Unique Wellness Offerings for Your Total Rewards Strategy

By Cambi Hempstead, DNP, MBA, and Ashley Dugger, DBA, SHRM-CP

Employees are searching for innovative wellness support from their employers. Whether a benefit is a more formalized benefit that is part of your official total rewards plan, or an informal offering designed to spark interest and engagement, HR has a unique opportunity to shape a competitive, holistic and, dare we say, FUN wellness strategy.

The COVID-19 pandemic shifted not only the ways in which we work and would like to work but also shifted the importance of our physical and mental health to the forefront. As we spend most of our time working, it’s only natural that our wellness approaches should encompass employee needs and desires to help support their holistic well-being. As HR professionals, we also can influence decision makers and resource allocation when we can show the tangible correlation of our wellness offerings to HR and organizational strategy and goals (i.e., the impact of benefits offered to recruiting initiatives, retention goals, employee satisfaction survey results, etc.)

When engaging employees with wellness initiatives, it’s important to make opportunities fun and interactive. Even though most individuals know the importance of healthy behaviors, many are reluctant to participate with coworkers. Wellness portals are one example of how employers can launch healthy programs where employees self-report or track their progress. Having great incentives for participation can be motivation enough for many. When employees see the same water bottle sitting on coworkers’ desks, they ask how they got one, and the engagement starts to skyrocket. Incentives don’t have to be costly but more as a symbol of dedication and commitment to health. 

When launching wellness programs, it’s vitally important to show equity for all, including options for employees with mobility restrictions, remote working locations, and healthy recipes that are culturally diverse. A fun way to increase awareness is through a monthly newsletter highlighting a focus of the month. For example: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it’s important for employees to know that rates vary by race and ethnicity. An article highlighting those differences can provide individuals with information on how to follow up with their personal physicians. Highlighting monthly screenings with information for all is a way to embrace diversity and health simultaneously.

A healing room is a space dedicated to emotional health and well-being. Have you ever needed a moment to just regroup? In the workplace, there are times when employees just need a few minutes to reflect, recenter or step away. A healing room is a calming and relaxing space dedicated for times when someone needs a few minutes to process something challenging or unfavorable. It is inexpensive to create, and in the world of cubicles, open doors and little privacy, provides an area for employees to take a moment. Healing rooms typically have a comfortable chair, dim lighting, relaxing music and calming pictures. Some have aromatherapy scents like lavender, sandalwood or orange available to aid in relaxation. For privacy and to encourage use, the room shouldn’t be in an area of heavy traffic.

Have you ever considered a humor workshop as a wellness offering? Humor has been proven to link to stronger resiliency, less stress and increased trust in relationships. Bringing in a humor expert to lead a workshop that gets employees out of their comfort zone and into the laughter space can teach them valuable tools for utilizing humor to build connection and get through tough times at work and in their personal lives. It also brings them together outside of the day-to-day work tasks to have some fun and collaborate with colleagues in a very different way than they’re used to. 

Perhaps bringing in a stand-up comedian for the next employee summit or town hall to break the ice with some laughter is an option. Recreating the popular TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” is also a fun idea to bring some levity to the workplace. In sticking with the fun approach to wellness (because, who doesn’t love fun?), consider unique challenges such as a sleep contest where participants can use a sleep tracker or app to compare restful sleep scores, partnering with a local animal shelter for puppy yoga or kitten stress therapy, or offering accessibility-friendly obstacle courses (mental or physical) for team building.

Healthy employee habits often translate to healthy family habits. What are you doing to embrace not only the health of those you work with but their entire family? For example, a frequent struggle for breastfeeding mothers is the concern about where they will breast pump at work. Pumping breastmilk for your newborn while sitting in a bathroom stall doesn’t sound very inviting. A healing room could serve a dual purpose as a breast-pumping station for mothers that have returned to work. 

Having a health screening with a work picnic or potluck is possible when engaging a healthcare partner. Building a relationship with a healthcare system opens resources for lunch-and-learn activities featuring guest speakers that can highlight health topics of interest. Events don’t need to be large to be impactful. Remember that while new mothers don’t want to breast pump in bathrooms, it’s the perfect location to have materials about domestic violence along with resources for assistance. It’s important to have these types of resources in every restroom. For those dealing with violent relationships, using a restroom at work may truly be the only time they are alone to research options or to reach out for help.

We’ve seen a shift not only in the need, but also employe expectation, for better and more conveniently available mental health support as part of wellness and benefits programs. In addition to any formalized plans like Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) or subscriptions to teletherapy or meditation apps, also consider small touches such as bringing plants to the office, a gratitude or high-five board to recognize colleagues and just share things you feel good about, offering surprise days off “just because,” or even a game room – because playing giant Tic Tac Toe always leaves folks in a good mood! You might also consider a “healthy meal” get-together, a family-style lunch where everyone contributes a healthy dish and comes together for the meal, and you formally close the office so there are no interruptions and no work talk – just getting to know one another.

Ultimately, your workforce has its own unique needs, challenges and opportunities to support employee wellness and engagement. Conducting focus groups, 1:1 “stay” interviews, and regularly surveying employees to get their feedback versus assuming what they need is always valuable. You may find that the wellness initiatives most in demand are around organizational culture; when we spend most of our time at work, if we are dealing with the high-level stressors of a toxic culture, stressful interactions with disrespectful coworkers, or burnout from the workload, all the goat yoga in the world can’t combat an unhealthy environment. 

As with any initiative or change, start small. Aim for your top one to three areas of opportunity based on employee needs and clearly lay out the business case for decision makers for budget allocation and a measurable ROI. Remember: what works for employees now can shift dramatically year over year, so a constant pulse on the needs of employees will always point you in the right direction!