During the COVID-19 pandemic, people spent a lot of time isolated and indoors, which helped foster an environment where some people now feel lonelier than ever. The result is a loss of social connectedness—the degree to which people feel the social connections and relationships in their lives to satisfy their wants and needs. When social…
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What Does It Mean to Be a Well Workplace?
The Well Workplace Award application period is open! WELCOA’s VP of Business Development sits down with COO Sara Rauch for a quick conversation about how the award has evolved and why you should lead the charge to get your organization designated a Platinum Well Workplace. Watch the video or read the interview below to learn more.
Jenny Green What does it mean to be a Well Workplace?
Sara Rauch There are a lot of employer of choice awards that an organization can choose to stand out and attract top talent, but the Well Workplace Award sets a new standard for what it means to be human at work by recognizing organizations that are contributing to human flourishing and human thriving through their wellness efforts. The reality is that companies are spending millions of dollars on recruiting efforts, and being seen as an employer of choice is paramount for remaining competitive and innovative in today’s market. We know employer of choice awards help us with our recruitment efforts. Wouldn’t it be the pinnacle of that type of recognition to be able to say I am an organization that has systematically created a space where the humans who work here are healthy mentally and physically, where they feel a sense of safety—psychologically and physically, where they feel like they achieve their full potential at work, where they feel a sense of belonging and community? Those are all the things that we are evaluating organizations on.
JG How has WELCOA’s Well Workplace Award process evolved?
SR WELCOA has over 30 years of experience guiding the wellness industry, and throughout that time, our industry has become the experts in what motivates humans to be healthier and how organizations contribute to their success? Over the last 5 years or so, we’ve been working with organizations that are doing the best of the best when it comes to workplace wellness including organizations who have been Platinum Well Workplaces in the past. We wanted to understand how they would like to leverage the award to better tell their story. Then we worked with other employee engagement experts, doctors, researchers, wellness experts in culture and behavior change to create what we believe is the ultimate instrument for recognizing and measuring employers who are doing the best work possible creating those environments to help humans thrive.
JG What is new that people should be aware of?
SR We’ve made it even easier to complete the application process. If you’ve already taken the Well Workplace Checklist, all of your answers will flow directly into your award application which will get you 80% done. So, we are hoping that our members who have already been engaging with the 7 Benchmarks and the well workplace process will be excited and motivated to take that last step, which is to being recognized as an employer who has distinguished themselves as leaders and innovators in workplace health promotion. Then we’ll help them celebrate those achievements.
Cement your team’s legacy as a Platinum Workplace Award winner by beginning the application now.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
Jenny Green, MS
Vice President of Business Development • WELCOA
Vice President of Business Development • WELCOA
Jenny’s passion for living a healthy lifestyle with a focus on a positive mindset comes from her days as an All-American in the pole vault for the University of Nebraska and Team USA. Utilizing her Master of Arts, Jenny has experience in developing behavior management and growing team culture along with new brand development.
Sara Martin Rauch, MS
Chief Operating Officer • WELCOA
Chief Operating Officer • WELCOA
Sara has launched award-winning wellness programs and engineered work environments to create cultures of health across multiple industries. At WELCOA, her role is to ensure you continue to have access to the best products and information so you can achieve your professional and personal wellness goals.
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