Tag Archive for: employee benefits

Virtual Workplace Wellness Retreats: A Welcome Addition to Today’s Hybrid Workplace

/in , , , /by

As we settle into the new era of hybrid workplaces, it’s more important than ever to prioritize employee wellbeing. The pandemic has forced us to adapt to a new way of working, blurring the lines between work and personal life. This has resulted in an increased risk of burnout and mental health issues. HR professionals have the responsibility to ensure that employees are happy, healthy, and engaged in their work. One way to achieve this through your company’s employee wellness strategy is to consider offering virtual workplace wellness retreats.

A recent survey of 3,400 people across 10 countries conducted by the Workforce Institute at UKG found that 43% of employees are “often” or “always” exhausted after the workday, and 78% say that stress negatively impacts their work performance. What’s more, work stress carries over from the workday impacting employees’ home life (71%), wellbeing (64%), and relationships (62%). Employees across the spectrum are feeling these impacts, from those with less seniority on up through management.

What we know is that holistic workplace wellness offerings can help employees decrease stress and anxiety, sharpen focus and mental clarity, and improve their confidence and happiness at work.

In this blog post, we will explore the role that virtual workplace wellness retreats in countering stress and burnout in the hybrid workforce and how Urban Balance’s offerings can support your organization.

 

What are Virtual Workplace Wellness Retreats?

While there are many possible ways to structure a virtual retreat, these events are often best implemented over the course of one day or multiple, providing employees with a designated, uninterrupted space set work aside and focus on self-care. Virtual wellness retreats can include a variety of holistic wellness classes and webinars including yoga, movement, meditation, nutrition, wellness self-care with opportunities for employees to rest, unwind, learn new things, and build camaraderie through something other than work. The best part? They’re fully customizable to meet the needs of your unique employees.

Improved Employee Well-being

Virtual workplace wellness retreats offer a unique opportunity for employees to focus on their physical, mental, and emotional health. Employees will walk away with self-care tools they can build into their daily routine along with a sense of nourishment and refreshment. By prioritizing their wellbeing, employees can reduce stress levels, improve sleep quality, and feel better overall.

Enhanced Team Building

Virtual workplace wellness retreats provide an opportunity for employees to connect with one another while having a shared experience in a supportive environment. By participating in classes together, employees can build stronger relationships and foster a sense of community within the organization. This can lead to improved collaboration, communication, and teamwork in the workplace.

Increased Employee Engagement

Offering virtual workplace wellness retreats can increase employee engagement and motivation. When employees feel valued and supported by their organization, they are more likely to be invested in their work and the success of the company. Virtual workplace wellness retreats provide a welcome opportunity for employees to take a break from their daily routines and focus on self-care. This can lead to increased motivation, productivity, and overall job satisfaction.

Reduced Absenteeism and Healthcare Costs

By investing in the health and well-being of your employees through special offerings like retreats, you can reduce absenteeism and healthcare costs. Employees who prioritize their health are less likely to get sick and miss work. Additionally, by promoting wellness practices, you can help prevent chronic health conditions and reduce healthcare costs for your organization.

Improved Employee Morale and Retention

Virtual workplace wellness retreats can improve employee morale and retention. When employees feel supported by their organization and have opportunities to prioritize their well-being, they are more likely to feel satisfied with their job. This can lead to increased employee retention and reduced costs associated with turnover. Urban Balance’s virtual retreats offer a sense of peace and refreshment, promoting a positive workplace culture that can improve employee satisfaction.

Increased Cultural Competency

Virtual workplace wellness retreats can promote cultural competency by exposing employees to diverse wellness practices from around the world. By incorporating practices such as yoga and meditation from different cultures, employees can gain a better understanding of and appreciation for diverse perspectives. This can lead to a more inclusive workplace culture and improved relationships between employees from different backgrounds.

 

In conclusion, virtual workplace wellness retreats provide a unique opportunity to promote employee well-being and improve organizational outcomes. By improving employee well-being, enhancing team building, increasing employee engagement, reducing absenteeism and healthcare costs, improving employee morale and retention, and promoting cultural competency, virtual workplace wellness retreats can have a positive impact on your organization. Urban Balance’s fully customizable virtual retreat experiences offer a range of classes and activities tailored to the unique needs of your employees. Our goal is to help employees make their work life feel more sustainable, and for them to leave with a sense of peace and refreshment.

 

Contact us to schedule a retreat for your employees today and discover the benefits for yourself!
Ask us about our newest virtual retreat packages for 2023 including the Compassion Mini-Retreat, Half-day Virtual Retreat, Full-day Embodied Wisdom Retreat, and 6-hour Leadership/Management Virtual Retreat.

 

—–

Urban Balance is the premier provider of comprehensive on-site corporate wellness services including massage in the Portland, Oregon metro area and offers virtual workplace wellness programming worldwide. We deliver livestream and on-demand classes, webinars, and special events to the workplace environment for happier employees and a healthier bottom line.

Browse our virtual wellness services catalog with offerings including yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Zumba, HIIT, Barre Sculpt, meditation, nutrition, learning opportunities, and more.

Discover the benefits of the Urban Balance on-demand video library, a workplace wellbeing solution with 350+ holistic wellness classes. Includes membership options for companies and individuals.

4 Workplace Wellness Trends to Watch in 2023

/in , , /by

The global workforce experienced some big shake-ups in 2022, including the widely-discussed phenomena of ‘The Great Resignation’ and ‘Quiet Quitting’. Employees began the year with masking and distancing guidelines still in place, and many ended with navigating return-to-office mandates and newly formalized policies around hybrid work. It was a year of change, to be sure.

What has become abundantly clear a few weeks into 2023 is that employees expect wellness to be woven into their company’s business and leadership model – not just a quota-filling program or initiative. It has increasingly become an imperative – something employees are looking for and vetting prospective employers on.

Here are 4 wellness trends that companies are likely to prioritize in the coming year:

 

 

Mental Health & Wellbeing will Continue to be a Priority

Employee burnout continues across the worker spectrum, yet it appears Gen Z and millennial workers are experiencing burnout at some of the highest rates. According to a 2022 Deloitte survey of Gen Z and millennial workers, 46% of Gen Zs and 45% of millennials feel burned out due to the intensity/demands of their working environments.

The same survey found that one in four millennials and one in five Gen Zs do not believe that their employer takes burnout seriously, which indicates that many employers have yet to fully comprehend, let alone address, how burnout is impacting their business operations. This is an important issue for employers to focus on this year, with these two groups set to make up well over half of the workforce by 2025.

While mental health services and employee assistance programs should always be a first-line go-to in this regard, look to supplemental offerings like yoga, meditation, and nutrition classes to help employees stay in touch with the state of their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.

Hybrid Work = Hybrid Wellness Program

Organizations will continue to refine their corporate wellness programming for the hybrid workforce. The fall of 2022 brought many organizations increased certainty about what sort of structure they would continue with, be it a full return to the office, or a more formalized hybrid work model.

Many companies have adopted or are in the process of adopting virtual/on-demand offerings paired with on-site offerings like massage, cooking demos and yoga/movement classes.

For on-site programming, choose days when most employees will be in the office, like anchor days (or the equivalent at your company).

Memberships to on-demand wellness platforms have become a popular virtual offering for their ease of access and cost effectiveness for companies. Choose a platform that offers a wide range of class and webinar categories to increase the chance of appealing to a broad range of employees.

Financial Wellness Guidance & Resources

Finances are a huge stressor for employees given the recent economic climate. Soaring inflation and news of recession/widespread layoffs have been stoking a sense of uncertainty for some time.

According to the 2022 PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey, 76% of stressed employees say financial worries have had a negative impact on their productivity. 25% of them say the impact has been severe.

Employers can take a multipronged approach to reduce employee stress around finances by offering personalized financial support, as well as more generalized classes and webinars on common topics such as how to set a realistic budget, how to navigate major financial changes, and how to talk with their partner about money.

Employees often benefit from programming that takes a holistic approach by acknowledging the psychological and emotional components of financial matters that impact many employees’ relationship with money and, thus, hinder their ability to make positive change.

Workplace Wellbeing is a Responsibility Shared by All.

While the employee wellbeing burden has been shifted off the individual in recent years and into companies’ court has been in the spotlight in recent years, the reality is that it is a shared responsibility – it takes two. It is the job of employers and employees alike to actively work together to foster well-being-centered, psychologically safe workplaces with an underlying sense of community and care.

It is also a great practice to have a network of workplace wellbeing professionals you can call on. Bring in partners who specialize in holistic workplace wellness programming to provide support when and where it is needed most, and whose offerings are diverse enough that they can be adaptable to changing employee needs.

If your company is seeking to uplevel its commitment to employee wellbeing this year in any of the areas outlined above, contact us for a complimentary consultation.

 

————–
Urban Balance is the premier provider of comprehensive on-site corporate wellness services including massage in the Portland, Oregon metro area and offers virtual workplace wellness programming worldwide. We deliver livestream and on-demand classes, webinars, and special events to the workplace environment for happier employees and a healthier bottom line.

Browse our virtual wellness services catalog with offerings including yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Zumba, HIIT, Barre Sculpt, meditation, nutrition, learning opportunities, and more.

Discover the benefits of the Urban Balance on-demand video library, a workplace wellbeing solution with 350+ holistic wellness classes. Includes membership options for companies and individuals.

The Role of Chair Massage in the Workplace

/in , , , /by

Chair massage was easily one of the most popular corporate wellness offerings prior to the pandemic. With the return to the office underway at many companies and levels of uncertainty, stress, and anxiety still running high, this employee favorite is making a well-deserved comeback.

Why do so many employees jump at the opportunity for a chair massage? One reason is that touch is powerful – we all need it to some degree. The lack of touch, or touch deprivation, is actually connected with negative health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and immune system dysfunction.

During the crisis phase of the pandemic which had us isolating ourselves and social distancing like never before, collectively we learned just how much we need touch. Corporate HR, benefits, and wellness managers should be aware that it is something many of their employees have missed these past few years.

Benefits of Chair Massage at Work

Chair massage is known to reduce stress, decrease anxiety and depression, relieve muscle tension & headaches, increase focus and energy, improve sleep, lower blood pressure, increase immune function and improve range of motion.

Typically offered in 5-to-15-minute micro sessions, chair massage is a portable form of massage in which the therapist has access to the upper body including the head, neck, shoulders, back, arms, and hands. Massaging these areas reduces muscle tension, revives connective tissue, and energizes the individual.

Chair massage is a wonderful corporate wellness service for employers to provide employees who are experiencing chronic stress at work. For years now, scientifically supported studies (here and here, among the many) have shown that massage benefits employees in a multitude of ways, primarily through helping to mitigate the corrosive effects of work stress.

Lastly, though corporate chair massage can be offered as a one-off service, it will always be most beneficial when offered regularly and/or bundled with other holistic wellness services like yoga & movement classes, meditation & breathwork, nutrition talks & cooking demos, and employee wellness webinars.

When and Where to Offer Workplace Chair Massage

The best part of corporate chair massage service for employers is that, with a licensed massage therapist (LMT) coming right to your office, you’re bringing workplace wellbeing to your employees right where they are.

While chair massage can be offered anytime for any reason (trust us, you don’t need a special occasion to offer chair massage at your office – employees love it no matter the circumstances!) this service makes a great add-on to on-site health fairs, back-to-the-office parties, and other employee gatherings. It is a terrific way to say “thank you” to new and veteran employees alike after the many challenges of the past few years.

Scheduling regular, convenient chair massages at work is a wonderful way to eliminate employees’ excuses for self-care and in these present times can help decrease the stress of heading back to the office.

Chair Massage with Urban Balance

We partner with some of the most skilled and experienced professional massage therapists in the Portland metro area. Our LMTs are fully vaccinated and take all the appropriate COVID safety precautions, including wearing masks and sanitizing surfaces between clients.

Contact us today to set up a free consultation or schedule corporate chair massage services for your Portland, Oregon employees!

 

————————

Urban Balance is the premier provider of comprehensive on-site corporate wellness services including massage in the Portland, Oregon metro area and offers virtual workplace wellness programming worldwide. We deliver livestream and on-demand classes, webinars, and special events to the workplace environment for happier employees and a healthier bottom line.

Browse our virtual wellness services catalog with offerings including yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Zumba, HIIT, Barre Sculpt, meditation, nutrition, learning opportunities, and more.

Discover the benefits of the Urban Balance on-demand video library, a workplace wellbeing solution with over 350+ holistic wellness classes. Includes membership options for companies and individuals.

3-Ways-to-Get-Creative-with-your-Employee-Wellness-Programming

4 Ways to Get Creative with your Employee Wellness Programming

/in , , , , /by

At this point in the pandemic, when it comes to your virtual wellness offerings, maybe it feels like you’ve tried it all (and then some!) and aren’t quite sure how to pique your team’s interest. Need a little inspiration? If you’re looking for ways to keep your programming fresh and share gratitude with your employees as we head into 2022, here’s a list of fun event ideas to consider.

Virtual Wellness Retreats

Design a virtual wellness retreat experience tailored to your employees’ needs. This fully customizable option invites employees to enjoy all the relaxation, bliss, and centering of a wellness retreat within the safety of their own home or office. Companies that work with us can choose from any of the live or pre-recorded or classes in our catalog including movement, meditation, nutrition, wellness webinars, and more.

During these events, employees are encouraged to make their space a sanctuary and be as present as possible by disconnecting from work for the span of a few hours. Having some scheduled time away from their daily responsibilities could be just what your employees need to help feel nourished and re-charged for the new year.

Host a Virtual Wellness Week

If you’re looking to offer more of a multi-day experience with a diverse array of offerings spread out across several days, consider hosting a virtual wellness week.

With this type of event, we can help you customize a creative, informative, fun and interactive weeks’ worth of webinars. One possible way to structure the event is to focus on a different dimension of well-being each day for 5 days. Consider having 2-3 webinars live-streamed per day, and opt-in for recordings to send to employees who could not attend live. We will collaborate with you and with our skilled and experienced team of corporate wellness professionals to present a rich blend of webinars that will speak to mental, financial, physical, environmental and nutritional/social well-being.

This format has a high likelihood of sparking good conversation in the office (or virtual workspace), because it allows employees to steep in each topic for a little longer than usual. This extra time spent with the material can help guide employees toward meaningful change in their lives.

Virtual Health Fairs

Is your company planning a virtual health or benefits fair? These events are a great way to help employees take initiative over their well-being by showing up to interact with a variety of wellness experts as they learn about the benefits and services that are available to them.
Consider tying in benefits providers you haven’t worked with before to help keep things fresh. Offer a meditation session or movement class, or even a nutrition demo as part of the event. Providing opportunities for experiential learning through classes and webinars can help keep the event fun and informative while building community.

Substitute Your In-Person Holiday Gathering with Virtual Wellness Experiences

If your organization is unable to hold an in-person holiday gathering again this year, consider other ways you could bring employees together to appreciate their efforts and have a little fun. One of our favorite strategies is to offer a holiday-themed interactive cooking class where employees can cook with the instructor. You could also consider a virtual yoga class or a high-energy movement class like Zumba, HIIT, etc.

Whichever path you choose here are some general guidelines to help you design an experience that runs smoothly and ends up being meaningful for employees:

  • Meet employees where they are – make it relevant. Cater to your team’s wants and needs. Survey them. Give them two or 3 options to choose from. Find out what employees want and deliver! For instance, if you have a team that loves food, offer an interactive cooking class. If you’ve heard a lot of people say they’re burnt out or need a break, consider some gentle or restorative yoga, or group meditation session.
  • Make it interactive. have presenters ask engaging questions, offer fun prizes or other incentives for those who attend, and be sure to follow up with participants to see what their experience was like when all is said and done.
  • Give employees paid time to participate. This is one of the best ways to boost engagement and show employees that you are prioritizing their well-being.
  • Get the word out early and often. What is your department is doing to inform and remind employees of what is available to them? Employees may need to hear about wellness offerings several times before they really notice them and decide to participate.
  • Offer multiple ways to participate. Livestream classes are great for bringing people together in real-time and building community. Consider offering a recording for those who could not make it to the live session.
  • Build excitement around the offerings. To ensure employees show up to reap the benefits, really make it an event that employees won’t want to miss – make it “cool” to participate! Offer a drawing or other incentive or find other ways to create a little friendly competition.

In these times, there is no doubt that companies will need to be creative when it comes to supporting employee well-being. Think outside the box and let us know how we can support your remote or hybrid employees. We’d love to brainstorm with you to create an event that makes a difference in their lives!

 

————————————————-
Urban Balance is the premier provider of comprehensive on-site and virtual corporate wellness services in Portland, Oregon. We deliver yoga, Pilates, meditation, massage, nutrition and learning opportunities to the office environment for happier employees and a healthier bottom line.

Check out our catalog of Virtual Wellness Services here.