Changing the workplace health habits of employees is key to their wellbeing, engagement and morale and will in turn help employers to achieve sustainable business success.
That is according to the findings of a report into workplace health and wellness conducted by the Global Corporate Challenge (GCC).
After surveying managers from 378 organisations around the world it concluded that changing the health behaviour of staff members and taking a “bigger picture” approach is essential for the success of a company.
This means focusing on wellness initiatives in shared offices and prioritising levels of fun and engagement – consequently this will in turn to lead to increased productivity and reduced absenteeism.
However, while 99 per cent of those surveyed reported having fun in the workplace as being of medium or high importance to increase wellness, only ten per cent said that the measures they have in place at the moment achieve this.
Furthermore, only 22 per cent of organisations said that they have wellness initiatives in place – be it activities in the office or social excursions – while 95 per cent stated that they plan to have such programmes in place at some point.
“Wellness strategy and implementation has received increasing attention in recent years, as the incidence and severity of chronic health risks in the working population continues to rise, this analysis highlights critical considerations for organisations,” the GCC report said.
Companies are now being urged to make wellness initiatives an integral part of workplace culture and life. That means integrating them into the day so employees can take part within their timetable and not allow other tasks to take precedence.
By prioritising fun and making initiatives entertaining it will have mass appeal among workers and go a long way to helping managers achieve their goal of improving overall employee health in order to reap the benefits of increased staff morale and engagement.
