We cannot say that workplace wellness is a new concept. After all, organizations have recognized a long time ago just how important it is for them to ensure that their employees have access to some wellness programs and activities that can help improve their wellbeing. Yet, a lot of those programs have largely been associated with things like gym memberships, some fitness challenges, as well as annual health screenings and similar. In the simplest words possible, employers have been focusing mainly on physical health, believing that healthier workers are sure to naturally become more productive, more engaged, as well as more loyal.
Now, nobody is saying that physical health is not important. Quite on the contrary, physical wellness still remains quite significant, but the truth is that today’s workforce definitely expects, and can largely benefit from, far more comprehensive support. This means that the benefits of wellness programs in the workplace that go beyond the gym and beyond physical health in general, are rather vast. And it also means that employers are increasingly realizing that emotional and mental health support are critical for retention and for building a good workplace culture.
So, in short, we are experiencing a kind of a shift from those traditional wellness programs to some more modern ones – ones that take into account people’s mental health as well. Programs that take into account the person as a hole, instead of focusing simply on their physical fitness. And this kind of a shift can result in healthier employees, as well as, consequently, higher morale, improved engagement, stronger retention, and a more resilient workplace culture.
How and Why the Shift Occurred
Those traditional wellness programs, as you may have understood already, have mostly been centered around those physical health metrics. Thus, employers have been investing in gym reimbursement programs, smoking cessation plans, weight loss incentives, nutrition workshops, health screenings, fitness competitions and similar. We cannot deny the fact that these initiatives tent to be well-intentioned, as well as often quite beneficial.
But, what employers all over the world are realizing is that physical wellness alone cannot fully address those challenges that the employees tend to face in those modern work environments. In the simplest words possible, you can exercise and still struggle with issues such as chronic stress, anxiety, grief, financial pressure, loneliness, relationship problems, emotional exhaustion and similar. Thus, emotional and mental well-being have undeniably become central concerns nowadays for employers that are looking to offer something of value to their employees, and to, consequently, maintain engagement and retention.
Read more about mental health in the workplace in general: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-at-work
Turning Mental Health into a Workplace Priority
Having realized what we have been talking about above, employers have definitely also understood that mental health support has to become a workplace priority. This is why, nowadays, it is one of the most important components of those modern wellness strategies that go beyond physical health. After all, in a lot of workplaces, workers have to manage increasing levels of pressure from both their personal and their professional responsibilities. They are dealing with things like long work hours, financial uncertainty, as well as, for example, caregiving obligations, and a constant digital connectivity, all of which can create a lot of stress that is sure to affect both morale and performance.
So, companies have found a way to respond to this, expanding their workplace wellness strategies to include mental health initiatives. We are talking counselling services, stress management training, flexible scheduling, burnout prevention programs, mindfulness resources, manager mental health training, as well as peer support systems. In short, a lot of companies are turning mental health into a workplace priority.
At the same time, though, they are discovering that simply offering the resources is often not enough. A lot of those resources tend to go unused. And employees often need support that feels more accessible, more relational, as well as more genuinely integrated into the workplace culture, which is where workplace chaplaincy programs and similar on-site support models come into play as an amazing solution. A solution that wins where traditional wellness benefits often fail. Find out more about workplace chaplaincy.
The Rise of Presence-Based Support
Now, since employers are realizing that they need to offer more than just those resources that are often mentioned in the onboarding stage, only to be forgotten about later one, they have started taking advantage of something different. In short, they have started moving towards more personalized and more relationship-based support systems. Thus, instead of waiting for employees to ask for help during a crisis, companies are actually implementing some more proactive wellness models that put emphasis on regular human interaction and connection, as well as ongoing care. Those kinds of approaches, such as workplace chaplaincy, focus on building trust and on making support feel not only more visible, but also more approachable.
Why This Is Important for Retention
How can this focus on mental health and on those presence-based support models help with retention, though? If you are an employer, there is no doubt that you are wondering about this. Because, after all, you do care about the wellbeing of your workers, but you want to understand how offering those kinds of programs, such as workplace chaplaincy, can actually be important for your organization as a whole, and that is completely normal.
Retention has, without a doubt, become one of the strongest business arguments for these kinds of holistic wellness investments. Nowadays, when deciding whether to stay with an employer or move on, workers definitely increasingly prioritize workplace culture, as well as emotional wellbeing. Sure, the salary and the benefits still matter significantly, but a lot of workers are also placing equal, if not even higher, importance on psychological wellbeing, support, empaths and similar.
If you ignore this, you are likely to experience high turnover rates, reduced morale, lower productivity, increased absenteeism, as well as recruitment challenges. On the other hand, if you work on actively supporting your employees’ wellbeing through those presence-based programs, you will foster stronger engagement, as well as loyalty. In the end, those workers that feel valued and cared for are more likely to stay within an organization.
