Using HR Tech to Implement a Sustainable & Successful Workplace Wellness Program

Written by Swechha Mohapatra, Digital HR Consultant, hrtech.sg

Most of us have at least one “Wellness” goal as a new year resolution. Which could be being physically active or eating better (physical wellness), to wanting to have a better work life balance and spend more time with family (social wellness); saving for the dream house or pay off the loans(financial wellness), or take up the EMBA program (intellectual wellness) or may be manage those stress levels(mental wellness) which is making your health-o-meter go RED!

HR teams across the globes are increasingly focusing on implementing and nurturing a “Global Wellbeing Program” which is a result of the rising collective consciousness when it comes to mental, physical and financial wellbeing of their employees.

Numerous researches linking improved employee wellbeing with improved productivity have been around for many years, and the global conversation around wellbeing and mental health has now prompted organizations to make this a priority.

According to the World Health Organization, depression and anxiety cost the global economy US$1 trillion per year in lost productivity.

This is an issue that extends beyond the need to have an engaged workforce — there are significant financial implications for the whole organization as well.

It is an established fact that a focus on Corporate Wellness has yielded economic benefits as well as improved Employee Wellbeing — by increasing productivity, reduced absenteeism, decrease in health costs etc apart from creating a happy and engaged workforce. Organizations now acknowledge that Corporate Wellness is required and are investing in wellness talks and courses paired with incentives to help keep their workers engaged. Corporate wellness is evermore so entrenched in workplace practices and policies.

Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) — Jan #infoHR session

The first SHRI #infoHR Wellness series — “Healthy Mind Healthy Life!” held in Jan 2020 focused on creating awareness about Workplace Wellness where leading Mental Health and HR Experts like Dr. Wee Hoe Gan (Singapore General Hospital), Ms. Krystal Tang (Mercer Marsh Benefits) and Ms. Nicole Seah, COO of Rewardz came together under one roof to share key insights and tips to Business and HR leaders and practitioners to design and implement a successful Corporate Wellness program.

The discussions brought to the fore key trends and insights of the current state of Corporate Wellness, like,

• Historically there has been fear of admitting and talking about mental health in the workplace. As a result, the issues have often not been discussed and addressed by employers and employees.
• There has been significant progress, with awareness campaigns and high-profile cases, access to resources (psychologists, mental health providers, health plan coverage), resulting in more acceptance about mental health issues. However, the key issue that persists is that employers are unfamiliar and inexperienced to dealing with the growing impact of mental health on employees
• Some sectors face cultural issues which are likely to exacerbate the problems or make it harder to openly discuss mental well-being.
• US, UK and Australia are considerably ahead in their Wellness journey than some of their APAC counterparts.
• Lack of connection and increase in connectivity is leading to Mental health problems, need to incorporate those while designing and implementing Wellness programs
• Corporate workplace wellness is way more than just physical fitness. In addition to physical fitness, the dimensions of optimal health involve Intellectual Wellness, Social Wellness, Emotional Wellness and Spiritual Wellness. Various components of such wellness program must include fitness, nutrition counselling, discourses on purpose in life, well-thought-out financial planning, social connections and support systems, stress management, mind-body health, career planning and continuing education.
• Even though the benefits of an employee wellness program are hard to see at first, indeed, healthy employees habitually bring a range of advantages to other employees and the organisations they work for. Some advantages include: Increased productivity by improving physical and mental health; less absenteeism; less stressed; higher employee engagement and satisfaction making talent attraction and retention easier; reduction in health care costs among others
• Mental Health Journey can be categorized under four areas (Communication, Integrated Wellbeing, Analysis and Protection) and could be assess on 3 levels. Reactive Approach (Basic): Creating awareness, focus on stress management programs, Mediclaim analysis, EAP etc. Targeted Approach (Moderate): Manager training programs, targeted mental health programs, demographic/persona analysis, benchmarking against best practices, escalation/support matrix or inclusive leave policies etc. Proactive Approach (Comprehensive): Advocating a cultural shift, digital delivery of wellness programs, measuring wellness ROI- decreasing claims, increasing employee engagement, integrated access to care model etc

Closing the loop, Nicole also shared some key insights and Do’s and Don’ts of a successful Corporate Wellness Program. Emphasis needs to be on Wellness (corporate or otherwise), which means it is no longer an option or a tick mark on the HR checklist. A successful Wellness Program isn’t one size fit all and the suite of initiatives must be tailored to fit varying needs of diverse workforce.

A well-designed program should include 3 key elements, that must be in the right mix to make it successful — Policy, Program and Culture.

• Policy: Focus of Business Leaders and HR should be in creating meaningful and purposeful experiences. A successful Wellness program needs to be holistic catering to various areas of Wellness and diverse Workforce.
• Program: A supporting environment should be provided by all leaders, not just by people who lead by position. Workplace wellness is not a program run by HR alone but needs involvement of line managers, business leaders and the C-Suite. An effective program needs to ensure the employees are engaged continually. It cannot be a one-off, sporadic activity or event.
• Culture: As also Dr. Carol Dweck has stressed on the importance of Growth Mindset, the organization needs to breed behavioral and mindset change to reap long term benefits.

This may be too overwhelming and a daunting task to embark upon, however taking the first step (or many consistent baby steps) might help you achieve the broader goal. In the digital age, HR and Business leaders can leverage technology to roll out Wellness initiatives, create awareness, promote wellbeing, monitor the success and continuously improve their initiatives based on feedback. Use of HR Tech can help in a successful implementation of a Workplace program — through automation, people analytics and nudges the “Dream” wellness program might be much more achievable and sustainable.

One such HR Tech solution provider in the Employee Engagement and Wellbeing space is Rewardz. Rewardz offers best in class customized solutions that assist in Connecting, Engaging, Recognize, Reward and Appreciating and Motivating stakeholders. You can reach Nicole or the Rewardz team if you would like to know about how use of HR Tech can help in your employee engagement efforts.

Drop in a note if you would like to know more about the HR Tech solutions, in areas like Talent Acquisition, Talent Engagement, Talent Operations, Talent Development, Analytics, HRMS as well as Compensation and Benefits , we partner with at hrtech.sg or follow us on LinkedIn.

Originally published by Swechha Mohapatra at https://www.linkedin.com on 29 January 2020. Read the LinkedIn article here

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