If you’ve got to be there every day, it should be pleasant.

The days of cartoonishly evil upper management are long since over. We’re not living in Dilbert strips anymore, people; workplace happiness is more important now than ever before. To that end, every company needs a good corporate wellness program. A good corporate wellness program means happier employees with balanced lives, and happier employees with balanced lives means smoother, more productive work days.

Set Clear Goals

What’s the goal of the program? Are you trying to help everyone stay fit? Help everyone relax? Both? Preferably both? Whatever it is, that’s got to be page one. If you’ve got the means and resources, try to offer as many options as you can. Regular walks, yoga sessions, maybe some scheduled down time. Even something silly like an open-mic hour might be fun, if there’s interest.

Interactive Stuff

Interactive, game-like elements can make the process a little more fun. If you’re having everyone talk regular walks, for instance, have them wear step counters, and encourage everyone to get as high as they can. There are some things you might want to refrain from, though, like call center scoreboards. Those just make everyone overly-competitive and miserable.

Leadership Support

A corporate wellness program should be for every member of the company, not just the regular employees. Managers and execs should join in whenever possible to help foster a good, friendly rapport. If you don’t join in, employees may feel like they’re being made to do busywork that higher-ups don’t have to bother with.

Rewards

Sometimes, you’ll need to offer a couple of incentives to get employees to participate. Don’t make it anything too valuable, lest things turn cutthroat. A free lunch, maybe some movie tickets; just something pleasant that’ll make someone say “alright, I’m on board.”

Committee

Even the best wellness programs didn’t start perfect; they were tweaked and managed on the fly, and to do that, you’ll need a committee of employees from every end of the company. The committee should keep their door open and their ears to the ground. If the employees want something fixed, it’s their job to fix it.