In a previous blog, I talk about an increase in substance abuse due to job losses and economic uncertainty. This is certainly a challenge for many workers and employers, but perhaps even more widespread is the issue of stress – the stress of not knowing what may happen, the stress of dealing with a family member who has lost a job, the stress of losing value in investments.

This makes now a great time to offer employees a Wellness Program. As a business owner who is trying to find ways to keep costs down, this may sound a bit unorthodox. Studies have shown, however, that introducing a Wellness Program will actually save money. Cowan’s Benefits and Retirement Consulting division has outlined a few success stories in their newsletter article: Workplace Wellness Helps Tone the Bottom Line.

It’s important to note that even small changes can have an effect. The question is: what will have the greatest impact for your organization? Here are a few programs that we have found can be very useful for employees, and employers:

1. Flu vaccine clinics
2. Blood pressure clinics
3. Blood glucose clinics
4. Ergonomic evaluations/physical demands job analyses
5. Walking groups
6. Weight loss or nutrition groups
7. Smoking cessation
8. Education sessions on various topics (i.e. lunch-and-learns): nutrition, ergonomics, menopause and andropause, and mental health issues in the workplace
9. Employee health surveys - used to determine your needs, risks, and areas of interest for lunch-and-learns
10. Wellness newsletters

Have you already implemented a Wellness Program in your organization? What type of program did you implement? And how did you measure the success of the program?