What the corporate wellness boom means for you

July 09, 2019

Wellbeing and corporate success don’t always go hand-in-hand, but the boom in corporate wellness is here to change the game. 

Success often comes at a cost, with our bodies paying the price from working ourselves to the bone. Diet, adequate sleep, and any semblance of balance can be thrown out the window in the pursuit of corporate domination.

But it appears that, luckily, we’re in the midst of a wellness revolution, with health consultants and c-suiters aiming to combat burnouts, or at the very least, help take the stress off employees.

Stress costs Australian workplaces an estimated AUD$10 billion a year through sick days and lost productivity. With a growing concern on workplace wellness, and the damage unmanaged wellbeing can cause to a business’s bottom-line, services and initiatives, like Heads Up, have proliferated.

All of this has jettisoned health careers in the corporate world, helping staff look after their minds as much as their bodies.

C-suite health and wealth

Some of the top names in the corporate world have recognised that wellness and leadership are intertwined.

Arianna Huffington has authored two books on wellness and instigated Thrive Global, a wellness service for organisations. She’s managed to latch onto the revolution and profit, sustaining a career out of bettering everyone else’s.

Even Amazon’s Jeff Bezos needs his eight hours every night, which he has attributed to his success. He recognises that a quality snooze puts him in the best mood and helps me make the right executive decisions for his businesses.

Couple this with research by PricewaterhouseCoopers that mentally healthy workplaces stand to make back more than two dollars on every dollar they spend on bettering workplace wellness, and businesses have a strong case for hiring a corporate wellness consultant.

Included in OH&S laws, Australian workplaces are required to provide a mentally safe environment for employees now too.

Wellness workers

Since managers might be uncomfortable talking about wellness and mental health with their employees, an expert or consultant can step in to help.

There’s a slew of different services and professionals operating in Australia, offering a range of programs and solutions that can be tailored for different businesses and offices around the country.

Businesses like Mindful Employer teach organisations and their employees how to look after their mental health and wellbeing.

Some companies even offer ‘Health Surveillance’ – going beyond standard health checks and flu-vaccinations. There’s ergonomic assessments, executive health appraisals, and nutrition programs. Executive health appraisals, in this example, look at assisting and managing the stress and frantic lifestyles of senior professionals.

Other corporate health and wellness providers help employees focus on mindfulness in conjunction with physical and mental health programs.

There’s a whole market of corporate health and wellness companies in Australia. All of them offering different classes, workshops, consultations and health services.

Currently, the industry employs over 300 people and rakes in some AUD$55 million in revenue.

There’s also health and fitness consultants working with corporate clients to ensure employees stay in peak physical performance.

Wellness workers can assist organisations in building a safer and better wellness culture, helping future initiatives feel genuine and relevant to employees, rather than cheesy team-building exercises or PR stunts.

It’s counter intuitive to work yourself to the bone. Overwork can lead to delivering less work, harming the bottom-line and potentially your career. At some point, you need to stop for some rest and relaxation. Otherwise, who knows how long you could be out of action when you inevitably burn out?

Whether you’re considering a career in the booming field of corporate wellness, or simply need a reminder to take care of yourself during the daily grind, there’s never been a better time to prioritise holistic wellbeing – as the business world comes to applaud the benefits.