The past few weeks were unusually warm in New England, meaning we’ve ushered in beach season a bit sooner than expected. While some people are eagerly breaking out their bikinis, many of us are peering into our closets with a little – ahem – trepidation (to say the least).
In the same boat? It’s a common theme for lots of people at the start of summer. Maybe five pounds mysteriously surfaced over the winter because a stressful schedule made hitting the gym impossible. Or perhaps eating healthy has been the last to do on an endless list of priorities. Whatever the story, one thing’s certain: starting and maintaining healthy habits is hard.
While there may not be a silver bullet to improving well-being, there’s an often overlooked solution: the workplace. The average employee will spend some 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime, meaning employers have an incredible influence on employee health, well-being, and productivity.
Recognizing this and the workplace’s role in employee health, each June marks Employee Wellbeing Month. Now in its seventh year, this annual initiative kicked off a few days ago and highlights how healthy company cultures drive employee productivity and engagement – molding better business. This year, over 200 leading organizations worldwide have pledged their support and are celebrating and supporting employee well-being all month long.
Launched in 2009 as National Employee Wellness Month by Virgin Pulse in partnership with the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, Employee Wellbeing Month is sponsored by these organizations along with the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease and WorldatWork.
In tandem with the month’s kick off, Virgin Pulse partnered with Workforce Magazine to conduct the annual survey of employees and HR leaders on the challenges and benefits of their workplace well-being programs. Virgin Pulse compiled the key survey findings in the infographic below.
To read the full survey report, download “Business of Healthy Employees 2015: A Survey of Workplace Health Priorities.”
This article was originally published on: The Uprising Blog
