How do we sum up our reactions to the past year? We’re regularly reaching for comfort food, we’re drinking more and we are moving less. Our hearts are not happy. Even before the global pandemic, heart disease was the leading cause of death in the world. What will the statistics be in 2021, and beyond? And more importantly, what can organizations do to help change them?
COVID-19 has taught us that the health of our communities and our businesses depend on our personal health. Similarly, we share a joint responsibility for heart disease. We need to ask ourselves, “What steps can we take as individuals, and what can employee wellness initiatives do to ensure we give our hearts the love that they deserve?”
We all know the drill: fill at least half of our plate with veggies and fruit; quit or never start smoking; reduce our alcohol consumption, manage negative stress and get the recommended amount of daily exercise. But we’re not doing it. Or, we’re not doing it consistently. Knowledge isn’t the problem. What we need are supports in place to drive motivation for lifelong behaviour change.
✔ Sprout users reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 25%.
✔ The more a user engages with the Sprout platform, the stronger their risk reduction of cardiovascular disease
✔ Sprout users increase their level of physical activity month over month
Healthy habits take much more than just personal will power. One incredibly successful driver of healthy change can be employee wellness programs. When done right, these initiatives follow best practices for achieving goals and empower employees to feel and produce at their best.
Leadership involvement in employee wellness signals a clear alignment between corporate values and worker wellbeing. During the workweek many of us spend more than half our waking hours at our jobs. When our place of work (even if it is virtual) prioritizes wellbeing, making healthy choices is easier to follow through on because our environment supports it. It’s no surprise that employees are 34% more likely to be engaged in well-being programs when their managers are actively involved.
In the best case scenario our social network offers encouragement, relevant information, and timely nudges to keep us on track with our goals. Providing employees with a digital wellness platform ensures your corporate wellness culture can thrive regardless of where your employees are located in our evolving work environments. It allows your company to share targeted, just-in-time communications to drive engagement. And importantly, it provides a (virtual) place for your employees to connect and share with one another, staying engaged with each other, and in turn, your business.
Whether they take the form of social recognition, a gift card, insurance premium reductions or even a contribution towards a charitable organization, rewards establish a positive link between our healthy actions and positive outcomes. Simply put, rewards motivate us to stick to our goals. Companies that support their wellness programming with a well-integrated rewards structure demonstrate the value they place on health and their commitment to celebrating their employees' successes.
To learn more about how Sprout is helping organizations take steps towards better health book a demo with us today.
1 https://www.heart.org/en/get-involved/advocate/federal-priorities/cdc-prevention-programs
2 https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/heartdisease-stroke/index.html
3 https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/circoutcomes.10.suppl_3.207
