Unintentional ways you’re derailing your health and wellness initiatives

But this doesn’t have to be the case. Sometimes these initiatives get derailed through actions or behaviours that can unintentionally alienate some of your employees. Here are a few ways you might be derailing workplace wellness initiatives and some simple ways you can get them back on track.

Your wellness committee doesn’t offer diverse perspectives

Remember in school when the same group of students planned every dance and school activity? What was the result? The same group of students always participated, while others felt left out. The same tendency applies to workplace wellness committees. If workplace wellness is driven by a wellness committee at your organization, your first step is reassessing whether your members reflect the diversity of your employees. For starters, these committees should include the perspectives of employees representing multiple departments, who may have had different – positive and negative – experiences with wellness initiatives in the past. Not only will this allow you to gather a variety of perspectives, it can also prevent you from moving forward with ideas that may be doomed from the start.

You skip planning and evaluating your initiatives

While many employees are eager to hit the ground running, you need to invest time in pre-planning and evaluating these initiatives. Maleah Omari, a fitness and wellness consultant supporting multiple organizations, offers this advice: “Doing a simple needs assessment upfront helps in understanding employees’ wellness priorities so you can tailor your activities. Gathering feedback post-implementation is equally important so you can understand what worked well and what could be improved, with the goal of ensuring ongoing engagement and participation from as many employees as possible.” Neither of these efforts need to be daunting, as sharing simple, anonymous pre- and post-surveys is a good way to start. It’s an easy way to get a sense of what employees are looking for in workplace wellness, and, over time, you can start to look for trends to stay the course or integrate some new ideas.

You talk about wellness… a lot

Once you’ve landed on what you’re doing, it’s important to think about how, and how often, you’re talking about it. Think about a friend who is constantly telling you to watch an “amazing” TV show or read a “life-changing” book. At a certain point, you might watch an episode or read a chapter to get them to stop bugging you, but you’re unlikely to do it based on your own interest and might not see it through. In the context of workplace wellness, Omari confirms that more is not always better. “Excessive communication through emails and calendar invites can lead to information overload and disengaged employees. Constant bombardment may cause employees to ignore important wellness program details or feel overwhelmed by the volume of messages. Find optimal communication channels, prioritize essential information, and ensure that messages are concise and relevant to employees’ well-being.” Instead of aggressively promoting your initiatives, try a “soft-sell” approach. Promote participation in a supportive and encouraging manner, emphasizing the benefits of the program and allowing employees to participate voluntarily based on their own interests and needs.

Wellness is important, but employees must give up their personal time

Many initiatives struggle to get going simply because of how they are scheduled. While the phrases “lunch and learn” and “happy hour” have become synonymous with staff engagement events, they sometimes reflect an underlying philosophy that wellness is important, but not during working hours. Sure, having some activities taking place over lunch or after work is fine, but try to also offer activities during the actual workday. You might reach staff who are unable or unwilling to give up their time over lunch or after work but genuinely want to participate. Whether it’s a 15-minute stretching break or quick coffee chat, integrating wellness into the workday can ensure all employees have the option to participate and might even lead to greater productivity as a result of a well-timed mental or physical break.

Employee wellness is all or nothing

Before planning any wellness initiative, it is important to have realistic expectations about employee participation. Employers should always do their best to put inclusion and accessibility at the forefront, but it’s unrealistic to believe that you’re ever going to have all staff participate. What’s important is that you’ve made it possible for all staff to participate. Omari suggests a few boxes that should be checked before moving ahead with any initiative: “Before you roll out an initiative or program, consider whether you are providing a virtual option to accommodate remote workers, integrating modifications for those with physical limitations (especially for physical activity initiatives) and striving for an outcome where employees feel better after participating, regardless of differences in personal goals or motivations.”

While there is no such thing as the perfect workplace wellness program, there is always going to be room for improvement and learning. Hopefully, by avoiding some of these missteps, you’ll be able to engage employees and contribute to a culture of wellness in the workplace that all employees – sorry, most employees – can get behind.

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