How the Pandemic Changed Wellness Programs

At the beginning of 2020, employers focused on attracting and retaining employees. Competition for talent was fierce, so organizations invested heavily in new benefits and programs aimed at helping workers achieve work-life balance.

Once the pandemic hit, everything began to change. The arrival of COVID-19 impacted individuals’ daily lives and the economy. It also reshaped the wellness programs that employers currently offer and will offer in the years ahead.

Despite financial uncertainties, employers are maintaining or even increasing their investments in wellness programs. They are also taking new approaches, doing things like organizing private webinars and online fitness classes to both improve workers’ health and build organizational culture remotely.

Creating a great work experience requires offering powerful and adaptable benefits that meet employees’ physical, mental, emotional and even financial needs. The pandemic made it clear that simply making discounted gym memberships available would not suffice to foster wellness and support team members. As a result, wellness programs are evolving to accommodate hybrid work-from-home/in-person staffing plans and the programs are sure to look even more different as they evolve.

What Has Changed Since Cities Shut Down and Social Distancing Began

Home Workouts

The big fitness trend right now is working out at home. When people are reluctant or unable to return to worksites, it only makes sense that they will avoid fitness studios and gyms—if those facilities are even open.

Fitness studios such as Barry’s, solidcore and Fhitting Room have adapted by offering live online, members-only classes over apps such as Zoom. Already popular at-home workout companies like Peloton and Aaptiv have developed new products and pricing plans.

The moves allow trainers to serve clients regardless of geographic location or schedule. In the same way, employers should consider how adding these options to gym and fitness studio memberships could serve remote workers who enroll in physical wellness programs.

Meal Plans

Prepared meals will make a comeback with remote work. When people work remotely, they approach grabbing lunch and enjoying their coffee breaks differently. Rather than packing up last night’s leftovers or popping into the deli around the corner from the office, workers stuck at home tend to make their own meals and to get more creative in the kitchen as the weeks turn into months.

Employers can ensure their team members have quick, easy and discounted access to nutritious foods by arranging memberships in prepared food or meal kit plans such as those offered by Thrive Market, Daily Harvest, Blue Apron and Purple Carrot.

Mental and Emotional Well-Being Apps

This year, the most popular download from my company’s wellness app store has been Calm. It guides users through meditation exercises and suggests modifications to sleep routines.

Employees are feeling burned-out. They need to reset mentally and emotionally. Consequently, employers need to look beyond encouraging physical fitness and begin to offer their team members apps and programs that address mental health.

How to Offer High-Value Wellness Options for a Post-Pandemic World Without Breaking the Bank

Employers must understand that employers will expect to continue receiving wellness benefits that were added throughout 2020. What executives viewed as value-adds will become baselines.

Deliver What Employees Want

To satisfy employees’ demands, organizational executives and leaders should look at data to identify which new benefits employees value the most. Findings from a quick survey can help guide decisions about where to invest.

Regular follow-up surveys will then identify what is working well and what is not as popular. Since the purpose of a wellness program is to meet employees’ needs, establishing a feedback loop will be incredibly valuable.

Outsource

Contracting with vendors enables an employer to offer a wider variety of wellness benefits. Extending this practice to wellness program management enables HR to concentrate on serving employees in other ways.

Wellness is just one of many responsibilities for HR staff, but running a comprehensive program is a full-time job. Outsourcing the work makes it easier to customize and deliver benefits packages that address the needs of the organization and individual employees. A vendor who focuses only on providing cost-effective wellness benefits should also be able to lower employees’ annual wellness spend.

Incentivize Participation

It helps to build challenges into wellness programs and to reward employees for participating. Leaders should also encourage employees to attend classes together (even virtually). Together, all three efforts bolster engagement and persistence while motivating employees to work toward achieving wellness goals.

Thinking about the future, organizations must adapt their wellness offerings to meet employees’ evolving needs. Many wellness companies are already providing virtual options. Finding strong partners and developing an understanding of what employees want, as well as what leaders and HR teams will be able to provide, allow an organization to implement changes quickly and ensure that the wellness program overall will be effective and relevant for the long haul.