ValueOptions Launches Workplace Resilience Initiative to Help Businesses Improve Performance

NORFOLK, Va., May 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Change is a business reality. But when change hits an already stressed workforce, its impact can take a toll on employees—and a company's performance. To empower individuals and organizations to grow through adversity, ValueOptions^®, Inc., a health improvement company specializing in mental and emotional wellbeing and recovery, launched Building Resilience: A Workplace Strategy. The initiative, which places special focus on driving business revenue by developing an adaptive and resourceful employee culture, was rolled out internally to ValueOptions employees earlier this year.

"Life stress doesn't get put on hold just because we're at work—if anything, the weight of our personal problems can put a strain on our job performance," said Dr. Hal Levine, Chief Medical Officer, ValueOptions. "Resilience is the ability to fully engage in life, recover from challenges, and, as a result, increase the capacity to thrive in the future. As crucial a skill as resilience is for individuals, its impact absolutely translates to the collective: when your work culture actively promotes thriving through times of adversity, the outcome will be better communication, increased productivity and a more engaged workforce."

Going beyond typical stress management services, Building Resilience offers a highly customizable suite of strategies, tools and services to support both individual and organizational resilience and foster a culture of wellbeing. The initiative offers a wide range of assistance programs for employees and their family members, such as financial counseling, stress management, and personalized support during major life transitions like divorce or caring for an ill family member. Organizations benefit from an array of practical strategies for a variety of administrative challenges, such as managing internal conflicts, developing a crisis response plan, and improving employee productivity.

To help businesses tailor a program to their unique needs, Building Resilience offers a specialized assessment tool to evaluate a company's core culture and preparedness, and identify the organization's unique strengths and potential challenges in fostering company-wide resilience. From there, organizations can take advantage of online or in-person training sessions, access support resources for ensuring a successful employee outreach, and develop a continuous improvement plan to ensure that the business not only survives through adversity, but thrives because of it.

"Resilient businesses are positioned to be more profitable, and have lower levels of absenteeism, presenteeism, burnout and turnover," said Rich Paul, Senior Vice President, Customer and Product Strategy Officer, ValueOptions. "Resilient businesses also empower themselves with a competitive advantage: where other businesses respond to challenges by going into 'crisis mode,' resilient workforces have the tools to quickly adjust their direction, and continue to innovate even in times of adversity. Preparing for the future by creating a culture of wellbeing isn't just the right thing to do—quite frankly, businesses can't afford not to."

In addition to strengthening the adaptability of ValueOptions' clients, Building Resilience also serves as the basis for ValueOptions' own internal resilience campaign—Life Happens—which provides resilience training for employees at every level of the organization.

"We are invested in our own resilience because we understand how critical it is to a successful business, and because it better positions us to recognize the needs of our clients," said Paul. "From staff engagement to developing measurable objectives, we know firsthand what it takes to build and sustain this resiliency initiative, and can partner with businesses to ensure they reach their goals at every level."

To learn more about the business impact of individual and organizational resilience, or to begin putting ValueOptions' comprehensive resilience solutions and strategies to work for your organization, visit www.valueoptions.com/resilience.

About ValueOptions^®
ValueOptions is a health improvement company that serves more than 32 million individuals. On behalf of employers, health plans and government agencies, we manage innovative programs and solutions that directly address the challenges our health care system faces today. A national leader in the fields of mental and emotional wellbeing, recovery and resilience, employee assistance, and wellness, ValueOptions helps people make the difficult life changes needed to be healthier and more productive. With offices nationwide and a network of more than 130,000 provider locations, ValueOptions helps people take important steps in the right direction. We help them live their lives to the fullest potential. Visit www.valueoptions.com for more information.

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SOURCE ValueOptions