There’s no doubt that Employee Wellness and Employee Wellbeing is a much talked about topic
within organisations.  

What I’ve noticed, the more I’ve explored this topic is that the words ‘wellness’ and ‘wellbeing’ are used interchangeably, a little like coaching and mentoring which some people see as the same yet they are entirely different.

I thought I’d take a closer look to explore what they each mean and what the implications are for you and your organisation.
 

Wellness and Wellbeing: Is There A Difference? 

If you do a thorough search on Google the answer is a definite yes and both have a place.  

Let’s take Wellness:  

Here the focus is on a person’s health and includes helping individuals to make healthy choices so they keep their body in good condition in the hope that they remain healthy and well for longer.  

Most wellness programs focus on areas such as weight loss, nutrition and exercise, with an emphasis on ‘progress’. The results of which can have a positive knock-on effect.

For example: If an employee decides to make some different health choices that results in weight loss they often they gain confidence which can have a positive impact their social skills and relationships with others.  

Developing new, healthy routines and rituals can result in complete wellness and often a happier employee.   

Now For Wellbeing:

The simplest way to think about this is, it’s about a person being in a state of comfort, happiness and feeling healthy. This is achieved when individuals feel balanced, content and grounded in the various parts of their lives such as their, emotional, spiritual, social and mental state.  

Wellbeing is much more than improving your physical health. It’s about how you and I exist in our lives – our way of being. Are we positive and content or are we stressed and working long hours? When our stress bucket it full, it can egin to overflow at the smallest thing.  

Think about the person whose alarm didn’t go off, they’re already late for work, they then get stuck in traffic which makes them even more late. They walk int the office and someone asks them a simple question, but their response is curt and direct. On any other day that question would have elicited a different response, but today their bucket is overflowing and there just isn’t any room left in it. 

When stress levels increase, this can result in behavioural responses that aren’t typical and mistakes can be made. This then starts to get the attention of your manager …which adds another stress… I think you get my point!  

What Does This Mean?

So what does this mean for your own organisation and the type of Wellbeing program you have, or are planning to implement.  

Do you have a wellness or wellbeing program in place? Is there value in having both?
 

Wellness and wellbeing are connected and together they have a positive impact on your own, your team and your organisation’s success.

When are you at your most positive and upbeat? Generally, it’s when things are going well for you and you feel good about yourself, right? Having a positive mindset is key to making any change happen and if we believe in what we’re doing and it makes us feel good, it typitally leads to success.

In terms of what this means for your organisation, now may be a good time to review what your
Employee Wellness and or Wellbeing Program involves.  

If your program is only focused on physical health, now would be an ideal time to begin the conversation with senior management about what the company can provide to address the wider wellbeing of employees.

Likewise, it may be that your company has a wellbeing focus that could be enhanced with additional wellness support. Ideally you want to be addressing both Wellness and Wellbeing to deliver a holistic program that meets both physical and mental health needs. 

Excel Communications has over a 30-year history as a global leadership and communication skills organisation dedicated to exceeding the expectations of clients through the training and development of their business and people.

We have a team of expert trainers delivering programmes across four continents in multiple languages. Isn’t it time you got in touch? Call us now on +44 (0) 1628 488 854.

Until next time,  

Rachel