Supporting Employee Health Goals
What does ‘wellness’ mean to you? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “the quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal.” The World Health Organization defines it as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Wellness often means something different, depending on the individual.
For 16 years, Faith Technologies has been committed to providing a wellness program that holistically supports our employees and their families within all aspects of wellness. Our award-winning wellness program provides countless opportunities to maintain or improve overall well-being, whether it be focusing on physical, mental or even financial wellness.
Just one of the ways we invest in our employees’ total well-being is reimbursing for various wellness items and activities through our Healthy Lifestyle Reimbursement Program. Ten years ago, Faith Technologies introduced this benefit to our employees, offering reimbursement for three different wellness categories. Going into 2021, our program has expanded to now include 11 categories consisting of run/walk/bike events, employee sports leagues, gym memberships and exercise classes, home exercise equipment, portable exercise equipment, foot orthotics, wearable fitness devices, weight management programs, nicotine cessation classes, standing desks or converters and healthy meal prep delivery services.
Over the years, we’ve listened to our employees and what wellness means to them. Expanding our program to cover an array of categories allows our employees to be reimbursed up to $300 per family, per calendar year toward what best fits their definition of health and wellness. When our program was revamped in 2018 to increase the maximum amount of reimbursement and the expansion of reimbursable categories, we saw an astronomical increase of dollars paid out by over 800% and an increase in number of participants by 380%, indications of our employees taking charge of their health and wellness.
The number one use of the allowance has been for wearable fitness devices, making up more than half of all reimbursement requests. These little devices have a big impact in your daily movement awareness! Studies show that consistently using a fitness tracker can lead to an increase in steps per day by more than a mile. They also are useful for those who may have a desk job and are sedentary most of the day. Many fitness trackers will alert you if you’ve been sitting too long and encourage you to get up and move!
Through our wellness platform hosted by Virgin Pulse, our employees and spouses can also link up their fitness devices to the platform or mobile app and compete with coworkers for most steps. Faith Technologies hosted two destination step challenges with Virgin Pulse this year to get our employees moving and virtually exploring destinations around the world. These team-based challenges encouraged our employees to socially connect with fellow employees and compete for the most steps toward their virtual destinations. Our latest challenge explored the top 25 must-see locations from all corners of the world. Nineteen teams traveled 15,732 miles, taking a total of 31,465,413 steps!
At Faith Technologies, we’re here to support our employees’ holistic health goals and provide them with the tools and resources they need to make positive lifestyle choices. This year has been one of uncertainty, but as we move into a new year, we remain focused on the safety and well-being of our employees and their families with multiple new opportunities to further support their health and wellness in 2021 and beyond.
This blog was originally shared by Faith Technologies on November 3, 2020 and was reprinted with permission.