Employees who participate in your wellness program exercise their biceps, heart and lungs.
But do they exercise their brains?
Perhaps they should. Across the country, a growing number of companies are realizing how important brain health is to performance and engagement. While many traditional wellness initiatives focus on employees’ physical health, companies such as Aetna Behavioral Health are offering programs that employees can use to improve upon four key areas of brain performance: emotion, thinking, feeling and self-regulation.
Aetna’s program is specifically designed for employers looking to improve productivity, as well as the health and well-being of their workforce. Each employee first undergoes a web-based assessment process which identifies his brain profile. Based on his individual strengths and weaknesses, the program recommends training games, exercises and videos to help optimize brain health, reduce stress and increase productivity.
Why the focus on brain health? According to experts, it all has to do with engagement. You can put wellness options in front of your employees; but unless they are emotionally engaged in the program, it will be relatively ineffective. So if your Middle Tennessee company wants to add brain training to its wellness program offerings, consider the following questions when choosing a program:
- What’s the science behind the training? Is there published, scientific research that supports the claims made by the program’s creators? Look for offerings that have been recommended by neuropsychologists.
- What are the specific benefits employees will receive? Is there a way to measure progress or gauge the success of employees’ cognitive training? Ideally, you want to use a program that measures results and transfers improvements into “real life.”
- How much time will employees have to invest to see results? Brain exercise is not a magic pill. Employees have to do the exercises to see the benefits, so clarify the effort that will be required.
- Will your employees really use it? Make sure you choose a brain training program that is fun, provides increasing challenge and fits the needs and lifestyles of your employees. If training is too difficult, boring or irrelevant, employees are not likely to put in the required effort.
As a leading provider of staffing services in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Wood Personnel stays on top of the trends impacting our clients’ businesses. Learn more about our staffing and recruiting services for Middle Tennessee employers.
