Does your acupuncture practice offer "workplace wellness" services to local businesses? If not, you might want to consider this lucrative channel for expanding your business. Workplace Wellness programs and wellness-related benefits have grown in popularity over the past several decades. Employers of all sizes have implemented workplace initiatives encouraging workers to pay attention to their ongoing health and well-being. Why? Because encouraging employees to take care of themselves is good for an organization's bottom line.
The Benefits For Employees & Employers
Healthy, happy employees are more productive. Employees who are in good health generate fewer health care costs and lower absentee rates. The Kaiser Family Foundation's 2016 Employer Health Benefits Survey reported that 83 percent of U.S. companies with more than 200 employees offered some kind of wellness program.1
Many of these programs included incentives for employees to make healthy lifestyle changes such as smoking cessation or weight loss. Kaiser's survey also found that businesses are beginning to offer on-site health services for their employees, with larger organizations leading the charge. Additionally, employees who enjoy wellness benefits in the workplace, such as healthy dining options, relaxation centers, and on-site health counseling, are more satisfied with their employment.
As the lines between work and leisure continue to blur, employers frequently choose to provide wellness perks as a means of retaining their best employees. In his article, "The Top Corporate Wellness Trends to Watch for in 2017," Alan Kohll notes organizations that wish to remain competitive realize that an innovative wellness program is essential.2
How it Works
You my be wondering how offering workplace wellness services can benefit your acupuncture practice? Well, there's more than just one answer to that question. Every organization's wellness program is different and requires different services. According to the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans' (IFEBP) Workplace Wellness Trends 2017 Survey Report, employers are offering programs to help control health care costs and improve overall employee well-being.3
Most employers are also expanding beyond traditional wellness services such as flu shots and smoking cessation. The IFEBP survey found that 62 percent of employers were providing chiropractic services coverage. Standing or walking workstations were offered by 42 percent of those surveyed.3 So what about you? Are you already offering workplace wellness services? If not, we've assembled some ideas to help you get started. Here are three ways your acupuncture business can catch the workplace wellness wave:
Acupuncture could be a popular perk for employees who work long hours. Inquire with local businesses about scheduling special relaxation and restoration days for their staff. Or, if you already offer mobile services, you might agree to allow employees to book on-site appointments anytime.
Let your imagination be your guide. What can you bring to a local factory, office building, or retail store that would delight its employees and earn you new clients?
References
Structured water (H3O2) can be considered a fourth state of water between liquid and solid. It has the hexagonal structure of ice; however, missing a critical bond, it behaves more like a gel than a solid, but retains some of its crystalline structure.
In the past five years of my clinical practice, I have seen an astonishing upsurge in the chronic use of proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) medications for the gastrointestinal issue diagnosed by allopathic medicine as GERD. It is not uncommon to encounter patients taking these prescriptions for five-plus years.
Working with chronically ill patients entails acknowledging the reality that not all patients will survive their diagnosis. Chinese medicine and acupuncture play a crucial role in palliative and end-of-life care, addressing medication and disease side effects, alleviating pain associated with death, reducing anxiety and stress, and helping patients find peace during the dying process.
