Benefits of Corporate Wellness Programs for a Positive Work Culture

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8 Benefits of Employee Wellness Programs & Its Role in Shaping a Positive Workplace Culture

Kartikay Kashyap

March 28, 2025

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

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Employee wellbeing has become an integral part of the wide gamut of offerings a company gives to an employee. The competitiveness in the talent market has compelled companies to implement innovative employee offerings to attract and retain talent for the organization.

Moreover, the growing stress and burnout-like situations at the workplace have aggravated the issue of employee well-being at the workplace. There are a growing number of cases where employees are openly coming out to talk about immense stress at the workplace. This has made companies multiply their employee wellness offerings.

According to a survey by the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 80% of companies with more than 50 employees now offer wellness programs. This underscores the critical role of employee well-being and the importance that companies place on maintaining a healthy workforce.

Why Employee Wellness Programs are not Proving to be Effective

Despite the emphasis on employee well-being, the impact of these initiatives often remains minimal. Deloitte’s Well-being at Work survey found that 64% of employees feel their physical well-being has not improved or worsened compared to the previous year. Also, the numbers do not indicate employees’ mental well-being. The same survey suggests that 67 % of employees feel that their mental health has worsened or has seen no change as compared to the previous year. Similarly, 73 % of employees feel that their social well-being has worsened or has seen no change compared to the previous year. These numbers clearly indicate that even though employers intend to address their employee’s well-being challenges, the results they are getting are not favorable.

What is the Problem with Employee Wellness Programs?

The challenge of employees’ lower participation in employee well-being programs at the workplace resonates well with HR leaders. If employees do not have the desire to participate in employee well-being programs offered by their employer, it is really hard to think if one can really address well-being issues in their workplace. A study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine highlights that disengaged employees are less likely to participate. Gallup’s State of the Workplace Report states that 77% of employees worldwide are disengaged, emphasizing effective wellness challenges.

8 Benefits of Corporate Wellness Programs at the Workplace

Digitally enabled employee well-being programs that integrate team and individual-based challenges help make such programs more interesting, which can attract more participation from employees. Integrating employee wellness challenges has many other benefits, which create a positive culture of well-being and happiness in employees.

1. Increased Engagement

Wellness challenges can boost employees’ engagement levels with the program. For instance, a digital wellness program like Advantage Wellness offered by AdvantageClub.ai allows users to record the number of daily steps. Moreover, employees can achieve individual or team milestones and compete with colleagues and teams to make the program fun. Such gamified elements can encourage other employees to participate in the challenge as well.

2. Improved Employees’ Physical Well-Being

Most working professionals struggle to find time for physical activities. In fact, according to Deloitte’s survey, 74 % of employees find it difficult to take time or disconnect from work to address their physical well-being issues. Integrating an employee well-being program with wellness challenges will allow employees to stay physically healthy while working there.

3. Enhanced Mental Well-Being

Many studies have indicated that taking a small break from work or doing small physical activities can significantly reduce stress. For instance, an employee who works in a stressful environment has awareness and completes his or her daily physical well-being challenge and takes time out in between, which can work as a stress buster. It gives you a moment of relief and makes you restart your work with more energy. Employee wellness challenges can also address mental well-being in such ways.

4. Increased Employee Productivity

What will happen when you have a workforce with an enhanced physical and mental well-being quotient? Yes! Employee productivity will increase. A physically and mentally fit employee has an improved sense of concentration, problem-solving capabilities, and even creativity. Moreover, such employees will be more involved and active at work, with reduced absenteeism in the workforce.

5. Stronger Relationships at Work

Healthy competitions foster better employee relationships, contributing to a positive work environment. Moreover, AdvantageClub.ai also has a dedicated buzz section where participants can share and interact with their colleagues. This helps build better bonds among employees. Moreover, it also has a community-building tool where like-minded employees can build various employee clubs for their hobbies, such as cooking, acting, dancing, sports, music, etc. Such initiatives also help to build stronger relationships between the employees and the employer. When the employee sees their employer’s intention to address their well-being issues, it builds loyalty and stickiness.

6. Reduced Employee Turnover Rates

According to the Deloitte survey, 60% of employees consider leaving their jobs for a company with better wellness programs. Implementing the best employee wellness programs can reduce turnover rates and associated costs. This is how important well-being programs are for any organization. Implementing wellness challenges will allow the organization to reduce unwanted exits and reduce the cost of replacing an outgoing employee.

7. Reduced Employee Healthcare Cost

By investing in employee well-being programs and wellness challenges, organizations can build a much happier and healthier workforce with better productivity. Healthy employees do not take too many leaves and contribute to the organization’s success in a much better way. Moreover, many organizations provide health insurance to their employees. An organization with fewer health insurance claims can reduce the cost of insurance premiums for each employee.

8. Improved Healthy Habits

Wellness challenges motivate employees to achieve their daily well-being goals. These can be anything from completing 10,000 steps to drinking 3 liters of water daily to doing Yoga. When employees spend time fulfilling their daily challenges, it becomes a part of their lives. Employees will often follow these healthy habits even after the challenge ends.

Empowering Employees for Better Wellbeing

Building a culture of employee well-being and making it a part of the office culture can reduce many challenges HR faces with maintaining human relations at the workplace. Implementing a wellness challenge program is like killing several birds with one stone. It is high time that organizations that have yet to take their first step in this direction do so as early as possible. AdvantageClub offers a suit of features under its Advantage Wellness program, which personalizes the employee wellness journey of employees giving them a plethora of options to choose from. Many employees experience services like health checkups, outpatient department (OPD) plans, and social wellness programs in a disjointed manner. However, Advantage Wellness has integrated these services in such a way that it gives the employees a seamless experience. Further, it utilizes a marketplace model where employees can choose and pay for what they have used.

Additionally, it is an AI-enabled wellness program that provides AI-guided wellness practices and habit-building features for better results and impact. It also offers stepathon challenges where employees can compete with each other. It has an automated leaderboard where companies can reward weekly or monthly winners. The AI-guided feature works like an AI wellness coach, which personalizes the physical and mental wellness experience as per the preference of employees to fight workplace stress and build a healthy workforce.