Tools, Tips, and Tricks to Develop a Robust Employee Wellness Strategy

Shot of a young businesswoman delivering a speech during a conference

“Healthy doesn’t always mean happy, and vice versa,” said Matt Wozny, virtual well-being coordinator for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, at the Employer Health Care Forum on Wednesday, June 12 at the Rattlesnake Club.

At this event, created in partnership by the Detroit Regional Chamber and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, three regional health care experts discussed the evolution of wellness and provided suggestions for how businesses can improve or establish effective employee wellness strategies.

“60% of people say their employers negatively affect their well-being. This may be because modern wellness programs place an emphasis on physical health but ignore other crucial areas,” Wozny said.

Wozny suggested that employee wellness strategies should place more emphasis on wellness as a holistic concept, including mental health, financial health, social health, and stress management. Employers with advanced well-being programs have the likelihood to reduce staff turnover by roughly 87%.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan offers virtual well-being webinars for employers on Tuesdays at noon to teach them how to evaluate, implement, or develop an employee wellness program. They also offer members webinars on Thursdays at noon to provide motivation to help them improve their own well-being. Learn more by downloading the following resources:

Susan Morgan Bailey, vice president of culture and wellbeing practice for the Marsh & McLennan Agency, engaged attendees to get them thinking about how to help employees thrive at work.

“Why does it matter if your employees are thriving? Because it results in positive results for your business, including higher commitment, higher satisfaction, and less burnout,” Bailey said.

She concluded her talk by providing a hierarchy of needs to help employees thrive:

  1. Offer the basics: good benefits and living wages.
  2. Help people connect authentically at work by establishing stability and security, and trust and transparency.
  3. Provide growth and development opportunities, a sense of community, and the ability for employees to have input on major decisions.
  4. Allow employees to make a difference and highlight the meaningful impact their company is making in their community.

Kate Monti, head of operations at Workit Health discussed implementing targeted wellness solutions. Specifically, Workit Health provides resources to recovering drug addicts.

“Nine out of 10 recovering individuals do not get the care they need, and they don’t use available Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) because they are nervous that these programs aren’t really confidential,” Monti said.

Monti argued that employers should implement targeted wellness solutions into their employee wellness programs because they allow for customized marketing, privacy and confidentiality, and control over where employer health care dollars are being spent.

To learn more about how to establish or improve your employee wellness strategy, visit WellnessWorksDetroit.com.