The Best Corporate Wellness Programs from Across the World

It's important for companies to have an established corporate wellness program, especially when it comes to managing employee health problems. If employees were given the opportunity to address their health problems and maintain good health, more companies would see an increase in productivity and a reduction in health-related absences.

Studies have shown that when you ensure that your company has the best employee wellness programs in place, this helps your employees improve their overall health and reduce health risks. Maintaining or improving employee health in these cases can reduce employee absenteeism due to unplanned illness, lower their risk of chronic disease, and reduce healthcare costs.

In this article, Benefits and Pensions Monitor discusses why your organization should have corporate wellness benefits. We’ll also show you some of the best corporate wellness program examples that big companies have successfully implemented. Perhaps these can inspire you, your staff, and company management to work together and come up with your own corporate wellness program ideas.

Introduction to corporate wellness programs

Corporate wellness programs, also known as employee wellness programs, are essential to a flourishing workplace. If managed well, employee wellness makes a positive impact on productivity, job satisfaction, and the overall success of an organization.

When an organization establishes a comprehensive corporate wellness program, this signals to their employees that their employer is committed to the happiness and health of the workforce. Happy, healthy employees confident in their company’s support makes for a win-win situation all around.

Why corporate wellness programs are important in the workplace

Here are a few crucial reasons why your company should institute wellness programs in your workplace:

1. Supports mental health

Workplace stress is increasingly prevalent nowadays, so offering mental health support via wellness programs is important. By showing your employees that the company prioritizes their mental well-being, this contributes to employee satisfaction and eases the effects of work-related stress and burnout.

2. Reduces health risks

When employers make the health and wellness of their employees a priority, they are signifying their dedication to workplace safety and risk reduction. This in turn makes employees feel supported and valued.

3. Creates a healthy work environment

A comprehensive corporate wellness program can establish and promote a healthier work environment within your organization, encouraging employees to adopt healthier lifestyles. This fosters a collective commitment to well-being and a culture of health within the organization.

4. Increases job satisfaction and employee engagement

Workers who feel reassured that their well-being is prioritized are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs. High job satisfaction means higher levels of employee engagement and enjoyment.

5. Promotes a positive work culture

As it’s the employees who are at the core of the business, they greatly influence the creation of the company culture at the workplace, which can become positive or negative. By having the right corporate wellness programs, employee satisfaction increases, subsequently creating a positive workplace.

6. Fosters a sense of community and social wellness

Most corporate wellness programs provide a common goal for the workforce to strive toward, and this can foster a sense of community and social wellness. These shared wellness goals and activities can build a sense of camaraderie that improves workplace relationships and increases employee morale.

Key components of a comprehensive corporate wellness program

Here are the main components that should be in your corporate wellness program:

• preventive health initiatives: examples include vaccinations to prevent the spread of illnesses or diseases, standing desks to prevent back problems, anti-smoking campaigns and other initiatives that prevent ill health
• mental health support: this means giving employees access to mental health resources, counseling, and stress management workshops to support their emotional well-being
• physical wellness: this includes initiatives that can encourage regular physical activity through fitness challenges, fitness classes or even gym memberships to improve overall health and fitness levels
• health information and education: this wellness program is meant to give information and support for healthy eating habits, including access to healthy food in the form of nutritious snacks and balanced meals
• work-life balance: these are initiatives designed to promote a healthy work-life balance. This can include flexible work schedules, remote work setups, and other policies to mitigate burnout and increase overall job satisfaction.

Examples of the best corporate wellness programs

Some of the world’s biggest and most profitable companies owe their success partly to their happy, productive workforce. Here are prime examples of successful corporate wellness programs in organizations, including in those that are now household names:

1. Accenture

The world-renowned business management consultancy company cares about the physical and mental well-being of its employees. They offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) which provide confidential support for a range of mental health issues like stress, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

There are also Teladoc services, which provide employees with access to a physician and answer any of their health-related questions 24/7. For their physical fitness and well-being, Accenture allows employees to set their own fitness goals and gives rewards as incentives to fulfill those goals.

The company even assists employees in achieving these goals as well, by offering special rates and discounts at fitness centres and gyms, and access to an online fitness program.

2. Asana

At Asana, employees are given the special privilege of taking naps or power naps in their nap rooms. Some of the benefits of this unique wellness initiative include giving them the chance to recharge, rest, and reduce stress.

To give employees even more opportunity to recharge and achieve a healthy level of work-life balance, Asana offers unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO). On the flipside, the software company gives employees more active options for recharging their batteries with free yoga sessions and gym memberships.

They also have an in-house culinary team that provides three meals a day, using only fresh, nutritious produce from local organic farms. For career development, the company provides mentorship programs that feature free executive coaching and monthly workshops with health themes, such as debunking detox myths, and an immunity-enhancing workshop that is conducted before the flu season onset. Asana has a company policy to not hold any meetings on Wednesdays.

3. Microsoft

The world’s largest PC OS maker and one of the best gaming console manufacturers, Microsoft is no slouch when it comes to corporate wellness programs for its employees. Microsoft offers its workers resources and information for health programs like smoking cessation, weight management, and fitness training.

Microsoft funds employees’ gym memberships or fitness-related equipment and activity purchases while also providing free Zumba classes, walking and running tracks, basketball, volleyball, and baseball courts all within the Microsoft campus.

Speaking of the Microsoft campus, it can be considered an all-in-one office and wellness centre by itself. The campus boasts of in-house clinics, optometrists, and pharmacists. Employees and their spouses can have screenings for various illnesses like heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure. They can also have flu shots and mammograms taken onsite.

Microsoft has an Employee Assistance Program called Microsoft CARES, which offers free personal counseling, family counseling, stress management programs, along with child and elder care referrals.  

The company has onsite cafés that offer healthy dining options, including a “Real Easy Wellness” labeling system that assists employees in finding healthy food options.

Apart from cafés stocked with healthy food, the Microsoft campus offers onsite grocery and dry-cleaning delivery as well. Finally, Microsoft has a mentorship program, employee source groups, networks, and social groups to build a sense of community and camaraderie among co-workers.

4. Google

As part of its efforts to ensure high job satisfaction, the world’s biggest search engine company offers a holistic health and wellness program for its workers. This includes onsite healthcare services, a physician, chiropractic services, physical therapy, and massage services. These are in addition to other wellness facilities like fitness centres, classes, and community bikes.

Not to be outdone by other software companies’ skills development programs, Google provides its workers with a variety of classes to develop more personal and professional skills. Employees can take up cooking classes, coding classes, or even guitar lessons.

The Google campus, meanwhile, has micro kitchens and cafes that are stocked with nutritious, colour-coded meals and snacks, and can pass out smaller plates to help employees with portion control. The company also empowers employees via financial wellness resources. Google gives its workers access to financial advisors and financial planning services. Employees benefit from all this, apart from flexible hours, vacation time, and volunteer time, all to have a good work-life balance.

5. The City of Los Angeles

Surprisingly, an organization that has one of the best corporate wellness programs is not a private company. The city government of the state of Los Angeles offers a wide range of initiatives and programs that promote good health, both physical and mental.

The City of LA offers fitness classes and fitness challenges to their workers, alongside personalized health goals and activities. Part of their health and wellness program includes:

• healthy cooking demonstrations
• health seminars and webinars
• wellness festivals
• community feeds/billboards for peer interactions

Those employed by this fabulous city also enjoy other wellness programs like educational resources for parenting, eldercare, legal, or personal finance. City employees can also enjoy travel support, event planning, or household service providers to help them with chores or day-to-day activities.

As for their mental health, the City of LA offers confidential counseling services, remote mental health providers, and finally, an app that helps alleviate symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.

What is the ROI on corporate wellness programs?

The ROI from corporate wellness programs can have varying dollar amounts due to several factors.

It can be difficult to pinpoint an exact amount for a specific industry or company – wellness programs typically need to be in place for several years before their financial returns can be accurately calculated.

For instance, this government study cited two different ROIs from corporate wellness programs, in the range of $3.50 and $5.93 for every dollar spent in 2009, and $2.79 to $4.24 in 2008.

Given the many studies that show that corporate wellness programs offer a range benefits, these initiatives are worth the expense and effort. Even though workers of different ages value different types of benefits, their common thread is that their overall health and happiness impact their performance at work.

in a Canadian company such as yours (as opposed to one in the US), Canadian workers are more skeptical about the need and benefits of a corporate wellness program. Here’s a video that can provide you, your HR staff and management team with some good food for thought about offering a corporate wellness program.

Be sure to properly communicate the purpose of the wellness program and what employees can gain from participating. But before anything else, make sure that you, your HR staff and management are also convinced of these initiatives and participate in them too.

Your workers’ happiness not only means higher cost savings due to reduced stress- or health-related absenteeism, but it also means your valued employees stay in the company and stay loyal. Hiring and retaining top talent means higher productivity and profitability for your organization, so what’s a few more dollars to keep them happy?

When it comes to attracting top talent and keeping key employees, you should offer the most popular benefits and couple them with well-thought-of corporate wellness programs.

Which of the corporate wellness programs we featured will you adopt to inspire your own initiatives? Let us know in the comments.