5 Ideas for an Effective Corporate Wellness Program

Human beings can be very complex particularly when it comes to trying to get them to embrace a new idea. Introducing healthy habits to staff in the workplace is no exception as most people tend to just prefer to "let themselves go" than discipline themselves to do what is right. When it comes to health talk and wellness, many consider it "overhyped and boring" so you need to come up with creative and exciting ways to launch your corporate wellness program.

One important fact to note when coming up with a wellness program for your workplace is that formality and too much structure is boring...so let your messages be subliminal but direct and to the point.

Here are some suggestions to help you kick off the revolution of healthy lifestyle habits among your staff.

1. Share knowledge on health, wellness and safety on a regular basis using modern technology. You can share an article, website or app that you believe will be informative and helpful. Set up a health group among office staff and send out notifications on health tips that would be beneficial to everyone.

2. Organise a wellness fair that would involve your staff and their family members participating. Choose a good location and timing that keeps up with how your organisation operates and where it is located. Carefully plan your theme taking advantage of suggestions from members of staff and carry out an awareness campaign. Give workers the liberty to sign up to attend themselves; if you conduct an effective campaign for your wellness fair they should be excited to attend.

3. Set up a workout room. To me this is like one of the coolest ideas a leading organisation can embrace. We have coffee breaks, lunch breaks...how about a work out break? Exercise helps in keeping the brain alert and particularly reviving a fatigued mind. Staff can be given the opportunity to either start their work day in the work out room for about 30 minutes or take a "work out break" after some hours of work. Your office needs to have showers to help this work.

4. Carry out strategic onsite health/biometric screenings. Many people are terribly lazy when it comes to going for regular check ups so why why not bring the "check up" to the office? This would be a great opportunity to do tests on blood pressure, weight, body mass index, blood sugar...and even to give any available vaccinations like tetanus or flu.

5. Have a Lunch Break Health Show. Lunch is on you! Use this medium to not just educate staff but answer any questions or concerns on health issues and get feedback on your wellness culture in the workplace. Let your health show be more interactive and make sure you give out reminder cards to employees.

Considering the fact that workers spend about 8 hours of their "awake" time in the office, it would really be necessary to ensure they develop healthy habits that can even be transferred to family at home.

Be creative with your corporate wellness programs and never underestimate the power of the "pre-program" questionnaire. Your program should not be mechanical and centered around what you think staff need but what staff have revealed that they are lacking or need. And never forget incentives! Yes, every staff would love to get a free massage session, but ensure you stsy within your budget.

The answer is always in the question.