Flight Centre Travel Group’s holistic approach to employee wellness resulted in a win at Benefits Canada’s 2023 Workplace Benefits Awards on Oct. 20.
The company won in the Health/wellness program category for employers with fewer than 1,000 employees for its Healthwise program. This year, Flight Centre focused on several key wellness areas, including relationships and connections, as well as mental, emotional, physical, existential and environmental health.
“Engagement has been good and, depending on the program, there can be a lot of moving parts,” says Anna Fisher, the organization’s health and wellness director. “We try our best to ensure that our employees stay happy, healthy and successful at work.”
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While Flight Centre continues to provide employees with a hybrid working arrangement, it’s also supporting employee health through several onsite amenities, including gyms, meditation rooms and access to Peloton exercise equipment. Some offices also offer onsite massage therapy and acupuncture. The company also provides discounts on gym memberships for fully-remote workers or those who don’t live near an office location.
Flight Centre’s ‘Hour of Power’ program allows workers to devote 60 minutes each week to their physical or mental well-being and post photos on the company’s intranet to motivate their colleagues. As of May 2023, nearly 300 employees have registered for the program. Employees also take part in monthly health challenges to improve their well-being while motivating their co-workers.
Each month, teams of employees participate in 30-minute educational workshops covering a variety of health and wellness topics, including food and nutrition, sleep health and self care. The company also offers one-on-one nutrition coaching through 30-minute video calls.
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In 2022, Flight Centre introduced a ‘bio age’ quiz to give employees an indication of how well they’re currently managing their health and well-being. Fisher notes the majority of participants reported a bio age that’s younger than their actual age.
The company’s extensive health and wellness program is communicated through its intranet as well as by employees who want to get the message out. “Communication [of these programs] can be a challenge, [but] we’re lucky enough to have ambassadors in various markets,” she says.