Why Corporate Wellness?

When my husband and I started CORE Therapy and Pilates in 2001, we gave no thought to corporate wellness.  My personal wellness consisted of step aerobics, skipping dinner, and as much alcohol as I wanted. Needless to say, those days are way behind me. Now I make my personal wellness a top priority, and corporate wellness is vital in running our corporation.

“Corporate Wellness” is a buzz phrase everyone is throwing around, but what is it, and why does it matter? Corporate wellness is a program designed specifically for a company to support and encourage a holistic, healthy lifestyle. A holistic program focuses on total employee well-being covering physical, mental, personal, and financial health. The program should improve the work environment and reflect into one’s personal life, resulting in healthier employees, healthier work environments with increased productivity, and increase dividends.  There is no single person who does not want their business to grow. The smartest choice is to invest in the most valuable asset, the employee. A healthy workforce equals a healthy business.

All of this sounds great from the perspective of the business owner and manager, but today’s job seekers are also actively looking for jobs that include some form of corporate wellness.  It’s not enough to make “good money” anymore.  People want to enjoy what they do for a living, and how awesome is that?  For far too long, we have prioritized doing well over being well.

The current health scenario in America is to focus on providing the cure rather than preventative measures.  This mindset brought on the employer-paid health insurance and extended medical leaves.  While these measures are noteworthy, they only come into effect after the employee is sick.  Modern corporate wellness focuses on the preventative side of health and well-being.

Today’s progressive companies are doing MORE... lifestyle education, fitness sessions, health assessments, meditation, co-worker health competitions, cooking classes, and the list goes on.  This investment in prevention is the answer for the modern business owner/employee relationship.  This is a win-win solution for the company, employee, and customer.