Turning on the television and watching the news at the end of the workday used to be a way to catch up on what happened while workers were in the office. These days, however, with the focus of much of the news being on the current economic crisis, workers are having more trouble separating themselves from what they are hearing. As a result, there is an increasing amount of tension in the workplace.
In addition to economic woes hitting your workers, however, you are going to find that the tightening of the economy , coupled with rising costs associated with health care and cost of living , has an impact on your business. While you are going to want to be sure that you are doing what you can to reduce costs in the workplace, it is essential that you are able to provide your employees with the benefits that they expect and with the support that they need to ride out the economic crisis.
As a result, if you are looking for ways in which you will be able to reduce costs to your business, you are going to need to think about your staff members and then, rather than simply looking at health care programs, you might want to consider implementing wellness programs. With wellness programs there are a number of benefits. Here are the two most significant:
1. During an economic crisis and other times of high stress, wellness programs in the workplace serve to reduce tension for your employees. With yoga or other fitness classes available for example, you will find that you are able to give your staff members an outlet and provide them with a healthier lifestyle.
2. During an economic crisis, and particularly when health care costs are high, you will find that wellness programs in the workplace serve to cut down on the expenses of health care. After all, wellness programs focus not only on reducing stress, but also on your staff members' overall health. This attention to prevention will help to reduce the costs associated with health care over the long term.
When you offer wellness programs in the workplace, you will find that your staff members are in a better position to cope with their stress. When your employees are less stressed out, they are going to be more productive at the office and there will be a reduction in the amount of time that your staff call out sick or otherwise need time off.
By focusing on the health and well-being of your staff members, particularly during times of high stress and the current economic crisis, you are going to find that you are in a better position to keep your business growing and moving forward. By helping your staff to take care of themselves, they will be able to contribute more to the business and everyone involved will be in a better position to get through the economic crisis. Economic woes can have a dramatic impact on morale, but so can those efforts that will enable your staff to reduce their stress.
Copyright 2008, Cecile Peterkin. All rights reserved.
Cecile Peterkin, a Certified Career Coach, Corporate Mentor and Speaker, helps businesses leverage the mind-share of retiring Baby Boomers and senior managers, and transfer it to the next generation of leaders with her ProMentoring program. For more information visit http://www.ProMentoringInc.com