9 Workplace Wellness Ideas to Boost Engagement & Results 

Looking for workplace wellness ideas to boost engagement and get results?

Whether you’re launching your first wellness program or ready to revamp your current one, a few proven workplace wellness ideas can help you with the metrics that matter to:

• Encourage participation
• Drive engagement
• Enhance your company culture, and…
• Deliver measurable results

We took a look at some of the most innovative workplace wellness ideas among top-performing companies and found 9 creative ways to help you boost engagement and get results.

1. Host Fun & Friendly Wellness Challenges

Ever wonder what Google’s employee wellness program looks like?

With annual revenue around $340 billion, Google offers a lot of wellness program perks. But one element that unites employees across multiple locations is fun and friendly wellness challenges like a:

• Daily steps challenge
• Hydration habits challenge, or…
• Healthy eating challenge

In one step challenge, teams tracked their steps, and competed for prizes based on earning the most steps. And it had a positive impact on physical activity and teamwork.

“Challenges are powerful because they bring people together around shared goals while fostering accountability and a sense of accomplishment,” says Dr. David Hunnicutt, past president of the Wellness Council of America.

Workplace wellness ideas: 

• Use digital platforms or apps to host a health challenge and simplify tracking.
• Offer team-based incentives to encourage collaboration.
• Keep challenges simple, and use wearable tech when possible.

2. Offer Onsite Wellness Services

Providing on-site health clinics makes preventive care convenient for your employees.

And it’s something the software company SAS has been offering for the last 40 years. At SAS, employees can receive:

• Flu and COVID-19 vaccines
• Biometric screenings
• Preventive care & exams
• Treatment of minor illnesses
• Wellness consultations
• Easy access and integration of medical records
• And more

There’s a reason on-site wellness services have been part of SAS for four decades: This initiative has reduced absenteeism and improved employee health outcomes.

“Our mission is to provide exceptional care as a medical home for employees and their family members,” says SAS Health Care Center Director Sonya Glavin.

Workplace wellness ideas:

• Partner with local providers to bring services like vaccinations and screenings to your office.
• Host quarterly clinic days and promote them in advance.
• Include services like mental health consultations or nutrition counseling for a holistic approach.
• Evaluate your healthcare costs and see if operating an on-site clinic would save you money.

3. Make It Easier to Eat Healthy at Work

When the Cleveland Clinic took a closer look at their own employee wellness program, their leadership recognized a need to revamp its cafeteria menu. This included:

• Changing menu advertising to promote healthier options
• Removing all fryers and deep-fat fried menu items
• Placing healthier options near checkout areas
• Adding healthier breakfast options to the menu
• Offering healthier options like salads, whole grains, and lean proteins.

And you want to know what happened? Employees reported higher energy levels and fewer afternoon crashes.

One recent study found that employees with healthy eating habits are 25% more likely to have higher levels of productivity, than those who don’t.

Workplace wellness ideas: 

• Replace vending machine snacks with healthier choices like nuts and fresh fruit.
• Subsidize nutritious cafeteria meals to encourage participation.
• Host quarterly lunch-and-learns to teach employees about nutrition.
• Share healthy and easy-to-make recipes with employees

4. Help Employees Practice Mindfulness

Something happens when employees are under constant stress at work and at home.

They get burned out. Absenteeism and presenteeism goes up. Productivity goes down. Sound familiar?

When the health insurance company Aetna took a look at their own culture of wellness, stress and burnout was a problem.

So their C-suite leadership implemented a mindfulness program, and it made a difference by:

• Lowering employee stress levels by 28%
• Saving about $3,000 in annual healthcare costs per employee
• Improving productivity and reducing absenteeism and presenteeism

“Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation,” says Harvard researcher Dr. Sara Lazar, “practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day.”

Workplace wellness ideas: 

• Offer guided meditation sessions during lunch breaks.
• Create a quiet, designated space for self-directed mindfulness.
• Provide app subscriptions or access to software to support personal mindfulness practices.
• Encourage employees to designate time for mindfulness during the workday

5. Encourage Walk & Talk Meetings

With a global workforce of about 18,500 employees, LinkedIn teams have a lot of meetings about the products and services this business-networking platform offers.

But that doesn’t mean spending hours stuck in an office sitting in a chair, or staring at a computer screen.

Part of LinkedIn’s culture of wellness encourages walking meetings (this can even be done with a remote team) as a way to combine physical activity with collaboration. And it works.

“Getting away from your desk and office minimizes the disruption that occurs in the office by 100 percent,” says Georgetown University professor Dr. Wayne Jonas.

“Walking in nature can help reduce mental fatigue and restore the pathways to attention and focus.”

Workplace wellness ideas: 

• Suggest walking meetings for one-on-one check-ins or brainstorming sessions.
• Choose a scenic path or nearby park to make the walk enjoyable.
• Encourage employees to get up and move, even for short meetings.

6. Help Employees Improve Financial Wellness

PricewaterhouseCoopers has more than 370,000 employees in countries around the world. And most have at least one thing in common: Money matters.

While the core of most wellness programs has always been nutrition and physical activity, PricewaterhouseCoopers recognized the need for financial wellness, too.

In a recent survey, PicewaterhouseCoopers found that employees were frequently stressed about finances. So they implemented a plan to help change that. And it worked.

• Employees got help with budgeting, retirement planning, saving, and debt reduction.
• The result: Helping employees improve financial wellness had a positive effect on productivity, absenteeism, presenteeism, and morale.

“Financial wellbeing has been shown to have positive effects on mental and physical health, and relationships,” says Global Wellness Institute Chair Susan O’Connor.

“Employees who have their finances in order are in a better position to focus on work, be more engaged, and stay productive.”

Things you can do 

• Invite your participants to complete a financial wellness assessment
• Host workshops on financial literacy topics, such as student loans or investing.
• Provide access to financial advisors for one-on-one consultations.
• Share resources for saving money on healthcare or retirement planning.

7. Create Comfortable Workspaces to Improve Ergonomics

Here’s an oxymoron. With an estimated 10,2200 employees in over 100 countries, Herman Miller is a leader in manufacturing office furniture, equipment, and home furnishings.

But many employees complained of various aches, pains, and strains from sitting at a desk and staring at a screen to do their work. When C-suite leadership took a closer look at this, they realized it was time to make a change.

• Herman Miller outfitted its offices with ergonomic desks, chairs, and keyboard setups.
• The results: Employees experienced fewer musculoskeletal complaints, leading to increased productivity and fewer sick days.

“Working ergonomically reduces muscle fatigue, increases productivity, and decreases the number and severity of work-related musculoskeletal disorders,” according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Workplace wellness ideas: 

• Conduct ergonomic assessments to identify problem areas in workstations.
• Invest in adjustable desks, ergonomic chairs, and wrist supports.
• Teach employees proper posture and encourage regular stretching breaks.

8. Offer Mental Health Days for Rest & Recovery

The Fortune 500 company Cisco specializes in networking hardware, software and telecommunications with a global workforce of about 90,400 employees. And with that many employees, there’s bound to be good days and bad days.

But instead of ignoring the “bad days,” Cisco began including mental health initiatives as part of their wellness program in 2018 to support employees.

Cisco’s mental health wellness initiatives include:

• An online community to support mindfulness and resilience
• Mental health days to reset & recharge
• Education and training to discuss mental health issues and raise awareness

After implementing a plan to improve mental health, Cisco employees reported less burnout and increased job satisfaction.

Workplace wellness ideas: 

• Invite your participants to complete a mental health assessment
• Build mental health days into company policies.
• Normalize taking breaks by leading with leadership support.
• Provide resources for stress management and work-life balance.
• Make it easier for employees to ask for help and access resources for mental health

9. Offer Wellness Program Incentives & Rewards

Sure, some employees will participate in your wellness program for the health benefits. But if you want to boost participation rates, offer an incentive or reward.

That’s what Adobe did to encourage more of its 29,000 employees to prioritize wellness. Adobe’s Wellbeing Reimbursement Program:

• Offers employees up to $600 annually to support their physical, mental, and financial health.
• Employees can get reimbursed for a wide range of activities and services, including gym memberships, fitness classes, wellness retreats, and even gear and equipment.

“Incentives and rewards can play a significant role in promoting workplace health and wellness by encouraging employees to engage in healthy behaviors and make positive lifestyle changes,” according to the Incentive Research Foundation.

Workplace wellness ideas 

• Reward participation with fitness gear, gift cards or discounts of wellness-related products and services.
• Offer extra paid time off for completing wellness milestones.
• Provide funds for gym memberships, healthy meals, massage therapy, or other wellness-related services

Boost Engagement & Results with Workplace Wellness Ideas 

Pick one or all of these workplace wellness ideas and make them part of your employee wellness program.

Research shows strategies like these can help create a culture of health, boost participation, reduce burnout, and ultimately prevent disease and control healthcare costs.

And that’s good for everyone’s bottom line.

Boost Engagement & Results with Workplace Wellness Ideas 

Pick one or all of these workplace wellness ideas and make them part of your employee wellness program.

Research shows strategies like these can help create a culture of health, boost participation, reduce burnout, and ultimately prevent disease and control healthcare costs.

And that’s good for everyone’s bottom line.