What is a Wellness Program? A Wellness Program is a system set up at a place of work to keep the employees healthy and active. Companies with health and wellness programs make the employees feel engaged and cared for. The importance to a successful Wellness Program is to be encouraging about overall well-being but at the same time keeping the program fun. Employee wellness programs have become a staple in many corporations as a way to attract top talent, keep them happy and productive, and decrease employee turnover. In fact, 80% of employees at companies with robust health and wellness programs feel engaged and cared for by their employers. The key to having a successful corporate wellness program is encouraging overall well-being while still keeping it fun. I will list 11 different types of Wellness Programs that can be put into effect at any place of work, but some may not work in the world of restaurants.

1. Have a monthly, healthy, potluck.

This could create a new way to introduce people to a different lifestyle such as vegan or a vegetarian lifestyle.

2. Provide the employees with healthy office snacks versus junk food.

This can be done by getting a subscription to a snack delivery site. Also, you can bring in your own healthy snacks and encourage the employees to do the same.

3. Stop offering junk food as snacks.

Have a day where all junk food snacks are banned from the office so that the employees would be encouraged to bring healthy snacks.

4. Create standing desks or walking stations.

A standing desk is a desk that can be adjusted in height and encourages employees to stand for a while and still be productive. A walking station is the taller desk with a treadmill so the employee can work and exercise at the same time.

5. Order in lunch for the office.

This can be done as a catering order from subway or from other places that offer catering. Make sure these catered lunches are comprised of pre-selected healthy choices otherwise this will counteract the idea of ordering a catered lunch for the office as a wellness program.

6. Make flexible work hours.

This is a way to promote a higher production in productivity. This can help keep the work place flowing at a happy pace. This focuses more on quality and effectiveness of a person’s work.

7. Have a scheduled break time.

This is a way to give people time away from their desks, stations, and time outside. The best way is to pick a time around the time that the “wall” begins to hit. Staggering break times so the office is not left unattended, and gets everyone outside for some fresh air gives the employee something to look forward to.

8. Offer floater days for their birthdays or special days off if people wish to work on holidays.

This is a good way to make people happier.

9. Offer days of the week that can be themed.

There could be Aloha Fridays where team members can were Hawaiian shirts to work. This is a great way to boost morale and engagement.

10. Offer half days on Fridays, primarily during the summer.

During the summer, businesses experience a decline in sales and in business activity between May to the beginning of September. This is a great way to help your employees enjoy the summer to the fullest. Staggering these days off, and letting the employees work the schedule out among themselves. Now, this will not work in restaurants because of the fact that Fridays are the busy nights in restaurants.

11. Make your business pet-friendly.

This will help your employees be less stressed at work. This is a way to also attract more business to your business. People will know that you love animals and that will attract people. This will also promote your employees to get exercise during the day if they bring their dog to work. Once again, this would not work in a restaurant setting because of the health hazard it would cause if the dog got into the back by the food prep area.

Wellness Programs will help employees to not only better their work lives but their home lives as well. Good working practices are often carried over into a worker’s home life and will benefit their family as well. A happy worker is a good worker.