Wellness looks a lot different today than it used to a couple of years ago. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and inflation have created mental health issues and stressors that only build upon the tasks that employees juggle daily. Because of this change, employee wellness programs have had to shift and offer different levels of support to reach their employees.
As you look to address the health and wellness of your workforce this year, make sure your employee wellness program covers the 6 areas of well-being: Physical, Financial, Occupational, Emotional, Social, and Purpose.
These categories cover the most pressing challenges employees face, and they're all connected. For example, you can’t fully improve your mental health without proper sleep, diet, and exercise.
By addressing all 6 categories of wellness, you can help build a holistic sense of wellness and fulfillment within your workforce.
Of course, the physical category recognizes the need for regular movement and a healthy diet. Physical development encourages learning about diet and nutrition, while discouraging the use of tobacco, drugs, and excessive alcohol use. The physical category of wellness also entails personal responsibility and care for minor illnesses, and knowing when professional medical help is required.
Financial well-being is when someone can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, can feel secure in their future, and is able to make choices that allow them to enjoy life, worry-free. Financial health may also include feeling in control, being able to absorb a financial set-back or crisis, being on track to reach goals, or having flexibility to make financial decisions.
Occupational well-being recognizes personal satisfaction and enrichment in one’s life through their work. When you work toward your occupational wellness, you’ll contribute your gifts, skills, and talents to work that is meaningful and rewarding. Your choice of profession, job satisfaction, ambitions, and performance are all important components of your well-being.
Your emotional well-being recognizes the awareness and acceptance of your feelings. Emotional wellness includes the degree to which you feel positive and enthusiastic about yourself and life. It includes the capacity to manage your feelings and related behaviors, including the assessment of your limitations, development of autonomy, and ability to cope well with stress.
Social well-being encourages contributing to both your environment and community. As you work on your social wellness, you’ll become more aware of your importance in society as well as the impact you have on your environments. You’ll take an active part in improving the world by encouraging healthier living and communicating with others.
As much as we love relaxing on the beach and daydreaming of quitting our office jobs, research shows that having a sense of purpose at work can improve employees’ personal lives. A sense of purpose is integral to the human experience — having a sense of purpose gives us clear reasons for what we want to do and how we want to spend our time.
By evaluating what your employees want and need in the new year, you can help transform your workplace into one that is more productive, engaged, and prepared to face any challenges the rest of the year may bring.
Each month, we'll continue to break down these 6 categories of well-being in greater detail — be sure to follow along and don't miss out on how you can invest in wellness to help your employees thrive.
Need some help? Let us guide you. At OnSite Wellness, employee health and wellness is our specialty. We can help you implement the 6 areas of wellness in your program so you can build a happier, healthier workforce.
Reach out today to get started.