3 Incredible Stories: How Your Health and Wellness Initiatives Impact Employees

December 7, 2022

Not every employee has the time, luxury, or courage they need to address their health and wellness challenges. The reasons could be many, from the lack of support at home to no means of access to the right kind of attention they need.

At the workplace, though, it may be easier for employees to seek help, especially when help is readily available through professionals, and there is a set process in place that revolves around the health of the employee at all times.

So how does this effort shown by an employer affect the lives of employees? Does this effort have an effect on performance and productivity too? Is this effect positive or negative? After all, every initiative, no matter how small, requires employees to spend time away from their work desks!

To bring to you a well-rounded opinion that is not just based on our team’s insights alone, we bring to you a post that addresses this all-important topic of how your health and wellness initiatives are impacting employees through three beautiful workplace stories that help us drive home our point.

The SynergyIQ Story: When an Hour of Fun does a Lot More than You Think!

Michelle Holland, Executive Director at SynergyIQ, shares quite a unique solution that may seem like only a fun one but evidently has far-reaching positive consequences. “Each and every week, we make time to have some fun together at SynergyIQ. It’s called our hour of silly, and it’s a non-negotiable for us. Even on our busiest days!” So doesn’t this have an impact on productivity? An hour sure sounds like a lot when you are pursuing targets that only seem to be further away every time you look up. “Sure, we lose a bit of productivity during the hour of silly, but we make up for that in the hours that follow,” shares Michelle. So what does this hour (which is beginning to sound even more interesting with each passing minute) include for employees?

In terms of some of the things we’ve done during that hour of silly, we’ve had dogs visit the office (no explanation needed!), we play games which help us understand each other’s HBDI thinking styles, team quizzes and more. Some activities are more light-hearted, others are more about getting to know each other.

Michelle Holland
Executive Director at SynergyIQ

“In terms of some of the things we’ve done during that hour of silly, we’ve had dogs visit the office (no explanation needed!), we play games which help us understand each other’s HBDI thinking styles, team quizzes and more. Some activities are more light-hearted, others are more about getting to know each other,” she says.

And has there been any notable impact on employees? Well, of course participating in such a fun-filled hour sounds like a great experience but does it have any real impact on the ground? “Attendance in the office increases on these days, as does output afterwards. Happier employees are healthier and more engaged,” reveals Michelle, and we have to agree.

“So if you’re not having any fun at work, we suggest you start an hour of silly of your own,” advises Michelle, and going by the experience she shares, there’s every reason for you to carve out your own ‘hour of silly’ at the workplace too. Hey, don’t you forget that health and wellness is also about being playful!

The mtime Story: Where Moncierge Well-being Surpasses Client and Business

At mtime, the employee is at the top of every pyramid, and that’s how this unique business operates. Rebecca Kraut reveals how they go one step ahead to protect the interests of their employees and show them they care for their own.

“We run what we call ‘culture of care’ at our business. This is specifically designed to support our employees (moncierges, our name for our in-home carers) and one of the most controversial initiatives we have is taking feedback from our employees on our clients; and letting them rate the experience of working with the family!” reveals Rebecca.

But why would this be controversial? After all, although not prevalent, employers seeking employee feedback on clients isn’t a practice that’s unheard of. What Rebecca reveals next throws some light on this.

“The feedback our employees provide can, at times, lead to us firing the clients because we don’t compromise on the rules of culture of care for our employees and the customer is not always right!”

Does that sound like something your business would do? If it does, take a bow! Because we all know that very few businesses out there would go as far as firing clients only to protect their employees. But that’s Rebecca and the rest of the mtimes team manage to do, and the outcome of this commitment towards employee well-being is evident.

We run what we call ‘culture of care’ at our business. This is specifically designed to support our employees (moncierges, our name for our in-home carers) and one of the most controversial initiatives we have is taking feedback from our employees on our clients; and letting them rate the experience of working with the family!

Rebecca Kraut
Mtime

“The result is that the women in these blue collar roles are finally feeling supported, growing in confidence, building independence (financially & otherwise) and we’re retaining them for longer! Our business is nothing without our staff & so everyday & every action is centered around a culture of care – rather than maybe a more fickle ‘wellness initiative’!”

Now there’s a twist to the term wellness that we sure would like to witness in more and more workplaces. Hey, we don’t even mind the ‘fickle’ jab because we know Rebecca isn’t wrong here.

Plenty of workplaces out there have everything in line, but only on paper. When it comes to actionable steps, though, there is always a permanent lag. And if you were to ask even the bigger brands if they’d go as far as to fire a client over feedback provided by employees, we’re sure you’d only get raised eyebrows or smirks in reply.

Kudos, team mtime! There’s a lot we can all learn from you here.

The Reize Club Story: When You Know Your Employees, You can Help Them Better

While this take was all things fun, there is another angle to paying attention to the mental health of employees. For, at times, these interactions can help peers or leaders uncover tragic personal lows some of your employees may be experiencing in their lives.

Marty Spargo, owner of Reize Club, has one such highly impactful story to share.

I worked with an employee to create a wellness plan that would help her manage her symptoms and keep them under control while still allowing enough flexibility so that she could continue working at full capacity

Marty Spargo
Owner, Reize Club

“I have seen firsthand how much of an impact my programs can have on the mental health of our employees. One of my employees was in a very dark place when she came to me for help. She had recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and she was terrified that her condition would prevent her from doing her job effectively or even being able to work at all. She was also struggling with depression and anxiety, which made it difficult for her to get out of bed in the morning,” shares Marty.

When you consider a modern workplace, it almost seems providential that a leader was even able to notice something wrong with an employee. But this is one of the perks of increasing close interactions among your workforce. It brings to the surface problems that are otherwise hidden.

So how was Marty able to help his employee?

“I worked with this employee to create a wellness plan that would help her manage her symptoms and keep them under control while still allowing enough flexibility so that she could continue working at full capacity,” he says.

Now, there’s a boss we wouldn’t mind going to work for in a heartbeat!

The HR Spotlight Quick Five List: How Health and Wellness Initiatives Impact Your Employees

We’ve decided to leave the usual conversations that revolve around employee engagement, retention, and brand impact out of this list. Instead, we’re only going to approach this list from how it affects employees on a personal level. And as the varying stories we mentioned above reveal, how this impact has far-reaching positive consequences.

So here’s our list that tells you how your health and wellness initiatives impact your employees.

You show employees you care

The initiatives your organizations carry out to promote the well-being of your employees speak volumes of the commitment you have towards your workforce. And this emotion isn’t wasted on your workers. Every initiative and gesture that is taken to protect and promote the mental and physical health of employees tell them how they work for a brand that goes beyond what’s required of them to show they care. To employees who are struggling in their lives, this means more than you’ll possibly ever know.

You protect your employees

Yes, your employees may be spending more time outside the office in a typical work week, but there’s enough reason for you to believe that they spend the most conscious hours at the workplace you’ve designed for them. So when you protect their well-being through proactive steps, this feeling of being in a safe place isn’t lost on them. And when you know you can count on the people or programs at your workplace, employees even look forward to returning to the workplace for relative peace and calm.

You add positivity to the workplace

A healthy workforce that is able to work with a healthy body and a positive mind is a happy one. This positivity that individuals add to their lives reflects in the workplace too. So when you introduce health and wellness initiatives, you are also adding positivity to your workplace. This enables the work environment to perform at high levels without the physical or mental challenges of the workforce adversely impacting it in any way.

You remove roadblocks

Seeking help or embracing positive change isn’t always easy. Even when every reason is right there in front of you, it is difficult to take that most important step forward and make a change. In promoting the right initiatives at your workplace, you help your employees tackle and overcome these common roadblocks by offering strength in numbers and infusing trust. To someone who has been struggling alone, this means a lot more than we would ever know.

You educate

Not every employee in your workforce may be aware of how important their physical and mental wellness is to their personal and professional lives. There are times when even the most unhealthy people remain unaware of the problems and challenges they face and realize them only when they receive some education about them. Your workplace’s health and wellness initiatives may very well be the first awareness experiences for these employees.

A healthy and well workforce makes for a high-performance workplace

A commitment shown by a business is never lost on an employee. Firstly, the elements of health and wellness that employees are now able to add to their lives positively affect their way of work and help them do more at work. Secondly, the extra mile their employers have gone for them encourages them to give back in any way they can to the workplace too.

This dual benefit brought on by your initiatives — apart from the extremely crucial element of improving the individual lives of your employees — results in a healthy workforce that is always mindful of their responsibilities at work and contributes to building and maintaining a high-performance environment.

Do you have a take on why an HR team is important, even if it’s a one-person team? Or is there another insight you’d like to share with readers across the globe?

Write to us at connect@HRSpotlight.com, and our team will help you share your insights.