5 Wellness Program Ideas for Your Remote Employees

By Amanda Hobart

With the sudden change of how people work in 2020s, being able to work from home is not just a luxury anymore but a necessity. Even before the world shifted, there were already 7 million people working remotely in the U.S. That makes up 3.4% of the overall population.

However, with the shift to remote work, many employers need to adapt and help their employees keep up their wellbeing, engagement and productivity.

Encouraging openness about mental health

First, start off by prioritizing and normalizing mental health in your company and professional space. Employees may feel awkward mentioning their personal struggles to you, even if it’s lowering their productivity and efficiency.

Take this time to remind that their mental health is important. You could even talk about something you personally went through to make them understand that mental health affects everyone and they don’t have to struggle alone.

If your employees feel their mental health is important to you and it is supported by their employer, it’ll boost overall morale when it comes to work. A happy employee is more likely to remain loyal to your business and provide higher work quality.

You should take the time to supply your employees with some resources online, such as meditation or yoga classes. There are so many apps available online that would make it easy for them to sit down every day to learn and relieve some stress.

Offer online learning sessions

Another step you could take is offer online learning sessions for your employees. Just like meditation sharpens your mind, online classes can offer wisdom that will enhance skills and offer valuable education about mental health. This type of education can equip your employees with tools and strategies they need to recognize and manage mental health issues.

Provide counseling support

Providing counseling support is another great way to offer as a wellness program. These programs can include psychologists, counselors, life coaches or even a large selection of medical treatments.

Let your employees know that these counseling sessions are 100% confidential and can be taken up privately. Employees access these types of programs because of concerns relating to work or their personal lives. Some of these issues may include bullying, stress, dealing with health issues, relationships, emotional issues, financial issues and drug or alcohol use. It is recommended that these types of programs are provided without tracking which employee has taken the program and should be 100% confidential. 

Subsidize wellness activities

Subsidizing wellness activities would be another great addition for your remote employees. Just like how some of your employees will greatly appreciate meditation or yoga classes, some might appreciate an extra sum on their annual bonus.

This will encourage them to use that money to better treat themselves that would fit them more personally. For example, it could be simply going to see their own life coach or a therapist that’s paid for by their employer or taking up a meditation class.

Other examples include memberships for various gyms, relaxation apps on their smartphone, or even taking up a recreational hobby, such as learning an instrument.

Wellness challenges

To promote a healthy lifestyle withing your organization, you can create fitness and wellbeing challenges. For example, you could create a fitness challenge that encourages employees to track their progress, compete with their colleagues and win end of the challenge prizes. Alternatively, it could be something simple as a hydration challenge, where you encourage your employees to drink plenty of water every day. These types of challenges are not only great for your employees’ health but also provide fun team bonding activities that create a comfortable workplace culture.   In summary, there are so many things you can offer to your remote employees that aren’t even on this list. But if you do choose something from this article, we hope that you take the time to implement some of these wellness programs for your company to support your remote employees.