OneDigital’s 2022 Engagement & Wellbeing Calendar

October: Overcoming Obstacles and Removing Barriers to Preventive Screenings

The pandemic led to a significant decrease in preventive care access and greatly impacted cancer screening, with millions missing out on regular care.* But even before the pandemic, several factors stood in the way of individuals seeking medical screenings.

Lack of information about the process, including costs, the time required, and accessibility, coupled with fear of discomfort during the examination and anxiety around a negative result, are key reasons your employees may skip screenings.

Access the resources below to aid in understanding the barriers and motivating factors for delaying screenings to ensure you offer the right interventions, making a real difference in how you support your people and business.

*American Cancer Society

September: Reactivate Your Mental + Physical Resiliency

September marks the beginning of fall, bringing more colors to our trees, cooler days, and, unfortunately - flu season. A flu outbreak in your workplace can result in increased absenteeism, decreased productivity and ultimately lead to higher healthcare costs. Employees thriving across the wellbeing spectrum heal faster, are more resilient and miss 41% less work attributed to poor overall health.

While businesses cannot control employees getting sick, you can encourage preventative care to reduce the number of illnesses spread and educate your employees on best practices to stay healthy. As an employer, you can also empower employees to be financially prepared for illness-related medical expenses, which can cause financial stress, exacerbating physical and mental illnesses.

Utilize the resources below to help boost the resiliency of your workforce to decrease the impact of illness this flu season and position your organization to thrive.

August: Routine Maintenance

Everything needs routine maintenance to keep working properly. Cars need oil changes, gutters need cleaning, and technology needs software updates.

Just like things we use regularly need a check-up, we do too! Monitoring our health and wellbeing ensures our bodies are functioning properly.

Visiting a primary care doctor at least once a year is a good rule of thumb to check up on health, detect and prevent early illness or disease, and manage chronic conditions.

This month, support your employees by sharing the resources below and encouraging them to maximize their healthcare plan.

July: Self-Care Summer

Physical wellbeing encompasses overall health and energy. This can include the ability to engage in day-to-day activities, prevent and manage diseases and rely on the body’s ability to naturally heal. And while the need to stay physically healthy may be obvious to reduce short and long-term cost drivers for an organization, the connection between physical and mental, or even financial wellbeing, may be less clear.

Total wellbeing consists of five elements: Physical, Social & Emotional (Mental), Financial, Community and Purpose/Career. When any of the five areas of wellbeing are impacted, it starts a domino effect impacting each of the others. For example, poor financial wellbeing is a significant cause of stress, which can affect physical health and vice versa.

This July, share the resources below with your teams to educate on the connection between the five areas of wellbeing to highlight how taking care of one can improve all.

June: Better Together

Every individual brings unique characteristics and identities to the table. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEI&B) initiatives aim to recognize and celebrate all the various ways people show up and come together.

Many employers acknowledge that without inclusive, people-centered workplaces, the wellbeing of their employees suffers. Therefore, the workplace serves as an important place (in person and virtually) to form DEI&B efforts.

When employees feel valued, respected and accepted, they perform better and have overall higher levels of wellbeing. Diverse workforces are higher performing; as they benefit from the unique experiences and perspectives of their team, resulting in more creativity and innovation!

Cultivate an environment that celebrates your employees' differences by tapping into the resources below.

May: Manage Your Mind

Even before COVID-19 upended life as we know it both on and off the job, workforce mental health has been under pressure. Rates of mental health concerns have been on the rise for decades; however, for many, the ongoing pandemic and surrounding challenges have made the situation much worse.

Workforce mental health support not only saves money otherwise lost to costly medical and disability claims—and absenteeism and presenteeism—but also could save lives. Employers have an important opportunity to address employee mental health by offering inclusive work environments and providing easy access for employees struggling with mental illness.

This May during Mental Health Awareness month, support your employees by utilizing these helpful resources to help break the stigma surrounding mental health concerns.

April: Focus on Financial Wellbeing

Health care costs and saving adequately for retirement are two of the most pressing financial issues employees face today—regardless of income level. Many organizations manage financial and health benefits separately, but health and finances are impossible to separate for employees.

For employers, offering financial benefits that align with employee needs is critical. 81% of employees are interested in employer support that would improve their overall financial wellbeing, and 75% are more likely to stay with a company that cares about their financial wellbeing.*

This April, during financial literacy month, put your people first by boosting financial health and providing education around savings, retirement and day-to-day budgeting. The resources below offer the perfect starting point to help you navigate the needs of your workforce across all life stages and financial goals.

*Voya

March: Fuel Immunity

The immune system is our body's most significant natural defense for preventing illness and chronic diseases. And yet, the importance of maintaining a healthy immune system is often overlooked and easily neglected. A weakened immune system can wreak havoc on the body, leading to a decline in daily functioning, increased levels of stress, and the onset of chronic diseases.* Stress, sleep, nutrition, and physical activity are all factors that significantly affect immune health.

Like cars need fuel to run correctly, bodies must be fueled to maintain optimum functioning. By encouraging employees to optimize immune health and take breaks, you can boost productivity, mental focus and increase the overall wellbeing of your workforce.

Share the resources below with your employees to provide helpful tips that emphasize the importance of fueling their immune system every day.

*Centers for Disease Control

February: Whole-Hearted

Let’s get to the heart of the matter. February signifies the national health observance of heart health. Typically, we focus on the prevention and early detection of heart disease. Why? According to the CDC, 1 in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease*; however, heart disease can often be prevented by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and managing heart conditions.

This year, think about taking a more holistic approach. Heart disease not only leads to strokes and heart attacks (in the form of catastrophic claims to your medical plan) but also steals the lives and livelihood of your people and causes heartbreak for their loved ones.

Take a whole-hearted approach to February by advocating for adopting healthy habits amongst your employees to manage and prevent heart disease while also encouraging your employees to practice actions that make their hearts feel full.

Review the employer resources to set up your month for success and connect your employees with the educational materials on “heart health” below.

*Centers for Disease Control

January: Prioritize Yourself

A new year can signify a fresh start, a ‘shiny’ new you, complete with new goals. But for many, the thought of setting personal or professional goals may feel less than inspiring after the challenges and continued uncertainty of the last two years.

Instead, encourage your employees to focus on taking stock of the moments, activities and things that enhance their quality of life and shedding those that do not. Suggest some ideas that your team can use to set intentions around practicing kindness and self-care for themselves and others, including:

• Make space for healthy habits such as taking breaks, getting organized and getting enough rest to keep your immune system rejuvenated.

• Evaluate and set healthy boundaries with your work schedule to prevent burnout.

• Practice empathy with colleagues who may be experiencing their own challenges.

As you navigate the road ahead, rely on these resources to help your employees stay mindful of prioritizing their needs and, of course, make sure you’re implementing these practices yourself.