Wellness on Today's Companies - Report Example

Running head: Today’s companies Wellness on todays companies Employee wellness is one of the critical areas needed to be addressed by organizations for their growth prospect. Employees are the most important segment as far as an organization is concerned. Even if an organization may have enough materials, money and machines, manpower is needed for the judicious utilization of those resources. It is quite possible that an unsatisfied employee deliberately underperforms or utilizes the above resources injudiciously so that the organization may suffer drastically. The physical and mental health of the employees must be always intact and for that the employer need to implement necessary wellness programs for employees. This paper briefly analyses the importance of employee wellness programs as far as an organization is concerned. Introduction “The number of large U.S. employers using wellness programs jumped from 62% to 72% in 2008, according to a recent ERISA Industry Committee and the National Association of Manufacturers study. And two-thirds (66%) of U.S. employees are taking steps to improve personal care through the use of workplace wellness programs and other initiatives, according to a Watson Wyatt survey” (Gillihan, 2009). Current organizations have realized the importance of employees more than ever. Organizational principles have undergone drastic changes in the current century because of globalization and liberalization policies. Relationship building is accepted as the core of every business strategies at present and the relationship between the employees and the organization is one of the key factors for the success of an organization. “A November 2002 study commissioned by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) found that nearly 60 percent of the respondents consider health and wellness program offerings from employers a viable incentive to stay at their current job. Seventy-eight percent would take advantage of an employee wellness program if it were readily available to them, and nearly 80 percent feel their overall health would improve with the availability of a health and wellness program” (Bell, 2003). A sound body and mind is essential for the employees to perform well. For that the organizations need to take extreme care in formulating strategies to preserve it. An employee is working for the organization and hence the organization has the responsibility of taking attention of the employee wellness. Employee wellness on todays companies “Healthy employees lead to healthy businesses. The first step to creating a healthy workforce is providing an environment that encourages healthy behavior. Companies need healthy, energized employees to succeed” (Begnoche, 2003). Healthy mind and body is not only important for the person alone, but it is important for the society, nation and the organization for which he is working for. So in order to preserve a person’s health and mental equilibrium, all the above entities (the person, society, nation and the employer) has responsibilities as all of them benefit from the contributions of a healthy person. The organization is a place where the employee spends a substantial amount of his time and hence the employers have more responsibilities in preserving the health of a person. When the organizational culture begins to change as a result of implementation of welfare or wellness programs, employer and the workers may actually start to see and feel a new level of energy within the company. Employee wellness programs are intended to maintain employee motivation and interest in the company. Motivation is essential for the employees to deliver 100% of their abilities. Different factors or strategies can motivate employees for better performances and employee wellness program is one among them. “Employee welfare is a comprehensive term including various services, benefits and facilities offered to employees by the employers” (Employee Welfare, 2009). Welfare or wellness programs must be provided over and above the wages. Employer should never cut the employee salary amount for devising welfare programs. Such steps may bring negative results as no employees like their salaries being cut down even if it is for their benefit purpose. On the other hand additional facilities or packages provided to the employees by the employer apart from the salaries will always increase the loyalty of the employee towards his organization. An employee should feel that the organization belongs to him also in order to actively participate in all the organizational activities and to devote his entire abilities for the organizational development. “Employee welfare includes monitoring of working conditions, creation of industrial harmony through infrastructure for health, industrial relations and insurance against disease, accident and unemployment for the workers and their families” (Employee Welfare, 2009). Employee retention is one of the biggest problems organizations are facing at present. Skilled workers and other experienced professionals may always look for higher facilities and openings and if they are unsatisfied with the treatment of their current organization, they would definitely look for other options readily available for them. It is not necessary that the organizations need to provide more monetary benefits to the employees in order to make them satisfied. On the other hand the employees must feel that the organization is behind them every time they require some assistance. ‘Some of the top work-related health concerns of the employees are Stress, Muscle strains and injuries, Exposure to harmful substances, Personal injury, Deteriorating vision due to computers, Workplace violence etc. Other top-rated topics include: Fitness, Screening programs, Health insurance education, Disease management seminars, Nutrition seminars, Stop smoking seminars etc’ (Bell, 2003). Every program designed for the employee wellness must be self talking about the company’s interests in preserving the employee wellness. The recent best example of organizations which implemented a comprehensive employee wellness program is Google. Most of the people think that Google knows only how to search, but their current employee wellness programs encouraged other organizations to search for better welfare programs for their employees. ‘Google’s comprehensive employee wellness program include: first-class dining facilities, gyms, laundry rooms, massage rooms, haircuts, carwashes, dry cleaning, commuting buses – just about anything a hardworking employee might want. Other facilities offered by Google for their employees include: Medical insurances, dental insurances, vision insurance, Business Travel Accident Insurance, Flex Spending Account Plan, EAP – Employee Assistance Program, Life and AD&D Insurance, Voluntary Life Insurance, Short Term & Long Term Disability insurance plan, (Short Term Disability Insurance coverage provided at approximately 100% of normal of salary. Long Term Disability coverage provided at 66 2/3% of salary once Short Term Disability is exhausted), Business Travel Accident Insurance, Retirement and savings plan, Vacation, Holidays, Maternity Benefits (Up to 18 weeks off at approximately 100% pay), Parental Leave, Tuition Reimbursement, Employee Referral Program, Financial Planning Classes, food, Back-Up Child Care, Gift Matching Program, Adoption Assistance, On-site Doctor, etc’ (Jobs: Benefits, 2009) Conclusions The importance of employee wellness programs has been realized by the organizational world little bit late. Earlier employees have not given many benefits apart from their salaries and they were considered just like machines. But organizations has realized that the employees are living things with feelings and emotions and their mental health and attitude is important for them to perform well apart from their physical health. Creativity and healthy attitudes can be developed among employees only through caring them effectively. The employee should feel that the organization is behind them whenever they are in a bad shape. The aim of employee wellness program is to motivate them for better performances. Employee wellness programs include anything which is beneficial to the employees apart from their salaries. Google is one of the best examples of organizations who had recently implemented a comprehensive employee welfare program. References 1. Begnoche Michelle, (2003), Conference stresses importance of employee health for businesses, Retrieved on 5 November 2009 from http://www.ur.umich.edu/0203/Mar24_03/14.shtml 2. Bell Vicki, (2003), Employees value workplace health and wellness programs, Retrieved on 5 November 2009 from http://www.thefabricator.com/safety/Safety_Article.cfm?ID=573 3. Employee Welfare, (2009), Retrieved on 5 November 2009 from http://www.citehr.com/176307-employee-welfare.html 4. Gillihan Ashley, (2009), Employee Wellness Programs: How to Minimize Your Legal Risks Retrieved on 5 November 2009 from http://www.hrhero.com/audio/wellnessprograms/ 5. Jobs: Benefits, (2009), Retrieved on 5 November 2009 from http://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/static.py?page=benefits.html Read More