Engaged employees are more productive, motivated and resilient—not to mention happier on the job. Studies consistently show a strong correlation between employees’ physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing, and how engaged they are at work.
According to Gallup, engagement and wellbeing are directly related to one another, with high wellbeing “enhancing the benefits of engagement and lifting performance to levels not reached through engagement alone.”
Most employers agree, with 81% of surveyed business leaders stating they believe a healthy workforce drives employee engagement. What’s more, the link between engagement and wellbeing has become even more apparent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why companies are increasingly launching health and wellbeing initiatives to elevate workplace engagement for employees, build a culture of health and create a positive ripple effect across the entire organization.
Learn more about how health and wellbeing programs impact employee engagement.
Helping Employees Set and Achieve Goals
Setting wellbeing goals is the first step to building healthier habits and driving sustainable behavior changes — and in turn, increasing employee engagement. You can help your employees prioritize their physical, emotional, social and financial health and wellbeing by encouraging them to set and work toward achieving small, attainable goals.
Focusing on small, realistic changes and personalizing goal-setting for each individual is the best approach to ensure a big impact that’s both near-immediate and sustainable long-term. Although goal-setting itself is certainly important, taking steps to achieve those goals is essential for success. Offering incentives such as gift cards, company swag or additional paid time off (PTO) inspires participation in health and wellbeing programs and recognizes progress toward goals.
Many employers also find success by harnessing the power of fun team-based competitions to build healthier habits and drive collaboration across their organization. For example, group wellbeing challenges like mental health initiatives encourage employees to get involved, get social and prioritize wellbeing — which can all lead to increased engagement, both in the program itself and in their specific roles.
Building a Culture of Health and Wellbeing
Creating a culture of health and wellbeing also helps drive increased and sustained employee engagement. It isn’t enough to simply launch a health and wellbeing program for employees, cross your fingers and hope for positive results; employees can sense whether a company authentically cares about their physical, mental, social and financial health.
You can showcase your commitment to your employees’ health in multiple ways, from promoting program initiatives and encouraging participation, to sharing healthy recipes and holding virtual mindfulness sessions.
By building a workplace culture where health and wellbeing are championed, you can improve employee morale, inspire greater on-the-job satisfaction and establish stronger employer-employee relationships with increased trust.
Employees who are more satisfied in their roles are also more likely to be loyal, present and productive — not to mention engaged. This results in decreased turnover, less frequent burnout, reduced stress and the need for fewer sick days due to physical or mental health. In fact, research shows that workplace burnout is reduced to near zero among engaged, high-wellbeing employees.
Equipping Employees With the Right Tools
It’s true, you can significantly increase employee engagement (along with productivity, loyalty, motivation and more) with a strategic health and wellbeing program. We only have one caveat: You need the right technology to maximize your program’s results.
That’s Personify Health
Personify Health ecosystem brings wellbeing engagement, condition management and benefits navigation together in one simplified digital platform, creating a smart, flexible, personalized experience for your program participants. Homebase for Health® empowers and equips employees to make and sustain small, achievable changes in their regular routine.
And because the platform is highly personalized, it guides members through the process of creating their own unique health and wellbeing journey, as opposed to taking a one-size-fits-all approach. In other words, each of your employees builds their own “homebase” that engages and supports them as they take action toward their personal health and wellbeing goals.
Ready to get started? Schedule a demo to talk with one of our engagement experts and to see our technology in action.