Since the word business was first dreamed up, there has been a string of buzzwords that have come and gone like characters in a Game Of Thrones episode. Most of the time, they are things that hit like a hurricane and then disappear into the sands of time (sort of like Pokemon Go). But every so often, there comes a trend that has sticking power and that’s usually because it is game-changing, and that is which category the worksite wellness trend falls into.
Businesses the world over have seen just how beneficial it is to up their employee health and well-being game. It’s not just because it is a good incentive for top talent or a great way to retain employees, it’s to do with boosting productivity and happiness too.
The big question is: how can you improve your workplace wellness efforts?
Read on to see the latest trends you can expect to become the norm this year:
- Perfect Personalisation
The one thing corporate wellness has started to accept is wellness is not a one-size-fits-all solution. What might help one employee may not help another employee at all? Everyone has different needs and journey’s and ways of feeling healthy, and these uniquenesses are starting to get addressed as such. Now, you may think this is a lot of effort, but digital platforms are proving to be a great solution and the growth of wellness portals is growing fast.
- Mastering Mental Health
Of all the niches that fit inside the bell curve of wellness, mental health is the one growing in popularity more than any other and the most influential way of dealing with this subject is through education. Why? Because it is impossible for a workplace to help with physical, psychological or behavioural symptoms if it doesn’t address the stigma surrounding mental health first. One thing you are going to see a lot more of this year is Mental Health Days, made up of counseling and therapy and promoting self-care outside of the office.
- Focus On Healthy Living
Promoting a healthy lifestyle is such a fundamental part of boosting wellness, which is why companies are upping their game on this front. One of the ways they are doing this is by putting healthy eating back on the menu, which can be done by outsourcing your catering needs to someone like Honest, which is a part of the ABM catering brand, or simply ensuring there are healthy snacks always available – fruit, nuts and whole foods in general. It could be the return of the vending machine, but with a healthy twist. Another way in which this healthy lifestyle is getting addressed is through the promotion of good sleep. Well-rested employees perform better and feel better, which is why incentives, Fitbit’s and education has grown on this front.
The other area that deserves to get a mention, although it is still early days, is the use of AI in wellness with a lot of predictors saying that this will become a big part of HR and making accurate predictions in the future of wellness.
