Corporate wellness
Corporate wellness is one of the most used strategies by companies to generate the maximum welfare for their employees and hence contributing to the achievements of the firm.
Despite people who think that corporate wellness is some passing fad that is living its golden age, the truth is that this kind of programmes were born before 19th century. In 1926, Henry Ford decreased working hours to 40 per week, and it was in the 50s and 60s when sports centres began to acquire certain popularity.
Corporate wellness programmes include activities meant to transform companies into corporations that generate physical and emotional well-being through the transmission of healthy life habits. Their primary goal is to improve the quality of life of their employees.
Among the strategies for corporate wellness most commonly used by companies are creating happy offices, encouraging physical activity to fight a sedentary lifestyle in the office and facilitating the balance between work and social life.
Benefits of corporate wellness:
Productivity increase: Companies with corporate welfare plans that foster healthy life habits get employees with highest productivity rates. Likewise, corporate wellness reduces work absenteeism and saves costs related to work leaves.
Creates higher levels of compromise among employees and fosters talent acquisition and retention. A healthy firm produces happy and inspired workers: if employees feel that the company cares about them, a stronger bond ─beyond the working contract─ is created. That is why companies that apply corporate wellness programmes and show their interest towards their employees’ health achieve higher rates of talent retention and a sense of belonging to the firm.
Finally, corporate wellness programmes improve the firm’s positioning. They have a positive impact on its image, thus improving its ‘employer branding’.
