Most people performing burpees

New decade, new consumer attitudes and interests.

The wellness industry is booming and it shows no signs of slowing down. Growing rapidly in culture and business over the last few years, the importance of mental health has been heavily reflected in the corporate world.

Relatable’s 2020 Influencer Wellness report revealed that wellness is now a $4.2 trillion global market, growing nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Exercise, mental health, nutrition and food round up the report’s biggest trend predictions for 2020, but how exactly have businesses adapted to where the wellness industry is heading?

Support in the workplace

Professional service firms such as PwC and KPMG have created initiatives designed to keep staff members active and healthy – especially during long hours and stressful work periods. Wellness programmes allow employees time to make constructive changes in their work and personal lives along with external promotion of positive workplace culture.

At the beginning of last year, PwC launched a new global approach to wellbeing, Be Well Work Well. Understanding that each person’s wellness journey would be unique, the goal of the initiative was to help each employee create personalised well-being plans for themselves centred around four key pillars: Physical, Emotional, Mental, Spiritual. As a result, their employee survey reported an increase in the number of employees positively responding to wellbeing questions.

The ‘wellness generation’

As the largest generation in the workforce, millennials are feeling the brunt of it when it comes to burnout. Last year, BuzzFeed published an article observing that work-life balance has become almost non-existent for much of the generation. Although employee wellness can take a backseat amongst busy schedules and endless deadlines, more organisations are understanding that wellness programs can attract young staff and also retain seasoned employees.

Millennials seek a company culture that allows them to constantly improve themselves and their skillset. In fact, 80% of millennials have said an emphasis on personal growth is the most essential quality of a company's culture. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, have been a leading innovator in recruiting top millennial talent through training methods and wellness programmes. Its Learning & Development team conduct both onsite and offsite classroom teaching, supported by virtual reality and web-based training. The retailer even has a learning centre, Walmart Academy, where their employees are taught skills in sales and customer service.

Foster good community mentality

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It’s important for employees to know how they fit in and contribute positively to the community in which they work. After all, the average person spends one-third of their adult life at work so isn’t it important to build a healthy and inclusive environment at work?

Team building activities are a great way achieve a supportive and rewarding environment in the workplace. In 2017, Dubai Police achieved four Guinness World Records titles as a part of the UAE fitness challenge – an initiative to raise awareness on the importance of being fit. By attempting records such as the most people performing burpees and heaviest aircraft pulled over 100 m by a team, Dubai Police were able to incorporate a fitness challenge to adopt a culture of health and fitness and increase the number of people who exercise regularly within their organisation.

Are you looking to engage your employees and foster wellness within your organisation? Visit our Business Solutions section to find out how your organisation can break their own record, or talk to our employee engagement team today!