Ever wondered why Google is considered one of the best places to work? 

Is it their competitive salaries? 

Is it the career growth opportunities it offers? 

Or is the insanely good and free food on campus the reason for their prized positioning?

While all these factors influence company culture, its focus on employee wellness is an important determining factor. Google’s programs, policies, and benefits promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

A survey shows 61% of employees experience severe burnout at work without any wellness incentives for employees. In parallel, 89% of employees from workplaces that support employee wellness are likely to recommend their employer. 

Employees are more likely to engage when they feel positive about their work culture. A highly engaged team can generate 21% more profitability. 

Hence organizations must focus significantly on employee wellness to improve the engagement rate. 

Let us delve deeper into various wellness incentive programs, activities, ideas, and tips to boost employee engagement.

Companies drive wellness incentive ideas and initiatives to support and promote the well-being of their employees. These programs enhance employees' physical, mental, and emotional health and overall quality of life. 

Here are a few wellness incentive programs you can consider implementing to improve employee health, productivity, job satisfaction, and retention:

Fitness Challenges and Competitions

A great way to keep your employees motivated is to prioritize their health. Fitness enthusiast employees would love initiatives like step challenges, fitness competitions, or mindfulness challenges. 

Other employees feel valued when the organization is concerned about their health and overall wellness. You can offer incentives such as gift cards, fitness equipment, or extra time off for participants who achieve specific goals.

Organizing such activities and offering incentives is a perfect way to break the monotony and energize them enough to feel more productive at work.

Nutrition and Healthy Eating Programs

Initiate employee health incentives to promote healthy eating habits. HR can create a schedule of periodic health checkups for employees for free.

With Amber's Tenure module, personalized AI-driven surveys can be conducted periodically to check employees' health progress since the program's launch and through their tenure. The platform simplifies the HR task by automating periodic survey checkpoints over the entire program tenure.

Mental Health and Stress Management Initiatives

Employee burnout is a common hazard in today's corporate world. HR can organize stress management sessions and workshops to improve mental health awareness. 

HR must-have follow-up sessions with employees to stay updated about their experiences and feedback on the event. Discover your employee’s attitude towards the program with Amber’s Pulse Surveys. It uses conversational AI and people analytics to help leaders understand employees' feelings, uncovering the real sentiment and gaps, especially for the top talent. 

The AI-driven employee engagement tool will help HR quickly recognize the gaps and make timely adjustments to fix gaps and build an engaging work culture.

Work-Life Balance Support

HR must conduct occasional feedback sessions to take in employees' inputs about work-life balance. Instead of annual feedback, with Amber's tenure module, HRBPs, and CHROs can schedule periodic tailor-made surveys focused on the employee's work-life balance.

Offering flexible work arrangements such as remote work options, compressed workweeks, or flexible work hours are great ways to balance their work and personal lives better, reducing stress and enhancing overall well-being.

Wellness Education and Training

Last but not least, education and training programs on wellness make employees aware of their health. It helps to improve their lifestyle, which brings back enthusiasm at work. 

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides confidential counseling services and its benefits. Employees identified in the surveys as battling personal or work-related challenges can be offered this EAP support.

Health Incentives for Employees

Incentives are notable motivations for employees to maintain their physical well-being and productivity. Employees consistently stay engaged when you offer several incentives.

Monetary Incentives

Rewards, performance bonuses, and good appraisals motivate employees to perform consistently. But before you plan these programs, it's a good idea to get a sense of employee expectations. Amber, by InFeedo, can help you accurately analyze employee expectations. 

Customized survey questions with specific intent provide a human-like interaction experience. As a result, employees are more engaged and vocal with their responses. 

The platform provides real-time insights and thorough analysis of these answers that, in turn, help HR to take necessary steps. The metrics will help to quickly sort out the most deserving candidates for the monetary incentives.

Non-Monetary Incentives

HR can also devise non-monetary incentives to motivate employees periodically. Team lunch, office outings, corporate memberships- you can schedule them all without hampering the usual office workflow.

Individual and Team-based Incentives

Tracking employee and team performance gets easier when you can develop new ideas for wellness incentives. Consider the metrics and insights from your AI-powered surveys to determine the best team. When employees witness a truly deserving team being rewarded, it will act as an instigator that inspires others to give their best.

Recognitions and Rewards

Periodic feedback surveys will keep HR updated with the latest employee achievements. When instant recognition is provided, even in the form of appreciation mail, it will boost the morale of all employees in the company and reduce the churn rate.

Key metrics and methods to track employee wellness

Keeping up with every employee get tricky as the organization grows. This is where employee engagement platforms play a crucial role. Here are a few things you can do to track employee wellness:

Role of Employee Wellness Surveys 

HR must emphasize employee wellness surveys to understand the ROI of their wellness programs, gauge employee sentiments and evaluate their overall well-being. Especially when drastic changes are introduced in the workplace, these surveys can give insightful knowledge of employee mindset. 

Measure all the key metrics of employee well-being, including work-life balance, mental health, company culture, and efficiency. Continuous listening helps to course correct in real-time and avoid disengagement. It also enables HR to develop the best solutions to maintain the employees' work-life balance and relieve them from excessive stress.

Here are a few questions included in the employee wellness survey template from inFeedo:  

• How would you describe your current experience given the changes brought about since the pandemic?
• Beyond work-related tasks, does your manager check in regularly to see how you're doing?
• Have you been able to stay connected with your colleagues and work friends since the pandemic?
• Are you concerned that your role puts you at risk of getting infected?

Conclusion

Employees are the backbone of an organization. Wellness incentives are the key to keeping the backbone healthy. But you need not hire a wellness manager for that when you can use an out-of-the-box employee wellness survey from inFeedo. 

When your employees feel appreciated and can easily open up to higher management, your organization will be lauded for its positive work culture. Leverage our employee survey tool today!