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Workplace wellness best practices
Between the two sources lists, there are some key points that have the same concept and deserve further explanation. The points that overlap are supportive leadership, effective communication strategies, and employee engagement. First, having supportive leadership is a strategy that both sources listed as an effective way to have a successful wellness program. When leaders are engaged and distributing their resources amongst their employees, the employees are much more likely to use the programs to their benefit. The leaders of an organization prioritizing their health programs set an example for their employees and creates a culture of wellness throughout the organization. The next point that overlapped between the two sources is utilizing effective communication strategies. Companies that create a comprehensive communication plan will be able to deliver a clear message to their employees and give accurate information about their workplace wellness program. Having effective communication strategies is a key facilitator as well as a best practice for a wellness program because without it, employees would be misinformed and potentially confused about how to use the program. Lastly, employee engagement is emphasized in both lists because in order for a wellness program to be successful, it needs to be utilized by its employees. When a program is convenient and easily accessible, it is more likely that the employees will engage in wellness practices. Allowing employees to be a part of the planning process and letting them give suggestions for the program is a way to increase employee engagement for the future.
 * There are many key components to creating a successful wellness program. According to research completed by Hoffman and Kennedy-Armbruster (2015), and published by the American College of Sports Medicine Health & Fitness Journal, the top nine workplace/worksite wellness best practices include:
 * Leadership support (i.e. modeling, resource allocation, etc.)
 * Relevant and personalized programs (using employee interests and available aggregate data)
 * Partnership with employees, employer, organizations, and local community.
 * Comprehensive and evidence-based programs (using eight dimensions of wellness can be a helpful tool- emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual[69])
 * Implementation that is well planned, coordinated, fully executed, and evaluated for success and accountability
 * Employee engagement through organization and planning wellness efforts
 * Formal and comprehensive communication strategies/plan
 * Data driven decisions that include measurement, evaluation, reporting, and analytics
 * HIPAA compliant programs."[70]  In addition to these best practices, there are also key facilitators that can be implemented to make a wellness program as successful as possible. A study done by the RAND Corporation concluded that there are 5 key facilitators to set a company up for success.
 * Effective communication strategies: clear messaging strategies allow for accurate wellness information to be delivered to employees.
 * Opportunity for employees to engage: it has been proven that an easily accessible and convenient workplace wellness program increases employee engagement.
 * Leadership engaged at all levels: when senior management makes workplace wellness a priority throughout the company, employees are more likely to use it to their benefit.
 * Use of existing resources and relationships: by connecting with health plan organizations, companies can expand their programs at less cost making it more appealing.
 * Continuous evaluation: having an attitude of improvement is an approach to creating health programs that are beneficial for the employees and the company.

Covid-19 and Workplace Wellness
Since the end of 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed our perception when it comes to day-to-day living, among discovering the effects of mental health now it’s imperative that an organization or company prepares upper management to be able to deliver great communication personally relating to the well-being of their employees. There also needs to be options and programs for employees simply offered if they would like to take advantage. Working at the workplace it’s best to have a positive mindset in order to increase work productivity. Going through a personal mental period, or outside issues, etc it can always carry into how you work and morale. The effects of Covid-19 were not light for any job, organization, or corporation. Many companies took the working at-home approach or a brief hold and the rest let people go or adjusted to the changes. Adjusting to the changes, however, does not affect everyone the same and can change their morale for work. “Seventy-eight percent of the workers surveyed said that the pandemic has negatively affected their mental health, 76% indicated that companies should be doing more to protect workers’ mental health, and a staggering 85% said that newfound work-related stress is affecting their home lives” (Roulet, 2021). In a time among natural pandemic, it’s impossible to assume how employees would act towards the situation before them. As an organization, you now need steps or a plan in place for your employees to be able to fall back on. It’s nice to hear your manager is here for you, however, in knowing there is a foundation with steps and available programs based on the situation at hand (Covid-19 pandemic) leads to an increase in the number of employees who open up. There have recently been studies on a model to help break down how to help your employees and feel like a team to stay productive at the workplace. Through studies, “In this model, leaders can address manageable, upstream problems before they become critical by preempting work stressors. Stressors that can’t be preempted can be detected as they emerge, and identified issues can be directly remedied” (Roulet, 2021). The Sieve Model of Addressing mental health issues in the workplace begins with; Preempting Work Stressors, meaning expressing to your employees as a manager that this is the time to disconnect. Use vacation time and set appointments for therapy, however, practicing this yourself as a manager will influence or encourage your team to follow. Monitoring workloads, being in the house working remotely, you don’t want your employees to burn out. The next step in the model is to Detect any emerging issues; this can be done by simply anonymous surveys. Creating a service for your employees to express their situations but sometimes they just may not feel safe or feel they can do anything and necessarily want to speak on it, but letting them know options or procedures they can take are available could make all the difference. Actively listen to them without making assumptions about what they need, but show them their concerns are definitely being heard. Make this routine every quarter or so based on the feedback and severity of your team. Lastly, Remedying Identified issues; most companies now have meditation apps as such for employees to be able to relax, virtual therapy calls. In this situation you don’t want to assume your employee’s feelings and mindset, therefore doing these acts will be sufficient at least to make your team feel safe and heard if they were vocal about their benefits.

Impact
Wellness programs have an impact on many factors, many of which have an effect on a companies costs. According to Harvard Researchers for every dollar spent on wellness programs a company can save $2.73 with reduced absenteeism rates. Based on workplace studies conducted, for every dollar a company would spend on a wellness program they would save $3.27 thanks to overall reduced healthcare costs.

In one large study of 1,542 participants across 119 workplaces, 57.7% of participants showed significant reductions in 7 of the 10 cardiovascular health risk categories studied. Johnson & Johnson, one of the world's largest companies, has saved $250 million on health care costs within the last decade as a result of wellness programs; from 2002 to 2008, the return was $2.71 for every dollar spent. Another study looked at 200 people who participated in the wellness programs offered to them, 5 out of 7 reported health risks improved after just one year. Companies who provided a wellness program for employees reported 8.3% more employees engaging in regular exercising and 13.6% more employees who were currently trying to manage their weight than the companies who did not offer wellness programs for their employees. The impact of wellness programs is also dependent on consistency. While many studies on the other hand support the belief that wellness programs do not work, even associations including the American Heart Society have reports supporting wellness programs ability to enhance health and reduce overall cardiovascular risk.

Some believe taking action on wellness in the workplace can greatly improve the rate of engagement and productivity from employees. This is especially true when "well-being" issues such as stress management and debt reduction are addressed. More common causes of stress, which effect wellness overall and especially at work, that may not be touched upon by all wellness program practices in the workplace. The stress from outside of work can effect their wellness at home but also at work which can lead to negative effects on employee performance, motivation, and more. Companies need to look at what they can do to relieve some of this external stress through wellness programs because an employee that is not "well" becomes an internal issue.

Although the impact of workplace wellness has been said to be a strong one there is no universal evidence to support the reported benefits of workplace wellness. Specifically there was a study conducted- Effects of a Workplace Wellness Program on Employee Health, Health Beliefs, and Medical Use: A Randomized Clinical Trial," was written by the University of Illinois researchers and was later published in the May issue of JAMA Internal Medicine. A study consisting of roughly 4,800 University of Illinois employees on the Urbana campus. From the group 3,300 were given financial incentives to join a wellness program by the name of iThrive, this program featured annual onsite biometric screenings, an online health risk assessment and the choice of wellness activities typical to a corporate program. The rest of the group did not have access to the program.

Two years later the findings overall were that there had been no significant effects on measured physical health outcomes meaning things like weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, etc. In addition there was also no improvement to overall medical diagnoses and health care services usage.

"Many employers use workplace wellness programs in an attempt to improve employee health and reduce medical costs, but randomized evaluations of their efficacy are rare," said study co-author David Molitor, a professor of finance at the University of Illinois College of Business, "Our randomized evaluation found no significant effect of the program on employee health measures or medical use."

The focus of the wellness programs focusing primarily on physical health improvements is not necessarily the right approach. Wellness is measured in a number of ways and when it comes to working adults stress from external factors is huge. If studies were done in ways that used a wellness program that let's just say was able to relieve some financial burdens from employees or a program that featured child care, home cooked meals, etc. the measure of impact would be bigger. Common struggles that are often not discussed in the workplace but heavily effect performance given in the workplace.