Starting from something as simple as a corporate medical insurance provided by the company, corporate wellness has come a long way. The journey that corporate wellbeing has traversed in the last 25 years includes aiding employees with club memberships, gyms, healthy food, yoga classes, sports facilities, and meditation rooms to counsellors and mental health professionals on call.
There are too many corporates that still need to catch up to this level of holistic definition and yet this is not all that there is to it.
MindBody defines corporate wellness as more than just physical and mental health in the most basic of definitions. These are the seven dimensions that are essential for a holistic wellbeing so that corporates can achieve goals such as productivity, efficiency, employee retention, and great bottomlines.
1. Physical wellness
This aspect of wellness includes exercise, nutrition, and movement. It treats the body as an instrument and not an ornament and so the focus is forever on being able to use the body to achieve the goals that one wants to for as long as possible.
For corporates this can translate into providing health insurance, regular physical check-ups, opportunities to exercise or play sports, relax in between high intensity meetings, healthy nutritious food, and access to supporting personal like trainers, nutritionists, and health coaches.
2. Intellectual wellness
This aspect of corporate wellness is relatively more entrenched in corporates and includes exercising the mind with skill upgradation, continuous learning, and learning to find solutions.
Corporates provide this aspect in the form of training sessions, online certifications, and on-ground mentorship. It is easier to link better performance and efficiency to intellectual processes and therefore most corporates are willing to invest in such endeavors for some of their hi-potentials.
3. Emotional wellness
Not all corporates think that emotional wellness is for the company to aid in. Which is why only a small percentage of corporates actually invest in providing support in this area with coaches on call, mandatory leaves, paid vacations, and destigmatizing mental health issues.
Some pioneering companies have made news in this area by being creative. To motivate employees to take vacations and not fret about projects that they are leaving behind, PwC offered a $250 bonus for employees who would take their paid time off.
4. Environmental wellness
The amount of time that we spend physically or mentally (especially post covid) at work is far more than the amount of time we spend on any other activity. The environment, the vibes, the natural setting of the place of work impacts the manner in which one operates and the efficiency at which one can perform.
Towards this effort, some companies sent across indoor plants and ergonomically designed chairs or keyboards for their employees when they started working from home (post covid). Otherwise, corporate wellness in the environmental sense is about providing a non-toxic and energizing atmosphere.
5. Social wellness
Humans need to be connected and feel a part of something as they go about their life. While some are more extroverts than others, the introverts too need to find their tribe to feel belonged.
Corporate efforts in the social sense can be supported by providing opportunities for everyone to find their tribe. Creation of clubs, social events that include family, organizing different kinds of events, and other such activities enhances social wellness.
6. Occupational wellness
When people see meaning in what they do, they find fulfilment. Some employees can find that feeling of fulfilment within themselves but for those who struggle there is much that corporates can do to provide support.
Occupational wellness involves knowing the larger context of what one is contributing to, understanding the contribution one is making, sharing that vision, feeling appreciated, and focusing on achieving that larger goal. This also adds to the feeling of social wellbeing.
7. Spiritual wellness
While this can seem tricky and may not seem to be part of a holistic corporate wellness program, it is becoming clearer that this is something that is essential. It becomes significantly more apparent as you approach senior members of the corporate world as they see that they have achieved what they wanted to and yet feel amiss and unfulfilled.
A purpose and meaning to life are a must to discover for senior and CXO level executives if they are to provide direction to all those looking towards them. Such direction comes from a deep sense of purpose, confidence, and calm. Corporates that invest in spiritual coaching for their senior leaders have realized how this can be a boon at a personal and professional level!
Mind Ready is a company that provides coaching in various aspects of corporate wellness, be it emotional coaching, health coaching, social wellness, or spiritual coaching. The company hires professionally trained and ICF certified coaches only to ensure your employees have the best chance of achieving their full potential.
Featured image by mahdigermany
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