Employee incentive and wellness programs are constantly evolving. Total wellness should be a holistic process that starts and ends at home. A healthy home can help to prevent disease, support wellness goals and reduce serious injuries. Because so much of our lives is spent in the workplace, it is important to take a comprehensive approach to your employees’ wellness.
Incentive programs are typically implemented to solve a problem or multiple problems of a population. These programs are centered around activities and challenges that increase employee morale, health and productivity. However, the underlying problems that exist are not always addressed, and many begin at home. So how do you start to incorporate how your employees treat their bodies in the comfort of their own homes?
Home Updates that Improve Your Health
In today’s technology driven world, our homes are getting smarter by the day. As new homes are built, advancements are made and our environments are becoming more efficient. Efficiency breeds safety and ultimately cost savings. As we make our homes safer, we become healthier because of these positive changes that affect our environment.
Education is key. Understanding the age of your home will give you a great idea of the potential risks that may arise. Do you have gas or electric heating? How old is your hot water heater? Are your windows drafty? Is your home properly ventilated? Was your home built before the mid 1970s, which would make it a prime candidate for lead paint and asbestos? If so, removing these harmful and potentially deadly chemicals from your home could save your life or the life of your loved ones.
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 10 homes in the US has water leaks that can produce mold and therefore cost otherwise healthy individuals their wellbeing, not to mention thousands in repairs. Additionally, many of us get attached to personal items and have a hard time letting go. This practice often leads to clutter. Clutter can cause potential hazards, such as fires from blocked exits and breeding grounds for rodents.
Make it Worth Your Employees’ Time
While members of your organization take their journey, remember to provide fluid, contextual content that guides them on their way to a healthier, more fulfilling way of life. Although employee programs can be easy to implement, they can often be hard to adopt if they do not offer the right mix of programs, engagement and rewards.
Asking an employee to take an action, then backing it up with relevant information, will increase the likelihood of their participation. Think about the last time you redeemed reward points for any program: didn’t it feel good to get what you wanted? Make it easy for your employees to make these changes by giving them the tools to do so. Having the ability to choose popular gift cards that help achieve wellness goals can make or break your employee program.
Build the Connection for Your Workforce
Connecting the reward to the objective can increase the success of the program and continue to reinforce the goal.
- Home improvement and healthy rewards are essential
- One-size does not fit all
- Providing contextual, relevant content to back up your goal is key
- Program adoption takes time - communicate frequently and clearly
- Holistic health goals are worth promoting
