One-third of Canadian employers have a formal wellness strategy for their employees, says a survey by the Conference Board of Canada. Almost half have an informal strategy for employee wellness.

"Healthy workplaces consider employee well-being broadly and consider aspects of employees' physical, psychological, and social health," said Allison Cowan, director, Total Rewards and Workplace Health Research, The Conference Board of Canada, in a Dec. 5 announcement. "Investing in a comprehensive health and wellness program is an essential part of a healthy work environment and makes good business sense." 

Lost productivity

Recent Conference Board research found that lost productivity due to depression and anxiety costs the Canadian economy billions. This underlines the importance of having a wellness strategy.

"A comprehensive approach to a healthy workplace encompasses employee health promotion and wellness initiatives for both physical and mental health alongside more traditional and well-established programs for occupational health and safety and absence and disability management," says the Conference Board. "Employee wellness efforts focus on reducing behaviours that have a negative impact on employee health and promoting those that have beneficial health outcomes."