Will a gym membership and traditional health insurance be enough for your employees in 2024? Many HRs and team leaders wonder what else to include in the modern workplace benefits list.

The shift towards increased self-care, both in terms of physical and mental well-being, has become a prominent trend over the last decade. A healthy lifestyle gains ever more popularity as people realize it’s integral to leading a more fulfilled, happy, and productive life at work and beyond. Nowadays, Gen Z would rather choose to engage with holistic wellness practices such as meditation over exhausting gym sessions. 

The concept of self-care even attracted the attention of modern scientists. A 2022 study by the American Psychological Association found that 65% of adults believe they are taking better care of themselves than they did ten years ago. The trend is evident: the demand will continue to grow. 

This transformation doesn’t only happen on an individual level but also affects the workplace environment. The way companies care for their employees’ well-being has to evolve with their changing interpersonal relationships. For example, offering insurance as part of employment benefits was considered a substantial perk even a decade ago. However, it is no longer seen as a mere advantage but a growing necessity for the modern workforce. 

According to Market Data Report 2023, 77% of employees are more likely to stay with a company that provides a comprehensive benefits package. With a relative shortage of workers and a robust job market, employees now have more say in what matters to them when evaluating potential employers. 

So, what should employers realize in this new paradigm?

To move along with this change, companies should re-evaluate their traditional benefits packages and recognize a broad spectrum of well-being factors that go beyond standard health insurance. 

Modern workplace benefits now also encompass work-life balance initiatives, mental and physical health support, retirement savings plans, and many more aspects employees care about. This evolution assumes that businesses are fostering a culture that prioritizes well-being, diversity, and continuous growth opportunities.

In a world where health issues are more frequent than ever, a holistic approach to employee satisfaction is an essential competitive advantage for any forward-thinking business. 

Furthermore, it should contain inclusivity, a trend reflected in most business practices, such as being cruelty-free or representing their products on models of all shapes and ages. Businesses often forget to integrate this approach with their employees, not just customers.

Here lies the problem but also a potential: the company’s values should be practiced both from the inside and outside. Hence, the modern approach to employee well-being can become more individualized to address each employee’s unique wellness needs. A standardized, one-size-fits-all attitude to benefits leaves some employees behind and could even make them feel uncared for by the employer. 

Modern workforce challenges require modern solutions, and the Corporate Wellness Program is one of them. For many employers, it increasingly becomes a convenient, holistic tool for enhancing employees’ overall well-being. With that, it allows you to approach each of them individually, as you will never find two identical employees. 

Also, on top of that, modern workplace benefits programs can account for such offers as:

1. On-site childcare or eldercare to ease the stress of working parents. 
2. Employee assistance programs (EAPs) to assist in resolving various personal challenges that employees may face. 
3. Health screenings to assess employees’ health status and risks.
4. Chronic disease management to provide personalized care for employees with chronic conditions. 
5. Initiatives to maintain work-life balance, such as flexible working policies, time-off for relaxation and family care, and parental leave policies. 

Integrating corporate wellness programs into our own organization, we at BetterMe realized that this personalized approach to work keeps employees motivated even during major crises. BetterMe withstood both the pandemic and full-scale war as a business but managed to maintain and retain a strong and healthy workforce. 

Even during a full-scale war, this approach led to a 20% increase in financial indicators and employee count in 2022. Seeing a significant retention and improvement of employees’ productivity and hearing countless entrepreneurs’ requests for such a program, we gathered all the best practices under one umbrella — the BetterMe for Business program. 

By investing in programs prioritizing the wellness and resilience of their workforce, companies can empower their employees and leaders to propel businesses forward. As BetterMe’s experience shows, corporate wellness directly improves business processes. It reminds us of an often-forgotten truth: investing in the workforce means investing in a strong team that will withstand the pressure of any challenges.