Employee Wellness Resources that Won’t Drain your Budget
March 21, 2023
Written by – Rashika Thaurani, SEB Marketing team
In the past decade, we have seen a rise in the need for employee wellness initiatives. Millennials and Gen Zers now make up 70% of today’s workforce and they put a lot of emphasis on a healthy and balanced lifestyle. As a result, there is constant pressure on organizations to create a wellness environment where employees feel motivated and relaxed. In addition, the younger generations have grown up with technology and expect technology in the workforce.
Employees working in organizations that offer practical, effective, technology-friendly 360 degrees of wellness support are more likely to drive significant productivity. Employers that prioritize employees’ overall health and well-being see numerous measurable benefits, from higher productivity, and profitability to lower turnover, a decrease in absenteeism, and fewer safety incidents.
As such, employers need to keep up with the latest research and trends to ensure their programs are meeting the needs of their employees. Often the focus is on mental health, but physical health, financial health and social well-being are factors that also need to be considered. It is a complex topic and industry and finding the right resources that are cost-effective is time consuming. Luckily, there are great resources that are available to improve your organization’s employee wellness, that won’t break your budget. Here are a few free resources to check out:
- Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Workplace Mental Health
CMHA’s Workplace Mental Health provides resources that focus on workplace training, psychological health & safety training, and a “Takeaways Toolkit” to support your employee’s mental health and well-being. The Takeaways Toolkit project was a collaboration with CMHA and the Mental Health Commission of Canada. It is an outstanding guide to help organizations put employee wellness standards into practice. - Government of Canada Workplace Wellness Resources
The Government of Canada website has gathered resources from some great trusted sources to help implement employee wellness, help in transitioning into the workplace, employee assistance programs, and much more. The tools are available for all kinds of workplace settings, all levels of workers such as executives, managers, supervisors, and employers who can benefit from mental health and wellness programs. - Wellness Works Canada: Workplace Wellness Toolkit
Wellness Works Canada focuses on enhancing employee wellness and helps organizations engage employees in wellness programs. It provides free articles, templates, and printable posters to help employers create a workplace that prioritizes wellness. They offer some informative webinars that provide tips and tools to promote wellness in the workplace. The site also includes a detailed Q&A section that provides additional information and resources for workplace and employee wellness programs. - Workplace Safety and Prevention Services: Mental Health & Employee Wellbeing
Workplace Safety and Prevention Services provides specially curated resources that will help keep your business and workers free from mental harm, make work life better after the pandemic, help employees to recover from burnout, adjust to corporate culture, and much more. - The World Health Organization’s Guide to Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being in the Workplace
This guide provides evidence-based recommendations to promote mental health and wellness, engage employees and help them succeed in the workplace. The recommendations consist of employer and employee training, organizational as well as individual interventions, a hybrid work model training, and gaining employment. - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Guide to Workplace Wellness Programs
This resource explains how to design, implement, and evaluate effective workplace health and wellness support. It features a workplace health resource center that includes searchable, research-based tools and resources to help employers develop or expand a workplace health and wellness program that supports their employees’ physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Today’s employees are more inclined to work for organizations that take employee wellness seriously. They expect the organization to look after their wellness and for organizations to achieve this, it is necessary to have strong and impactful wellness resources and initiatives in place.
Well-designed and research-informed wellness strategies can provide organizational resilience and reduce health risks. These free resources can help get you started on your journey to create or enhance your organization’s wellness plan to help engage employees and promote healthy outcomes that allow them to succeed and thrive in their work.