18 Wellness ideas for remote employees

Wellness is the active pursuit of healthy habits with the goal of improving one’s physical and mental health.

Many companies have wellness plans — but, not all of them extend to remote employees, who stand to benefit just as much from this extra care as anyone else.

Virtual wellness plans for remote employees can result in:

• Healthier behavior, both physical and dietary,
• Reduced stress and anxiety,
• Increased employee happiness,
• Rise in productivity,
• Higher employee retention, and
• Reduced health care costs.

If these benefits interest you, try giving some of the 18 virtual wellness tips below a go.

#1: Define a wellness budget

A nudge in the right direction is sometimes all that remote employees need to start making healthier decisions, especially when this nudge is monetary — enter the wellness budget.

A wellness budget is a cost-covering perk for gym membership, yoga classes, swimming lessons, healthy cooking classes, or whatever else you decide to reimburse your employees on a monthly basis.

How you define your wellness budget (what costs and services it covers and by how much) is up to you. Just keep in mind that it should directly reflect the wellness benefits you want your remote employees to enjoy.

#2: Define an ergonomic office budget

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) like back pain or carpal tunnel go hand in hand with a sedentary lifestyle. 

Countermeasures for this in the office can be seen in the form of ergonomic equipment — but remote employees don’t always receive this benefit.

You can contribute to your employees’ health and wellbeing by either reimbursing them for the cost of ergonomic equipment or loaning it to them.

#3: Introduce a work buddy system

Studies show that 20% of remote workers suffer from loneliness. 

One of the ways to combat this is by establishing a buddy system program. 

This entails pairing remote employees (preferably, from different departments) and having them schedule a couple of one-on-one video calls throughout the week without any work-related agenda. 

The goal is to mimic in-office watercooler talks and create a sense of community within the remote workplace.

#4: Try the “good habit” challenge

Getting into good habits can be made easier when attempted in a group setting. This will not only make it more interesting, but also create a support group for everyone involved. 

Just choose a good habit — like “drink 100 ounces of water every day” or “walk ten thousands steps a day” — and then track which employees have met this goal, day-by-day, over the course of three weeks. 

These three week periods are just long enough to possibly create a meaningful change — while also being short enough not to completely alienate the employees who fail the challenge early.

#5: Exterminate bad habits

One way to help employees break bad habits is by establishing a healthy habit they’ll do instead. 

For example, if the goal is to stop smoking, then every time they get a craving to light a cigarette, they could do 10 jumping jacks or drink a glass of water.

Of course, the support group formed by the employees will play a critical role here. 

Make sure their Pumble or similar team chat app has a #quit-bad-habits group where the participants can offer advice or words of encouragement to one another.

Just forget about the three-week time limit for this one — employees who participate in this are in it for the long haul.

#6: Clean virtual workspaces

Cluttered workspaces have been linked with increased anxiety.

Therefore, encouraging employees to keep their desktops tidy is a worthwhile endeavor.

You can go about this in several ways — from including house cleaning services as part of your wellness budget to establishing that a picture of a tidy desk on the team’s Pumble group is a signal that they’ve clocked out for the day. 

#7: Have a go at online group physical activity

Exercise is crucial for a sedentary lifestyle demanded by most remote jobs.

Hiring a professional coach or getting an experienced employee to lead virtual group exercise sessions — like online yoga or online stretching — can be a great way to involve people who are unlikely to go out and attend such classes on their own.

#8: Practice healthy eating

You’d think that remote workers would eat more healthily just because they have more time to prepare meals — but healthy dietary habits don’t just drop out of thin air.

Many remote employees likely don’t know how to prepare healthy meals.

You can help them out by hiring chefs to hold virtual cooking courses and creating simple yet nutritious recipes.

A healthy snack gift box is another gesture most remote employees will appreciate.

#9: Try some pet therapy

Pet therapy is a proven way of spreading positivity among employees.

You can’t make owning a pet a job requirement — but you can organize video calls for showcasing pets or a #pets channel on Pumble where employees can share images of their furry friends (or scaly, feathery, etc.).

#10: Make good use of your #random channel

As good as the buddy system is at combating loneliness, it’s still limited in scope.

You can complement it by encouraging the use of the #random channel on the company Pumble, where employees can start random chats or share funny/interesting images.

This also emulates the watercooler talk in a way, without the looming threat of video call fatigue.

#11: Enable employees to create group channels 

The best way to get remote employees talking in an informal setting is by discovering shared interests.

You can predict some interest by creating #pets, #movies, or #workout channels — but allowing employees to make what channels they want can bolster team building around topics you’d never think of.

#12: Organize game nights

With the proportion of Millennials and Gen-Z workers increasing, it’s only natural that their hobbies should gain relevance. 

For example, gaming is a hobby that 80% of Millenials and Gen-Z partake in. 

To this end, creating a #gaming channel on Pumble or even hosting some game tournaments as part of team building should work to great effect.

#13: Introduce shared digital office hours

A shared digital office hour is a block of time when all remote employees in a team are connected to a voice or video call.

This isn’t a meeting, there is no agenda. 

Everyone just goes about their work, as they would normally, preferably with their microphones muted. 

But, this also gives them a chance to strike up a conversation, as they would in a traditional office setting.

#14: Try plant decorations

Plants have a positive impact on productivity — them’s the facts.

This means a houseplant could make for an excellent gift for remote employees.

Even just sharing this information could help, since plants are inexpensive and their positive effect largely unknown.

#15: Subsidize home office expenses

When an employee starts working from an office, everything they need is provided for them.

You should extend this courtesy to remote employees as well.

This can include more than home office equipment by covering things like Internet connection. 

After all, if the work requires a speedy Internet connection, then ensuring all remote workers have access to it is not unreasonable to ask.

#16: Promote breaks/PTO

For many, the image of a remote worker is that of a person in pajamas, lazing around and doing the bare minimum of work.

To shed this stigma, it’s not uncommon for remote employees to work without breaks and waive away their vacation days.

The company boss or team lead should state in clear terms that employees should take breaks to stay productive and spend their hard-earned vacation days.

#17: Remind employees to take sick days

Studies show that remote workers are reluctant to take sick days. Fevers and shivers that would keep them away from the office are but a mild inconvenience to a remote employee — or so they act.

But an employee who’s soldiering through a flu can cause more harm than good, both to themselves and the company. 

To combat this, communication is key. 

Let remote employees know that they should take sick leave when sick. 

And, to make sure they can rest undisturbed, they can display a sick emoji (🤒) next to their name on the company Pumble workspace for the duration of their sick leave.

#18: Encourage routines

Flexible work hours are often seen as a perk of remote work — but they come with some serious drawbacks. 

Inconsistencies in when you start and end your working day can create false expectations about when you’re available, leading to colleagues contacting you before you start work or, in most cases, after you’ve finished for the day.

Setting up a work routine and communicating it within a team can help remote employees disconnect from work more effectively.

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