Creating a Culture of Workplace Wellbeing

Today, depression and anxiety are some of the most common conditions faced by employees. That’s why, for employer groups, it’s important to keep workplace wellbeing top of mind. By providing mental health resources, stress management tools and education on mindfulness and meditation, you can better support your current workers while improving the way you attract and retain talent.

When implemented thoughtfully, these programs make a big impact on employee wellbeing and engagement.

Compared with others, employees who strongly agree that their employer cares about their overall wellbeing are:

• 69% less likely to actively search for a new job
• 71% less likely to report experiencing burnout
• 3x more likely to be engaged at work

GALLUP, FEBRUARY 2022

Let’s explore some tips for creating a wellbeing strategy that works for your employees and your business.

Don’t skip the data.

As a workplace wellbeing consultant for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, I’ve helped many businesses develop and implement wellbeing strategies. When employers start the process, I always recommend that they gather data on the unique needs of their employees.

There are many ways to collect the data you need, including conducting employee interest surveys, analyzing claims data and looking at industry trends. This information will help you decide what strategies will provide the most value for your organization and will give you insights that can be used to develop relevant and engaging programming.

Do your homework.

Before your company officially kicks off its new wellbeing program, think about what your team will need to succeed. Look for toolkits and training programs to help prepare wellness committee members prior to launch, as well as additional materials to help keep the program fresh for employees. Start brainstorming and collecting helpful resources like monthly wellbeing tips, topics for health education programs and challenges that can keep employees engaged.

Also consider changes you can make at the workplace that will impact employee wellbeing. Assess your culture, environment, policies and benefits – and consider providing paid time off for employees to care for their mental health needs if you don’t already. These things will impact all employees, regardless of whether they participate in any programming you offer.

Use your connections.

To maximize the value of your wellbeing strategy, make sure employees understand all the resources available to them and feel motivated and empowered to use them. Relationships with vendors and the local community can help you accomplish this.

For example, with the businesses we support, we bring in experts from within our organization to host educational sessions on resources available through their health plan. This includes benefits like telemedicine and care management programs for behavioral health, and a 24/7 nurse line. We have also tapped into mental health organizations within our community to organize and conduct mental health forums.

Tomorrow’s workplace wellbeing starts today.

As workplaces continue to evolve, supporting the wellbeing and mental health of your employees is more essential than ever. It can help them live better lives, by improving their physical as well as their emotional health. And it can help you attract and retain the best talent, unlock the full potential of your workforce by improving collaboration and morale, and enjoy better engagement and improved results.

I encourage you to take the next step in developing a wellbeing strategy that works for your organization. When you understand the mental health needs of your employees and provide the resources it takes to meet them, everybody benefits.

Check out ExcellusForBusiness.com for a library of free resources you can download and share with your team!