Guest Editor's Note

This month’s issue of Employee Benefits & Wellness Excellence Essentials features some great articles that will give you insight into best practices and cutting edge ideas to create momentum for your organization to become one of the top organizations in your industry.

Health Tracking Is Trending: Why track health metrics?

These days, it appears as if just about any metric can be tracked, both during your waking hours, as well as in the moments that you are in deep sleep. Calories burnt or consumed, steps taken, distance cycled, heart rate, sleep quality — there is rising interest in tracking these health indicators, and there are countless devices available to capture these metrics.

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Following Principles Or Chasing Shiny Objects: Which is the foundation of your worksite wellness pro

As more and more employers focus their attention on employee health, wellness, and wellbeing, having a clear understanding of worksite wellness programs becomes critical. Based on my observations of the field, I see far too many practitioners chasing the shiny object and succumbing to shiny object syndrome (SOS). It is not unusual to see worksite wellness program practitioners asking on LinkedIn for ideas about what they should do next for programming or activities within their program.

Financial Illness: 8 keys to changing employee financial behavior

If your company is like most, financial stress is a significant presence in your workplace. Surveys tell us that one in every four American workers is seriously financially distressed. That means as many as 30 million workers may be physically “at work” but because of stressors, they can easily be distracted and may not be performing efficiently or effectively as a result.

Burnout At Work: 5 habits that lead to depression and solutions on how to beat them

If unchecked, burnout can lead to severe, often fatal consequences --- such is the case with Japan’s overworked workers. You can learn more about them here.Back to my question: Could you be experiencing burnout at work?

Paid Time Off: 5 advantages

A current trend in employee paid benefit time is to provide some level of paid time off to all employees, including part time and seasonal. Partially driving this trend are the states, cities, and municipalities that have already instituted legal regulations requiring companies to offer a minimum level of paid sick time to all employees.

Weight Management: Why it should be part of your wellness strategy

With obesity a driving risk factor in many costly, chronic health conditions, employers have a vested interest in helping employees manage their weight. Not only do these chronic conditions impact health care costs, they also affect overall productivity and engagement in the workplace.

Educational Reimbursement: You’ve approved it. Now what?

Educational Reimbursement programs have been acknowledged as a great benefit to attract talent and ease the financial burden for employees who seek continuing professional development.It is generally accepted that this benefit should not be used as a tool for employee retention, but it can assist with preventable voluntary turnover. Being able to connect enhanced knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or other characteristics (KSAO) that align with business goals and strategies provide opportunities for engagement and demonstrate employer support.

Chair Massage Therapy: 3 reasons why it is a right call for any workplace

As the job market heats up – and work hours continue to increase – the search continues for workplace amenities that attract and retain employees, while promoting employee wellness. You may have considered options like beanbag chairs and game rooms, but there’s one solution that’s healthy, affordable, and beloved by employees: Chair massage at the office.