Employees respond positively when they believe their employer genuinely cares about their well-being. Hence, employers should offer H&W programs that go beyond the basic fitness and diet services to a more holistic well-being program aligned with the company’s culture.
The idea that companies should invest in the health of their employees has become mainstream and a large number now offer workplace health and wellness (H&W) programs to staff. We look at some of the evidence in support of H&W programs’ benefits, as well as some of the pitfalls.
According to a recent study, 75% of surveyed US employers invest in employee health and wellness in order to reduce medical costs. There is growing awareness that a healthier and more engaged workforce improves company performance, and academic evidence has linked financial outperformance to the presence of better-than-average health and wellness programs, although the data falls short of establishing a causal link. But yet other studies suggest not all H&W programs are equally effective, and often fail to have any impact on employees’ behaviour.