The WellRight Blog

Wellness is more than a single blood pressure reading or the number of miles we logged last week on our Fitbit. Instead, wellness is a complex connection of systems, with each one affecting the next.

Because of this, companies who take a siloed approach to employee wellness, focusing solely on nutrition or fitness, do themselves—and their employees—a huge disservice.

But imagine what could be accomplished when an employer helps their employees not just eat well and better manage health conditions, but also plan for retirement or college, teach stress management and coping strategies, and develop social groups to keep employees feeling connected.

Impact. Selflessness. Courage. Responsibility.

When Netflix wrote and published the 126-slide deck “Netflix Culture,” it used these words, among others, to clearly describe to employees the behaviors and attributes the company deemed important for success.

Many other companies don’t put anywhere near that amount of thought into their culture … if they put any thought into it at all.

But optimizing your company culture can be one of the most powerful ways to improve not just the wellness of your employees, but the wellness of your company as a whole. 

We live in an age of research. People research purchases big and small, vacation spots, and even potential romantic partners, all from their devices or laptops.

It’s that Sunday-evening feeling of sickening dread. It’s knowing that no matter what you do at work, it’ll never be enough. It’s taking a day off, only to end up fielding work calls and emails all day long.

“Burned out,” like “depressed,” is a term that is often casually thrown around. And like depression, trueburnout—a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion—can be surprisingly common and completely debilitating.

Employee engagement is a term that all managers will hear (and use) at some point in their careers. After all, what manager wouldn’t want their employees to be engaged in their work? But beyond that superficial appeal, employee engagement can be the key to your company’s success.

What is employee engagement, really? Why is it so important? And above all, how can managers spark deep engagement in their own teams?

Imagine being in a high-pressure profession in which you’re encouraged to put other people’s well-being above your own, are required to have a near-perfect success rate, and any mistakes you make could literally kill someone. And if the stress gets to be too much, you’re expected to push it aside and get on with your day.

This experience is the reality for many physicians.

Taking care of ourselves during the busy holiday season is frequently overshadowed by decorating the house, baking sweets and treats, selecting the perfect gifts, attending party after party, and taking the perfect holiday card photo.

But if we don’t take the time and effort to care for our overall wellness, we may not be able to enjoy the season. So, where do we start?

There’s a commonly held belief that married couples often end up resembling each other as they age. As it turns out, this may be true. Researchers who have studied married couples report spouses’ similar facial features are due to the decades of emotions they’ve shared.

But facial features aren’t the only things we share with those we are close to.

We often take on the attitudes, behaviors, and emotions of the people we surround ourselves with in both our personal and professional lives—and this can have a profound effect on our health and wellness.

Every company deserves to reap the benefits of having a wellness program that produces happier, healthier, more engaged employees. But many of these companies may be shying away from implementing a wellness program, thinking that costly wellness incentives are the only way for a program to be successful. After all, employees aren’t going to participate unless they’re getting impressive rewards in return, right?

Think again.

As it turns out, it’s possible to have a wellness program with exciting, sought-after incentives that don’t break the bank.

Heart disease. Prescription drug and alcohol abuse. Smoking. Not only are these on the CDC’s top 10 list of public health concerns, they’re also top-of-mind issues for employers, too.

After all, employers shoulder much of the financial and business costs for the employees and family members affected by these health issues. And yet, employers are also in a position of great influence over these problems.

What better opportunity to foster a healthier population than by focusing on where adults spend most of their waking hours: the workplace?