What is a Wellness Seminar?

A wellness seminar is a presentation by professionals or experts from the health industry that promotes the understanding and implementation of a healthy lifestyle. Typically, these seminars are sponsored by a workplace for its employees as a long-term investment. Many corporations who pay for sick leave and health insurance can lose money due to unhealthy, unproductive or sick workers. A wellness seminar aims to save money over time by teaching employees how to stay healthy, energized, and focused. Seminar topics can vary, as can each seminar's strategy and length.

The topics covered at a wellness seminar may regard practically any subject having to do with wellness or the awareness of and work put toward living a healthy lifestyle. Generally, the topics are focused toward those topics that will make employees more productive at work. A presentation might focus on how to get the most energy from one’s diet or how to get the proper amount of sleep each night. Exercise and quitting smoking are other popular subjects at these seminars.

Seminars funded by an organization for its workers often pay the cost of hiring these health experts with the hope that the long-term benefits will greatly outweigh the short-term price. Research has strongly suggested that employees who are healthier are also happier and more productive. Thus, they can often meet deadlines and goals, which in turn may help to keep production costs down. Other studies have mentioned that companies that regularly involve employees in seminars and keep communication open also have a lower turnover rate. Less time spent on the hiring and training processes can also translate to more money in the long run.

Many corporations pay a substantial part of its employees’ health care costs. People with lower body mass indexes (BMIs) who exercise and do not smoke tend to have far cheaper health care insurance premiums than do overweight people with unhealthy habits. Likewise, people with average body fat percentages tend to experience fewer illnesses and visit the doctor infrequently. Therefore, companies with healthy employees could pay less each month to health insurance premiums as well as doctor bills.

A wellness seminar may be brief and presented over a lunch break, or it could last a full day or days. Depending on the purpose and scope of a particular wellness seminar, many types of presentations may be involved. Doctors, nurses, nutritionists and others with a strong knowledge of the topic at hand may simply speak and provide handouts so that employees may increase their awareness and understanding of that topic.

Films or presentations are often shown, too. Longer seminars may involve the assessment of each individual’s wellness level. This data could be determined via a questionnaire or by simply conferring with a professional. Finally, a plan might be set in place for that individual to increase his level of wellness. The ultimate outcome potentially benefits both the employee and his workplace if goals are met to improve one’s health.