Your law office is only as healthy as your team members. If you find merit in this statement, you may also find merit in implementing a wellness plan within your firm. The legal profession is notorious for its prevalence of poor physical and mental health. The unique pressures of the modern legal environment leaves lawyers significantly more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than other professionals.
A successful wellness plan establishes resources to help your attorneys and staff members maintain optimal physical, mental, and emotional wellness. A successful wellness program requires a partner skilled in thoughtful development and execution. This short paper aids that process, providing some tips on implementing a wellness program within your law office.
Why?
The mental and physical health of your team members is vital long term, aiding increased periods of peak performanc. A strategically aligned plan directly impacts the success of your legal practice in numerous ways:
It takes time to build an effective team of skilled attorneys and reliable support staff. You put in the effort to attract them to the firm – why not put in the effort to keep them there? Wellness programs help bolster employee satisfaction by providing tools that employees find useful in their professional and personal lives. Health screenings empower employees to stay on top of their physical wellness. Custom personal training, nutrition programs and office exercise programs encourage physical activity. Flexible work schedules send the message that it’s okay for employees to take time for themselves. Each of these resources provides value that increases team member satisfaction and long-term productivity.
It’s not necessary to beat your employees over the head with demands for healthier living. We can help your firm to develop a ‘culture of wellness’. Data from our assessment designs modern lifestyle programs that become engrained in the fabric of the law office, where attorneys and staff members are consistently exposed to healthier options and opportunities. As stated in the Harvard Business Review article How to Design a Corporate Wellness Plan that Actually Works, “It is first and foremost about creating a way of life in the workplace that integrates a total health model into every aspect of business practice, from company policies to everyday work activities.”
Combine, a culture of wellness with satisfied employees and you get increased productivity. Healthy employees are happier at work and play, are more efficient and are more effective in their execution of targets. There is a large percentage reduction in illness related absenteeism and team members can think clearer and communicate better because they are not going through the day exhausted and feeling overwhelmed. We effectively implement employee wellness programs that directly result in more productive teams translating into higher profits for your firm.
How?
It’s more than just starting a weight loss program or offering an incentive to quit smoking. Our assessments provide data that highlights the areas for physiological development that would most contribute to peak mental and physical performance. A short, in depth health and lifestyle questionnaire achieves the first step. These assessments are essential for determining where your team members find challenges and concerns both in their professional and personal lives.
Data from assessments is used to create personalised wellness plans. Common issues among your team members are also identified, this data is used to create the inhouse component of the program.
Smoking Cessation
Strength & Conditioning
On-Site Exercise Solutions
Short-Term Health Challenges
Communication.
Team members need to know that you have implanted a wellness program and what it entails. The framework of the plan is laid out with the appropritae mix of short video and face to face engagement is laid out at greater lenghth via targeted email. The goal is to create a create a culture of wellness.
Opinions are split on the issue of incentives and milestones for employee participation in wellness plans. According to the Harvard Review article, financial incentives have not been proven effective for long-term behavioural changes.
In fact, they may even foster some resentment and ill-feelings among team members. Instead, use team-based incentives to build camaraderie and encourage support among employees like competitions where strategic teams work as a unit to meet specific health goals. These options are more effective for creating a community of support, which leads to long-term changes.
Personal SMART goals are next. Quartely screenings provide data that demonstrates the development of the perticipant. Quarterly surveys, evaluate their participant impressions. Our wellness plans are never static, each team and team situation are unique, so there is always room for change and enhancements.
Whether you are a mid-sized law firm, a small practice or inhouse department with only a few members, a wellness plan can be of great assistance to your employees and the firm. It takes a bit of effort, but the result is more than worth it.
Tiger Athletic Fitness & Conditioning is a modern, private, appointment only strength & conditioning gym in the heart of Sandton. Our custom exercise programs stem from personalised assessments, strength & conditioning, motivation and education.
Together Changes Everything. Let’s Get Stronger!
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