Over 80 percent of U.S. employers provide some type of wellness offering, according to a recent 2015 Employee Benefits research report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). As noted in the 2015 Willis Health and Productivity survey report, a top priority for most is to make well-being an integral part of the fabric of the organization, often referred to as building a "culture of health."
But the path toward establishing a wellness strategy to build this culture of health within the unique parameters of each organization is not always clear. Ideally, your company is like the outdoor-apparel maker Patagonia, whose legendary founder, Yvonne Chouinard, pronounced "Let my people go surfing." Obviously, this is a company that lives and breathes well-being.
But, what if your organization is not like Patagonia? What if wellness is not so apparent or is perhaps even resisted? If either of these is the case, you might consider following the lead of Schindler Elevator Corporation. Through a series of "stealth" initiatives, or programs that "sneak" wellness into non-wellness programming (with a focus on topics other than health), Schindler successfully launched a movement of well-being that now is spreading throughout the organization. Top managers at Schindler across North America are taking their teams on walking meetings, introducing healthy food options at meetings and office events, encouraging work-life balance, forming book clubs to discuss topics like The Happiness Advantage, leading their team members in group-stretches, and training field workers on the connection between wellness and safety.
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