Interest in workplace wellness is growing at rapid pace – and it’s about time. Companies are finally catching on to the fact that anxious, stressed, and overworked employees can’t help their organization grow in the way that happy employees can. It’s a lot harder to innovate, think creatively, or rake in the big bucks when you’re showing up to work burned out.
If you’re worried about employee burnout (especially during COVID), take note of these top workplace wellness trends. Give them a try – your team will thank you for it!
1. Group challenges.
Unplug has created customized wellness programs for more than 150 companies, and one of the most popular components of these programs is team meditation challenges. A custom meditation challenge in the Unplug app offers the team a sense of friendly competition, and provides a chance to bond over something that doesn’t involve meetings or deadlines. Imagine your employees spending their time at the water cooler chatting about how peaceful they feel thanks to their newfound meditation habit, instead of how stressed they are!
2. Company-wide wellness subscriptions.
If you really want your employees to pick up on a healthy habit – and you want to boost their morale in the process – the best way to make it happen is to take care of the logistics for them. Many companies purchase bulk subscriptions to apps like Unplug so their employees have easy access to the wellness tools that can help them thrive. When an employee opens Unplug for a quick meditation in the morning before work, they’re in a good mood when they show up at the office. That makes for more creative work, better collaboration, and a more cheerful atmosphere.
3. In-office wellness classes.
If your employees struggle to make time for wellness outside of work, bring the experts directly to them. Set up special in-office wellness events, like yoga workshops, stretching breaks, meditation classes, or even rejuvenating sound baths. This is something that should be considered when companies resume working at their offices.
4. Limits on email use.
An ultra-responsive employee may seem ideal, but the reality is that any team member who answers your emails at 1 a.m. is sacrificing both work productivity and at-home satisfaction. Setting hard limits on when your team is allowed to send and respond to emails (for example, barring email after 7 p.m. on work nights) makes for a more energized team. When employees have time to fully rejuvenate away from their screens in the evenings, they’ll show up to the office each morning ready to dive into their work. Trust: burnout does not a focused team member make. Besides, for your employees to be the kinds of interesting people that you and your clients enjoy talking to, they need the time to pursue their actual life – partners, kids, hobbies, the works – when they’re off the clock. With wellness at the forefront, your team will thrive – and so will your bottom line!