Employee Wellness Week should feel like a breath of fresh air. Not just for employees, but for the people planning it, too.
Done right, it can boost morale, reinforce your culture, and remind your team that they’re supported as whole people. But let’s be honest: planning five days of activities while juggling everything else on your plate can feel overwhelming. Especially if you’re trying to make it engaging and relevant to everyone.
The good news? It doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need a big budget or an army of event planners to create a week that resonates. You just need a thoughtful approach and a few plug-and-play ideas that tie into the everyday realities your employees face.
Here’s how to plan an impactful, low-stress Employee Wellness Week with tips that prioritize care, connection, and your team’s actual needs.
1. Start with what wellness really means to your people
Not everyone defines “wellness” the same way. For some, it’s getting more sleep. For others, it’s figuring out how to care for an aging parent without burning out. Before you pick activities, think about the real-life challenges your people are facing right now.
If you have access to engagement survey data or benefit utilization reports, start there. You might notice trends like:
- Low EAP usage but high reports of stress
- High absenteeism during school breaks
- A spike in backup care requests
These data points are windows into what your team actually needs, not just what sounds good on paper. When you build Wellness Week around those insights, it won’t just feel like another HR initiative. It’ll feel like support.
2. Make each day a theme and keep it flexible
Instead of planning something big and flashy every day, focus on small, intentional moments of care. A themed approach helps people know what to expect and gives you room to keep it simple.
Here’s an easy framework you can adapt:
- Mindful Monday: Share a 10-minute guided meditation video and encourage employees to take one meeting-free hour to unplug from screens.
- Take-Care Tuesday: Remind employees they have access to child care, senior care, and self care resources, and include a real-life example of when the benefit helped in a pinch.
- Wellness Wednesday: Invite employees to join a 15-minute stretch break on Zoom or share a hydration challenge they can try throughout the day.
- Thoughtful Thursday: Send out a journaling prompt like “What’s one thing that helped you feel grounded this week?” and spotlight your EAP or mental health benefit as a reminder it’s available.
- Feel-Good Friday: Share a fun playlist and invite employees to add their favorite feel-good song, or or post a “What’s bringing you joy?” thread on Slack or Teams
Tip: If your company partners with Care, now’s a great time to highlight those benefits. Many teams don’t realize they have access to child care options, senior care guidance, or expert help from Care Specialists. Use this week to reintroduce them.
3. Lean on what you already have
You don’t need to build everything from scratch. Chances are, you already have access to wellness and caregiving support that just needs a little visibility boost.
Here are a few things you might already have access to and how to use them during Wellness Week:
- Backup Care: Position it as a tool for preventing burnout, not just solving emergencies
- Care Specialists: Encourage employees to reach out for help finding child care, senior care, or anything in between
- Care.com Membership: Share tips on how to find summer camps, after-school programs, or even help with errands and housekeeping
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Promote short-term counseling for stress, anxiety, grief, and more
If you’re not sure how to explain these benefits clearly, ask your benefits partner for ready-to-use flyers, email templates, or quick videos. (We have plenty. Just ask your account manager.) Or, if you don’t offer these benefits, we’d love to help you change that.
4. Include something for every type of employee
Not everyone wants to join a step challenge or attend a lunch-and-learn. That’s okay.
Try mixing up the format:
- For introverts: Self-paced journaling prompts or digital care packages
- For caregivers: Virtual workshops on managing stress or a guide to using your Backup Care benefit
- For social types: Group stretch breaks or “coffee chat” pairings
- For remote workers: Asynchronous content or gift card raffles for participating in daily wellness activities
And if you want to offer something hands-on without hosting it yourself, consider sharing a Care.com article or toolkit on summer care, caregiver burnout, or balancing work and life. Employees appreciate content that feels useful, not just inspiring.
5. End with a check-in, not just a cheer
Celebrate the week, but don’t let the momentum fizzle out. End with a simple employee pulse survey:
- What did they find helpful?
- What wellness resources would they like to learn more about?
- What’s getting in the way of them feeling their best at work?
Their feedback can shape not just next year’s Wellness Week, but the way you communicate about benefits, caregiving support, and well-being all year long.
The bottom line: Keep it real, not perfect
Wellness Week doesn’t need to be packed with programming to make a difference. If your team walks away with one new tool to make life a little easier (whether it’s a meditation app, a better understanding of their benefits, or a few minutes to breathe), it’s a win.
And if you want help making your caregiving or wellness benefits more visible, you’ve got a whole team at Care for Business ready to support you. Get in touch today.
