Supporting employees’ health and wellness has a positive impact on employees and organizations
The positive impact of physical exercise, nutrition, mindfulness, and meditation to improve wellbeing is well known. However, in recent years, there’s been a dramatic growth in evidence to support the positive impact those same interventions can have on supporting mental health.¹ In a recent review of studies on resource sector employees, it was found that organizations that provide preventive support in physical health and wellbeing contribute to positive outcomes in the health and wellness of their employees, as well as a return on investment for their organizations.²
As one of the largest independent producers of oil and natural gas, Devon Energy recognizes that their employees are their primary strength. Since establishing their wellness program in 2012, Devon has focused on prevention, high-quality programs and convenient tools. They have since developed a comprehensive and robust health and wellness program for their workforce.
Devon Energy believes in supporting the wellbeing of their employees, who balance multiple roles and responsibilities in their personal lives, while delivering results for the company. They consider these expectations when developing programs with the intent of meaningfully improving their employees’ physical, mental and financial wellbeing.
Expanding their wellness program and providing easy access to wellbeing resources for field employees
Devon Energy employs about 2,000 people across multiple states with the headquarters located in Oklahoma City. Devon Energy offers employees an onsite wellness center, but they recognized their field employees didn’t have easy access to comparable facilities. Additionally, they recognized the need for more physical and mental health support for their employees, particularly during COVID-19. The company also wanted to better engage their remote associates and field employees who work non-standard hours, often from remote locations with limited access to wellness, by providing them with easy and accessible resources that could be used anytime, anywhere. Devon Energy chose to take the reins of an expanded wellness program into their own hands, seeking out offerings to best meet the unique needs of their diverse workforce.
One digital fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness solution for all
Devon Energy chose LifeSpeak as their solution. Through on-demand video streaming, LifeSpeak delivers high-quality, expert-led fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness classes and programs for all ages, interests, and ability levels. Kevin Abernethy, wellness supervisor at Devon Energy, said they chose LifeSpeak for its robust wellness offerings and its wide variety of content, including classes and programs that support both physical and mental health. Additionally, the digital format was appealing as it aligned with their goal to better engage their remote and field employees in wellness. Now Devon Energy’s employees can access fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness content at any time of day, wherever they are.
Devon Energy has been very pleased over the last 4 years since launching LifeSpeak. Through collaboration with the Client Success Team, Devon Energy has built an engagement strategy that aligns beautifully with their wellness program. The strategy begins with ensuring employees are well-informed about Wellbeats. They foster this awareness through an automated Welcome Email Campaign that is deployed the moment a new employee is eligible for Wellbeats.
Devon Energy and LifeSpeak also partner to develop quarterly Custom Programs that align with their wellness program themes for the year. Topics include Healthy at Home, All About Nutrition, Sleep Essentials, and more. Each Custom Program is promoted through internal wellness articles, giving employees the opportunity to earn wellness points that help them earn company contributions towards their HSA. The Custom Programs allow Devon Energy to curate the type of content they most want their employees to engage in, particularly mindfulness resources that support mental health and fitness resources that can be used anywhere with little to no equipment. Kevin is appreciative of the support, guidance, and collaboration that is provided by their Client Success Manager, Zoe Monten, who creatively works to increase utilization.
Devon Energy also participates in Quarterly Incentive Campaigns that encourage recipients to participate in LifeSpeak activities. “These campaigns are a game changer for clients and members. The lift required from the client is minimal while having a spectacular impact on employee engagement. Plus, people love a prize opportunity and we’re happy to make that opportunity available!” says Zoe.
Devon also leverages the support of the clinical care manager, who recommends LifeSpeak to aid employee health and wellness goals following clinical appointments. Additionally, Devon Energy uses the Onsite feature at their fitness center to enable employees to take classes throughout the day. “The Onsite feature enables organizations to save costs by offering many types of wellness classes at any time and without the need to hire an instructor or additional staff,” explains Zoe.
Kevin credits Devon Energy’s leadership for the success of their wellness program for mental health support. They highlight LifeSpeak throughout their internal systems, resources, and teams at Devon Energy, making accessibility easy.
