KEY POINTS
- Headspace is a widely-favored wellbeing app due to its vast trove of mindfulness resources
- Vantage Fit is focused on overall wellbeing and can be integrated across various devices for wellness monitoring
- Moodfit has nutrition tracking features for employees who want to keep track of their eating habits
- Wellable provides unlimited virtual coaching sessions, while Calm embraces the inner child in every adult
Productivity is the heartbeat of every company, but in this day and age, when people have become more aware of their emotional wellbeing, it has become a challenge for companies to retain top-notch productivity without compromising employee health and wellness.
The challenge is more apparent in high-pressure corporate environments as there have been rampant resignations and obvious signs of burnout among employees who chose to remain.
There are various other negative outcomes that stem from poor workplace health, but the rise of corporate wellness apps has helped companies deal with the struggles of employees that have affected their performance.
Most modern employers have started recognizing that mental health issues are real, and they are now prioritizing support for employees who may need it, especially with stigma still an obstacle even in the new economy.
Mental health struggles are more common than initially thought. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in every 8 people suffer from a mental health disorder. Mental health issues also have a negative impact on the body and can result in physical problems that could further deteriorate the overall health of the workplace.
If you're an employer who wants to maintain a healthy workplace or if you're an employee who doesn't have access to therapy due to very high costs, you may want to check these apps to help improve or maintain productivity in the workplace as driven by a healthy mind and healthy body.
1. Headspace
With nearly 3 million people subscribed to this top wellbeing app, Headspace is the perfect platform for employees who need a breather after a long day at work.
Best features:
- Mindfulness resources – Headspace has a vast trove of resources for mindfulness and guides to manage anxiety.
- Specific approach – Unlike other apps that only provide broad meditation guides, Headspace offers specific techniques that cater to various areas of a worker's life, including usage of technology and spending habits.
- Insomnia support – Research has shown that insomnia or sleep problems in midlife women workers have resulted in $2 billion in lost productivity in the U.S. annually. Headspace has received high ratings on the App Store over its insomnia assistance features.
🧡 Have 10 minutes to spare? Here's a free meditation on gratitude and appreciation: https://t.co/nNGQFvGRYu
— Headspace (@Headspace) November 22, 2022
2. Vantage Fit
While Headspace is more focused on tackling mental health struggles, Vantage Fit is more on overall wellness. It is already championed by over a hundred organizations due to its streamlined programs for employee wellness.
Best features:
- Challenges – The platform comes with a "Challenges" feature where employees are challenged to start new goals around their wellness, encouraging proactive action toward overall wellness.
- Productive prompts – Vantage Fit also comes with various prompts for productive actions such as walking 4,000 steps for three days a week, and many more.
- Syncing – Employers can enable seamless integration of programs chosen to wearables and various devices, so workers can easily track and monitor their wellbeing journey.
3. Calm
Calm is a widely-used meditation app that has been praised for its sleep relief assistance. It also provides grounding techniques, which are very helpful for workers who are just starting with meditation.
Best features:
- Immediate relief – Many apps are focused on after-work meditation, but Calm provides resources for "in-the-moment relief" so workers who are struggling during busy days can take a few minutes off the workload to just breathe and remain calm.
- Bedtime stories – Who says adults can't listen to bedtime stories? Calm is dedicated to ensuring that even working adults get relief from a hard day at work by offering calming stories narrated by some of the most soothing voices in the celebrity world, including Jennifer Garner.
- Music – Calm also offers sleep music, which is beneficial for employees who've had a busy week or those who are looking to start a mindful living lifestyle.
🎵❄️ Dashing through the snow (on my way to take a nap) pic.twitter.com/griIDNIzHR
— Calm (@calm) December 17, 2024
4. Moodfit
Feeling like you're not reaching your goals or you're being held back from being the best employee you can be? Moodfit may be the best partner to help you break out of the obstacles in your work life.
Best features:
- Journals – Journaling has long been proven to have positive impacts on one's wellbeing. Moodfit will help you identify which type of journaling you need: mood journal, gratitude journal, nervous system journal, or general-purpose journal.
- Mood and Nutrition – Moodfit not only offers charts to monitor your daily mood. It also has nutrition charts to help you keep track of your physical health.
- Self-learning – The app provides a treasure trove of resources to help you learn more about yourself and how you can improve – what brings your mood up and down? How can you build resilience or restore good daily habits? Moodfit will help you answer these questions.
5. Virgin Pulse
Virgin Pulse is more like a one-stop-shop for employees' wellbeing needs. From stress reduction to grief and loss, and even parenting and physical activity, Virgin Pulse has everything to offer for employers on a journey to strengthening their team's productivity.
Best features:
- Culture-first – Virgin Pulse is known for its culture-first technology that adjusts to a business or company's dynamics, ensuring a more seamless transition for employees who may be joining wellness programs for the first time.
- Gamified approach – The mobile-first program is focused on engagement and it cultivates healthy worker habits through competition and goal-setting.
- Rewards system – Virgin Pulse integrates an employee incentive program that not only encourages workers to live healthy and mindfully, but also rewards their efforts in improving their own wellbeing.
So, we're all loving @elmo a little more now, right? 🥰
— Virgin Pulse (@virginpulse) February 5, 2024
So, of course, we thought about how employers can take Elmo's recent heart-warming interaction and practice it in their workplace. Swipe to find out more 👉#Elmo #EmployeeWellbeing #HR pic.twitter.com/86Ki6oMuAw
6. Worry Watch
Employees aren't just hired people who do certain tasks. They are sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, parents, and much more. Beyond the workplace, employees also worry about other stuff, and Worry Watch understands this too well. This app focuses on helping workers manage their mood swings.
Best features:
- Anxiety-centric approach – This app is designed to help users recognize their anxiety-driven thoughts and respond, rather than react, to them.
- Affordable choice – Compared to Headspace and other similar platforms, Worry Watch has a much cheaper price tag for a yearly subscription.
- Daily tracker – Aside from a daily journaling feature, Worry Watch also has a daily mood tracker that comes with affirmations to encourage more positive thinking patterns.
7. Wellable
Unlike some more specific programs, Wellable employs a holistic approach toward employee wellbeing. It is fully customizable and can be tailored according to a company's work culture.
Best features:
- On-demand solutions – If you think your team needs more mental health support than physical health improvement, Wellable can provide on-demand options such as meditation sessions.
- Coaching – The platform also provides unlimited virtual coaching sessions for employees who may need to improve their physical health more.
- Cessation – If one or more of your team members have been trying to quit smoking but have been struggling, Wellable offers tobacco cessation programs such as a personalized quit plan and other resources.
🎁 Reward wellness this holiday season! Recognize your team's healthy habits with Wellable's Rewards Wallet. Enjoy instant reward delivery, a global brand catalog, flexible redemption options, and seamless integrated management with your wellness program: https://t.co/WB6S89Bx3Q pic.twitter.com/k6ZQJFARp2
— Wellable (@GetWellable) December 10, 2024
8. Woebot Health
In a corporate world where mental health needs have multiplied, but support hasn't, Woebot Health offers the solutions you may be looking for to improve your business outcomes by helping your workers get access to mental health support.
Best features:
- 24/7 access – Just finished work in the wee hours and need some mental health support? Woebot is a 24/7, "in the moment" AI assistant that will provide you with the support you need whenever, and wherever you are.
- Emotional regulation – Woebot is designed to help employees develop skills to regulate their emotions in a world that often triggers people to react instead of respond.
- Reflections – This enterprise solution also encourages employees to reflect on their progress and also encourages the adoption of gratitude journaling.
All of Woebot’s content is evidence-based and written by conversational writers in collaboration with clinical experts.
— Woebot Health (@WoebotHealth) December 18, 2024
Fun fact! Woebot is highly personalized, and has conversational memory across sessions. pic.twitter.com/gpIyxd9eTf
9. Woliba
Woliba is pretty much like other apps that employ a gamified approach to overall wellness, but it stands out due to its health and wellness assessment features, as well as a dashboard for employers to track their company's overall wellbeing scores.
Best features:
- Milestone celebrations – This program automates milestone celebrations with a value-driven recognition system to further encourage employees to be responsible for their own wellness.
- Fitness scores – The platform provides dashboards for employees to monitor their fitness journey. Employers also have a company dashboard to track the organization's overall health.
- Building connections – Woliba's gamified challenges encourages healthy competition among various company teams and enhances connections across the workplace.
10. Happify
It's that time of the year when employers reflect on company health and productivity. If you're in search of a solution focused on breaking old, unhelpful workplace habits that do not add value to the wellness and efficiency of your team, Happify could help.
Best features:
- Easy, science-based activities – Happify is all about giving importance to how employees feel. It provides easy and effective, science-proven exercises that encourage all workers to participate in transforming their mental state through various activities such as journaling, interactive games, and stress-reducing exercises.
- Low pressure kickoff – Employees can start with a few activities each week before taking on more challenges that are ultimately focused on addressing negativity.
- Happiness scoring – Being a highly user-driven platform, Happify allows employees to set their own happiness scores and take action to start improving the numbers.
For great work to happen, sleep comes first. 🌙
— Unmind (@unmindhq) March 13, 2023
It’s #WorldSleepDay this week, so if you’re struggling with sleep, join us and learn how to get a better night’s rest: https://t.co/Ac5zpqGMzo pic.twitter.com/YM4Y7zkXwj
11. Unmind
Empowerment is dying in the workplace, but if you're an employer who understands that the company is driven by the workers behind the scenes, you may want to check out Unmind. It is AI-backed and focuses on transforming workplace habits by first empowering workers.
Best features:
- 24/7 support – Just like Woebot, Unmind's conversational coaching feature is available at all times to provide the empowerment your employees need regardless of what time it is or wherever they are around the world.
- Professional resources – Unmind offers outcome-based training and other resources to help build skills in resilience and emotional regulation.
- Access – The biggest hurdle for many employees looking to improve their mental health and overall wellness is access. Unmind bridges workers to licensed coaches and therapists who specialize in multiple areas of mental wellbeing.
