improving and maintaining heart health is vital to overall employee wellbeing and organizational success, yet over half of working adults skip routine checkups and forgo common health screenings. So how can leaders encourage preventive care action and support their employees’ long-term health?

The mornings are cool and dewy, the leaves are changing colors, and the smell of mulled apple cider is in the air. It’s officially fall!

That means it’s time to visit pumpkin patches and stock up on cozy sweaters. But between the annual flu season and the upcoming holidays, fall is also the perfect time to refocus on the health and wellbeing of your workforce while morale and engagement are high.

With nearly 67% of employees still experiencing increased levels of negative stress and social disconnection at work, fall is the perfect time of year to organize sustainable and relevant wellness activities that address their unique needs and put their wellbeing first. And by taking a holistic approach that covers all dimensions of wellbeing—physical, emotional, financial, occupational, social, and purpose—you can keep your workforce happy, healthy, and motivated all season long. 

As open enrollment season approaches, HR and wellness administrators are faced with the critical task of ensuring their workforces are well-informed about benefits.

But this basic awareness is only the first step in the cycle of benefits education that should persist year-round. 

Following (and preceding) open enrollment, administrators are undoubtedly busy preparing and evaluating their benefits programs. This review process is crucial to ensuring that enough high-quality resources are sourced to meet employee needs and wants, but also that they’re sufficiently competitive in an increasingly high-stakes labor market. 

However, it’s not always the benefits that need to be reevaluated—sometimes, it’s the way they’re communicated.

During the height of the pandemic, when many companies were forced to shift to remote working arrangements, there were countless studies published about the impacts of social isolation—whether on productivity, company culture, or individuals themselves. 

But even after “social distancing” left the vernacular and organizations returned to the office or created remote and hybrid models, employees are still dealing with a loneliness epidemic. According to the American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) 2023 Work in America Survey, over a quarter of all employees still report intense feelings of social disconnection or isolation from colleagues in the workplace.

Of course, this degree of social isolation at work wasn’t always the case. So what changed, and why have social ties become more crucial than ever before, especially as we head into the highly-anticipated fall season?

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Showing up is half the battle,” particularly as it applies to job attendance. Ingrained into workplace culture is the idea that perfect attendance demonstrates commitment and loyalty—even if it comes at the cost of physical or mental wellbeing. 

According to a recent Zippia report compiling PTO usage data across a variety of industries, 84% of members with allotted PTO say they still go into work sick, exacerbating preventable conditions. It’s clear that presenteeism—or feeling pressure to show up to work despite feeling ill—is still rampant among today’s workers. But, given rising concerns around mental and physical ailments impacting engagement and performance, administrators are starting to prioritize their populations’ wellbeing over perfect attendance.

As more signs and symptoms are brought to the forefront, it’s up to benefits providers to find holistic, centralized wellness platforms for clients who are focused on creating an accessible hub for benefits and communication to boost their members’ total wellbeing.

August 26th is National Women’s Equality Day—a day commemorating the heroic fight for women’s voting rights in the United States. While the roots of this national observance stem from the 19th Amendment and the tireless work of the Women’s Suffrage Movement, today, it serves as an important opportunity to reflect on past and present issues in gender equality.

As we celebrate Women’s Equality Day this year, we want to spotlight the ongoing fight for equal rights and highlight three extraordinary female leaders from WellRight who persevere and inspire future generations of women. 

Ask any parent and they’ll say the same thing; as amazing and rewarding as it is to have children, parenting is messy, stressful work. But it’s also not their only form of work, given that in 65% of U.S. families, both parents are employed—whether it’s out of necessity or passion for what they do.

Between childrearing and working, parents are often left with little time for themselves, especially when kids head back to school in the fall. And while this lack of personal time can lead to exhaustion at home and in the office, it’s not the only thing causing parental burnout.

Everybody needs a purpose in life—in fact, it’s a crucial part of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, driving self-actualization through the fulfillment of one’s potential. Whether it’s personal or professional, this sense of meaning has an enormous impact on one’s actions, behavior, feelings, and overall wellbeing. 

In the context of work, a fulfilling career can have a positive impact on key metrics like productivity, satisfaction, and retention. That’s why nearly 80% of business leaders agree that purpose is essential to organizational success—however, only 34% of these same leaders have actually embedded their organization’s purpose and values into its decision-making architecture. 

August is National Wellness Month—and with summer in full swing, there’s no better time to prioritize leading a healthy lifestyle.