Health is Wealth and no time in life have we appreciated this better than now. While health is the personal responsibility of individuals – organizations have their bits to do. Here is what I feel are compelling reasons for organizations to have human wellbeing as centerpiece of their employee engagement strategy
The WHO identifies workplaces a “priority setting” for promoting health. But often I have encountered people genuinely wondering as to why it should be the employer’s responsibility to do so.
Consider the following quote by Schopenhauer the German philosopher –
“Health is not everything, but without health, everything is nothing”
That being the universal truth here are two earthly reasons I think that organization should promote Workplace Wellbeing:
I. They should.
An employee spends an average of 70% percent of his waking hours working. How can he/she achieve health and well-being if it is addressed outside of his working hours. It therefore is an organizations’ commitment to public health to promote wellness initiatives at the workplace to resource people with the right knowledge, attitude and environment to practice being healthy.
II. It makes business sense
There is a strong business imperative in promoting health and wellbeing at the workplace. There are two reasons that I would want to bring forth:
a. Rational
b. Emotional
On a rational front, healthy people are more productive. Productive people contribute more to the objectives and purpose of the business.
On the emotional front, it influences the emotional value proposition of the organization which is a significant contributor to the employer brand. And employer brand is so important in attracting as well as retaining good talent. That an organization cares for its employees’ health and well-being, definitely influences how an employee feels about his work, his organization and speaks about it to the world outside?
Remember your employee is the powerful ambassador of your brand out there, especially with the world having become such a transparent place to be in.
So make employee wellbeing the centrepiece of your employee engagement strategy. It works.
