4 Wellness Trends for Ontario Small Businesses

According to the 2018 Sanofi Canada Healthcare Survey, 72% of group plan members with workplace wellness programs were most likely to be positive about their group plan. “Wellness” can mean different things to different people, but overall it means a program or service that contributes to the overall wellness of the employee, usually through preventative measures.

  1. Taking care of employee mental health

Mental health is just as important as the physical health of your employees. Sometimes, even your top performers will have mental health challenges or conditions they suffer from that need to be treated. Free mental health services are usually not adequate to deal with difficult mental health challenges.

With the Chambers Plan, your access to the services that your employees choose through their benefits is restricted to the amount of money spent on the services. Your employees can always trust that their confidentiality will never be breached, even if they access services through a program outside of the usual Plan such as a Lifestyle Spending Account.

Another optional service under the Plan is the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which offers Plan members and their families face-to-face counseling. All services provided under the EAP are confidential and do not require employer involvement.

2. Give your staff a break from sitting with a standing desk

Our bodies are not designed to sit at a desk all day, but that is what most of us do. Standing desks are not as expensive or bulky as they were when they first were introduced to the mass market. While it may not be practical to purchase a standing desk for every employee, purchasing some that any staff can use throughout their day can give your employees a break from being sedentary.

3. Naturopathic medicine: Correcting imbalance

Naturopathic medicine focuses on treatment methods which address the biochemical and physiological imbalances in the individual. A visit to a naturopath starts with a consultation where you are assessed and a detailed treatment plan is developed based on your needs. One of our Chamber Plan clients at Kennedy, Dr. Dielle Raymond, ND of North Bay offers direct billing for the Chambers Plan. She also offers free 15-minute consultations if you want to ask questions about naturopathy before booking your first appointment.

4. Destress and unwind with yoga

Stress affects an employee’s mental wellness and, in some cases, even physical wellbeing. Yoga is a proven stress-reliever that can be done in a boardroom, conference room, or even in a cubicle depending on the practice. Ruby Yoga in North Bay, another Kennedy Chamber Plan member, offers classes for every level of yogi at her conveniently located studio on Cassels Street.

The Chambers Plan representatives at Kennedy Insurance can help you craft the best employee wellness program for the unique needs of your employees. Some of the optional programs we have that can be a part of a wellness program include:

-Lifestyle Spending Accounts

-Employee Assistance Program

In the end, an employee that is healthy, both physically and mentally, will produce the best results for your business. Fostering a healthy work environment and offering your staff the tools to get and keep healthy mentally and physically can have nothing but positive outcomes for your business, and all for an affordable price under the Chambers Plan.

Contact Kennedy Insurance today to find out how you can put together a great employee wellness program for far less than you think.