A New Employee Benefits Solution
Employee benefits are changing, in part as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and how work environments have shifted. There’s also a growing interest in workplace programs and work perks that help with reducing stress, supporting employee happiness, and addressing mental wellness overall.
According to a survey conducted by Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in the fall of 2020:
- General wellness programs have decreased by 7%
- Stress management resources have increased by 11%
- Meditation or mindfulness program offerings have increased by 7%
This uptick is welcome news for employees and employers alike. Research shows that as workplace stress increases, employee work happiness and job satisfaction decrease. The study also found that stress and happiness are inversely related, so the more stress increases, the more satisfaction decreases.
Whether you’ve already made changes to your employee well-being programs to promote happiness and help manage stress, or you’re still in the planning phases, it’s important that your wellness offerings include an option that is easy for employees to use, out of the ordinary (e.g., fun!), and feels personalized.
Surveys have found that the majority of employees don’t use their company’s well-being benefits, thus the need for out-of-the-box tactics.
OVR Technology’s solution—Inhale—is an employee benefit that checks all of the needed boxes. It is easy for employers to implement, but also simple and fun to use for employees. Inhale can also be personalized as it includes XX# different virtual reality (VR) experiences that employees can choose from—and personalized employee benefits is a well-being offering that’s become more important since COVID-19.
Perhaps most importantly, Inhale works! OVR Technology blends elements of meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, time in nature (or, as it is also known, forest bathing), and aromatherapy together for a multi-faceted approach to help users lower their stress and boost their happiness. That last part—aromatherapy—is core to Inhale: the power of smell makes VR more engaging, immersive, emotional, and effective. In a recent pilot study, adults who used Inhale in 8-minute increments reported a 60 percent cut in stressful feelings—and that less stressed state lasted hours after the experience ended.
