Holistic Workplace Wellness

Nearly 400,000 people in the U.S. died from opioid-related overdoses from 1999 to 2017, and half of those deaths were of people using prescription opioids. This public health emergency has reached the workplace, but employers are not ready.

A recent study found that spending as little as 20 minutes in an urban park can have a significant effect on emotional wellness. While this may seem like an obvious conclusion to draw, it provides scientific backing to the age-old wisdom that spending time in green places is good for mental health.

More so than onsite gyms, health coaching, or pet-friendly offices, employees said their top need was more time away from the office. This was the striking result of a survey that asked more than 1,200 employees about non-insurance and non-retirement benefits that were most important to them.

Organizations recognize that offering wellness benefits helps attract and retain employees, as employees want and expect their companies to help with their well-being. Despite this seeming meeting of the minds, employers are still not offering the support employees want most, according to a recent survey of 1,000 employees in the U.S.

Employees prize health and wellness, so much so they are willing to take a pay cut if it would mean having an employee wellness program at work. That’s what 41% of employees said in a Staples workplace survey. Find out the top wellness features that companies can offer!

Pain is cited as the most common reason Americans access the health care system and a major contributor to health care costs. Fortunately, a new study provides evidence and a reminder that the body has a natural remedy to manage pain that many people fail to take advantage: sleep.

In an era when companies are looking to expand their benefits to attract and retain employees, one organization says that it is reducing its generous package. The Gates Foundation announced a reduction to its paid parental leave from one year to six months, but offering $20,000 in childcare stipend.

A new study from HBS suggests employers are largely underestimating a “caregiving crisis” that impacts their bottom line. With nearly three quarters of U.S. employees bearing some caregiving responsibility, the breadth of the crisis impacts more individuals than other popular areas of well-being.

Employee retention is often cited as one of the top metrics uses to measure the contributions of employee wellness programs. Optum found that engagement in wellness programs was linked to greater employee retention not only among frequent participants but also among employees who opted out.