What Matters for Employee Wellness in a Post-COVID-19 Era?

When lockdown measures forced employees to work remotely, and employees that were unable to work from home were on the front lines of a pandemic crisis, employee wellbeing (rightfully) came into focus. How could HR leaders support their people, mentally, physically and even financially to try to help their people get through especially challenging times? 

This focus has only grown stronger as post-COVID-19 employee wellness is paramount to an organization’s overall Employee Value Proposition.

A recent report from Mercer says that while 48% of executives rank employees’ wellbeing as a top workforce concern, only 29% of HR leaders actually have  a health and wellbeing strategy.

To help boost the employer brand and support employees, HR leaders need to find ways to innovate their wellbeing initiatives amidst tightening budgets and uncertainty. 

Budget-friendly employee wellness initiatives

Luckily, there are several ideas employers can look at to put in place budget-friendly post-COVID-19 employee wellbeing initiatives. Here are a few ideas: 

• Offer access to on-demand videos and articles to support all pillars of employee wellbeing, from financial to mental and physical. Employees can pick and choose what to engage with, and can access helpful wellbeing support at any time. 
• Introduce new ways for employees to save on their own bottom line through employee discounts programs to help them save on popular retailers. 
• Provide a free Employee Assistance Program (EAP) so your people have a safe space to go to when they’re in need of extra support during challenging times.
• Add a wellbeing allowance benefit to give a little extra money towards wellbeing initiatives of your employees’ choosing. 

Wellness should always be on your employee engagement agenda – the right wellness programs can reduce absenteeism and decrease your overall business costs, help you build a healthier and more engaged workforce, improve your overall EVP and enhance your employer brand.