Why 2022 will demand deeper HR action on Wellbeing

Why 2022 will demand deeper HR action on Wellbeing

If HR leaders had to choose one word to define their focus over the last year, “wellbeing” likely would rank near the top. And, according to several experts, that trend is poised to continue well into 2022. Source: HR Executive.com As news of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant threatens to upend back-to-the-office plans and prolong a pandemic many had hoped would have been behind us by now, employees will continue to need support, says Christine Deputy, chief people officer at Pinterest. “We thought, coming into 2021, that we’d be in a year of recovery and recuperation and getting past what happened in 2020–but we’re seeing now this will be at least a two-year […]

Workplace Wellness Trends For 2019

Workplace Wellness Trends For 2019

While most media companies end each year with a roundup of what happened during the past year, Well+Good, a wellness-focused media company founded in 2010, closes each year with a look towards what they predict will be pertinent to their readers in the coming year.   Source: Forbes Their annual wellness trends report, which was recently released, has historically been pretty spot on in identifying emerging trends in the wellness space ranging from what readers will eat, what they’ll wear, how they’ll work out and what they’ll chose to put in their medicine cabinets in the new year. This year’s report includes 14 predictions for what the editors foresee making a splash in 2019 ranging […]

Is a Workplace Massage Program Right for your Office?

Is a Workplace Massage Program Right for your Office?

There is a lot to consider when answering this question. And though there may be a lot of reasons to move forward with a program like this, there are also some real things to evaluate to make sure that it’s a good fit for your corporate culture, your budget, and business.   Source 4 Reasons a Workplace Massage Program Would Not Be a Good Fit 1. Make sure you have room to grow the massage program. Along the lines of the point listed above, if you have a set budget and the program grows in popularity (which it always does) or your company is in growth mode, you might find that […]

Making Your Company Wellness Program Work

Making Your Company Wellness Program Work

Lately, there’s been some debate about whether workplace health promotion programs, more commonly known as wellness programs, work. To us, it’s similar to asking whether reviews, training programs, employee assistance services, or other company initiatives are effective for both worker performance and the bottom line. The honest answer is that some are successful while others fail. And most of the time this comes down to how they’re designed and executed. Source: Harvard Business Review So how do you create an evidence-based health promotion program that does work? And what can employers do to avoid common pitfalls that lead to ineffective and, in worse case scenarios, harmful initiatives? To tackle these questions, […]

The 6 Habits of Highly Effective HR Professionals

The 6 Habits of Highly Effective HR Professionals

HR is in the midst of a paradigm shift. Smart companies know that in our modern service and information economies, people are actually our most valuable assets. As such, HR has taken on an increasingly front-line, strategic function, and is as important as finance, sales, marketing, or operations. So what does this mean for today’s crop of HR professionals? Source To put it bluntly, your job is harder than ever. Not only are you expected have to have a solid foundation in the traditional areas of HR expertise, but you have a whole new set of skills and responsibilities to master, and a whole host of additional considerations. Now you […]

Creating a Workplace Culture People Love

Creating a Workplace Culture People Love

Improving workplace culture is a thorny issue for most business leaders. It’s something that they probably know is important, but can’t quite get a handle on. Finance, strategy, product development, operations – those are the tangible, measurable elements of their business. But Culture? That’s the definition of the “soft stuff,” the stuff they probably skimmed over in business school, the stuff that makes their eyes glaze over whenever speakers bring it up at conferences. Source However, more and more leaders are learning it’s no coincidence that the biggest, best, and most innovative companies also happen to have great cultures. In fact, so often these companies are great precisely because they have […]

Forbes: The Truth About Employee Well-Being: Research Shows What Really Works

Forbes: The Truth About Employee Well-Being: Research Shows What Really Works

It turns out, a basket of fresh apples and an awe-inspiring motivational poster don’t count as a comprehensive wellness plan. But, according to research, it also turns out that comprehensive wellness plans alone often fall short of truly impacting an employee’s overall well-being—a concept that encompasses much more than just physical health. Source | David Sturt and Todd Nordstrom As a disclaimer, we don’t have anything against apples and motivational posters. In fact, we’re huge fans of comprehensive wellness programs—those that provide a laser-tight focus on physical health and include healthy snacks, fitness routines, and comprehensive information that could help employees improve their own health. However, new research reveals that when […]

What is Employee Wellbeing, Why is it so important and What does Research say?

What is Employee Wellbeing, Why is it so important and What does Research say?

For most us, our lives are made up mostly of work. Companies are learning that acknowledging – rather than denying – this fact is not just the right thing to do, but also a sound business decision. In a recent interview, ‘Life is Good’ founder Bert Jacobs emphasized that focusing on things like employee wellbeing has an often under-acknowledged business benefit for organizations. Source The National Wellness Institute defines ‘wellness’ as an active process through which people become aware of, and make choices toward a more healthy and successful life. According to Jacobs, focusing on employee wellbeing and purpose is “a smart strategy for building a strong business….The organization only […]

Engagement Ideas that actually make sense (especially in Greece)

Engagement Ideas that actually make sense (especially in Greece)

Employees are the most important part of any organisation. Employees at every level should feel motivated and happy to give their best to their responsibilities. Engaging them helps a company achieve this, which in turn leads to the company’s success.   In our previous article we connected the dots between what engagement is, its importance, some of the broader results it can bring along and provided a wide approach to it. Now, let’s look at few great ideas that can be implemented locally and connect the dots with Wellness this time! Source Employees need something for motivation (Besides money) Consider any sport. Sure, the winners make money. But what drives […]