Having moved beyond compliance, few companies have implemented the best practices in health and wellness management globally to prevent work-related stress and illness for their onsite employees. The organisations have also started to provide regular communication that encourages employee safety and well-being.
All-round steps are being taken by the employers that include employees’ family outreach, an overarching health and wellness strategy is largely accepted. Some of the initiatives include inviting family members to participate in various programmes and activities organised by the companies; focusing communication to reach/involve family members, and redesigning employee assistance programmes to better address emotional and financial wellbeing for employees and dependents.
IBM and Google have set an example by endorsing employee wellness at the workplace. It’s no secret that both have been one of the best companies to work for in recent years. The big giants have set new standards for an employee wellness culture that has left other companies scrambling to compete with.
IBM’s employee incentives
The vision of IBM revolves around the safety and overall health of their employee. IBM says it has spent more than $130 million on wellness since 2004.
To encourage employee participation in wellness programs and to facilitate long-term adoption of healthy behaviors, company provides employee incentives for participation through its Healthy Living Rebate programs. IBM has awarded more than 600,000 rebates for engagement in Preventive Care, Physical Activity-Nutrition, Children’s Health, and Smoking Cessation programs. There's even a rebate for taking part in a program to help employees' children lead healthy lifestyles and maintain a healthy weight.
Employee’s attraction
A web-based platform is a locus for employee engagement in health improvement, providing access to flexible, behavior-based programming that accomplishes the following:
-helps employees determine their readiness for specific lifestyle changes (based on Prochaska’s research on stages of change and behavior change techniques)
-promotes resources to take action toward health goals based on the individual stage of change
- provides access to online communities and teams that provide social support and
- allows users to monitor and evaluate progress against their personal wellness vision
Google’s employee wellness
Employee wellness at Google has got the world talking about workplace wellness. The behemoth that is Google is surely a class above the rest, and we can learn a lot from its employee wellness example.
Google’s campus offers an all-encompassing wellness program featuring onsite healthcare services, including physician, chiropractic, physical therapy, and massage services, as well as access to fitness centres, classes, and community bikes.
Company’s focus
Google focuses on the triad of health, happiness, and life balance for its employees. The wellness program inculcates a joyful feeling among the employees and allows them to make their work enjoyable and creative.
Google’s wellness USP
The wellness program of the company teaches lessons on what makes employees health and happiness, which helps to build a unique work environment. Overall, the wellness initiatives of the company have lasting benefits.