Investing ineffective workplace health initiatives is vital for global organisations. Having healthy and happy employees means you will have a more engaged and productive workforce. Outside of optimising productivity, it also improves your overall employee experience, minimising the risk of losing valuable talent and increasing your brand as a strong employer. We explore how global businesses can invest and build successful workplace health initiatives.
Table of Contents
Why global organisations need workplace health programmes
The key components to effective wellness programmes
Effective workplace initiatives should address physical, mental and social health to secure the wellbeing of your workforce. Finding the right strategy that understands your employee's needs ensures you aren’t investing in a wellbeing strategy that your employees don’t value or buy into.
1. Physical health
Health is one of the most important aspects of employee well-being. Employees expect a safe and secure working environment but cultivating a workplace that goes beyond basic health and safety standards is crucial. A healthy work environment should actively support the health of its employees.
2. Mental health
Mental health and well-being are another critical part of an employee's overall health and wellness. Expat employees often experience increased emotional stress due to relocation, which can affect their mental health both inside and outside the workplace. It's important to provide the appropriate support to help employees manage their mental health when working overseas.
3. Social wellness
Social wellness enhances employee well-being and job satisfaction. It is also crucial for improving engagement and retention. Employees should feel supported at work, where engaged and trustworthy relationships with colleagues and management are the norm.
Popular workplace programmes that support employee wellbeing include:
- Flexible work schedules
- Incentive fitness programs
- Health screenings
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
- Team building activities
- Mental health resources
- Nutritional support
For a detailed guide on implementing mental health resources in your workplace, read this article.
How to create effective health initiatives for your organisation
To understand how you can create an effective initiative starts by looking at what factors influence your employee's health at work. Taking into consideration the fact that your organisation's culture and leadership practices all influence how effective your initiatives may be.
Here are some key areas to focus on:
Lead by example with a supportive culture
Leaders have the opportunity to drive a culture and behaviour within their team that prioritises wellbeing. Investing in training for your leadership on employee well-being topics and programmes will help build a supportive culture. For wellbeing initiatives to be effective, leaders need to be empathetic and compassionate with their team. If leadership does not promote your company’s well-being initiatives through communication and participation, it is very likely that these initiatives will not achieve their intended impact.
Wellness surveys
Engaging with your employees to understand their needs is an excellent way to establish a foundation for the wellness activities and programs that can be implemented in your business. This approach also helps ensure that employees are invested in the initiatives you develop.
Monitoring and evaluating success
Monitoring how engaged your team are with each health initiative will give you an insight into how valued and effective each programme is. Taking the time to evaluate and celebrate success and learnings will help your programme grow and evolve alongside the needs of your team.
Consistent and regular communication
Having strategic communication around your health initiatives is essential in maintaining participation from your global workforce. Clear, consistent and regular communication on how your health programmes work, and what employees can benefit from them will boost engagement and success of each programme.
At Allianz Partners we helped international organisations of all sizes to look after the health of their employees. If you want more information on international health insurance for employees get in touch with us today.
