Multiple studies have been performed about how wellness programs impact the workplace, but they don’t have any consistent results. Some show health improvements and cost savings, but others don’t. Studies performed in the past had several problems, though. There were often no comparison groups or personal biases that interfered with signups. Simply put, the end result of these studies couldn’t be relied on as accurate. Researchers from the University of Chicago and Harvard, on the other hand, have conducted larger studies that are much more reliable.

The BJ’s Wholesale Club Experiment

20 of these big-box retailers were chosen to offer an employee wellness program, compared to 140 other locations that did not offer this program. Between the 160 locations, 33,000 workers were involved in the study. All participants were asked to take part in a health risk questionnaire, and they also took health classes and had basic medical tests performed. 18 months later the results were evaluated. Workers that were involved with the program identified they were partaking in healthier behaviors, but all other factors were unchanged, including blood sugar levels, job performance, attendance, and employer health care spending.

Why This Might Be

It’s possible that the incentives offered by this program simply didn’t appeal to the participants. These incentives included gift cards totaling about $250. According to CEO of Bravo Wellness, Jim Pshock, this may not have been enough, as he predicts that any amount less than $400 simply isn’t enough to get people excited about workplace wellness. As he put it, “It’s simply too small to get them to do things they weren’t already excited about.”

Another study from 2018 published by the University of Illinois found that the workplace wellness program simply didn’t work, finding that they don’t reduce costs or affect behaviors. On the other hand, it did find that participants of the wellness programs were both healthier and more motivated. This indicates that the programs don’t necessarily help businesses cut costs, but they do assist with attracting and retaining top talent.

Other potential factors could have contributed to these results. A recent survey indicated that 84 percent of employees found their wellness programs to be “one-size-fits-all,” something that doesn’t necessarily work for health and individual wellness. In response to this, 80 percent of respondents thought that more personalization could have made their programs more successful.

Why You Want to Adopt a Workplace Wellness Initiative

While the results are mixed, there is one redeeming factor to this argument; promoting the health of your employees means that they are less likely to call in sick, whether it’s the result of mental health days or actually being ill. Here are some other benefits to these types of programs:

• Reduced Stress: Stress management can lead to healthier behavior. Through a proper workplace wellness program, your staff can significantly reduce stress and address the issues associated with this stress more easily.
• Community Building: Activities in the workplace can be a great way to build camaraderie. A wellness initiative is one way you can break down barriers and establish a company-wide initiative.
• Better Moods: Wellness programs give your employees the opportunity to try out new activities, all while keeping them engaged and productive. Employees that participate in these activities have been proven to have better moods while at work.

What are some ways you can create a healthier workplace? Let us know in the comments.

Disasters are more common than you might think in the workplace. Whether it’s a natural disaster or occurrence, like a fire or electrical storm that hits your infrastructure or energy source, or a hacking attack that targets your business’ data, the point stands that an unpredictable disaster could be just enough to knock your business off its game (if only temporarily).

Even your own employees aren’t safe from unknowingly causing your organization damage. All it takes is one mistake--an employee downloading the wrong attachment or handing over credentials to a scammer--to create problems for your business. Depending on how severe the breach is, it could cause your business to shut down operations or lose important data… data that is only backed up if you have a solution in place to do so.

User error is a common problem in the workplace. A case of a misplaced or deleted file could spawn a considerable amount of trouble, depending on how important the file is. Of course, we all know how easy it is to lose something in the workplace, and the complexity of computers means that this occurrence is almost a certainty. A data backup and disaster recovery solution is great for not just large data breaches or natural disasters, but for even the smallest user error as well. It could save you countless hours of frustration if you take preventative measures now.

Patriot Tech Services Inc. has the skills and technology at its disposal to make sure your organization has the data backup solution it deserves. To learn more about how your business can implement data backup and disaster recovery, reach out to us at 877-874-4629.

What’s the Worst That Can Happen?

Consider the industry that your business finds itself in. Do you have any particular compliances that need to be met in regard to network security and the protection of credentials? Some organizations in the health industry may be subject to compliance fines due to breaches of conduct under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, meaning that any failure to protect records could result in negative situations.

Furthermore, imagine the chaos that a threat on your network could create. Depending on its severity, it could impact operations to the point where they can’t continue until the threat has been neutralized. It’s even possible that the threat could destroy data or encrypt important files, hindering progress and keeping your organization from functioning the way it’s supposed to.

You Might Even Go Out of Business. How’s that for Scary?

Just about any business that has any kind of sensitive information could eventually find themselves subject to a hacking attack. Whether it’s financial credentials, medical records, or even passwords and usernames, there is always something of value on any organization’s infrastructure, and it’s your responsibility to be aware of this fact and respond to it.

What You Need to Do

You might be asking yourself what the best way to keep your organization from experiencing these issues is, and it’s a simple one: implement preventative security solutions as soon as possible. The more time you wait to protect your business, the more opportunity hackers have to make a move against your business. The best thing you can do is actively take the fight to them.

Patriot Tech Services Inc. can implement the best IT security solutions for your organization based on its specific needs. To learn more, reach out to us at 877-874-4629.