Wellness Doesn't Work. And It Won't Work. Until It Does.
New study findings from the University of Illinois confirm that an employee wellness program doesn't improve health or healthcare costs.
Here's what will happen next:
Wellness critics will argue that wellness programs must cease at once.
Wellness profiteers will, once again, falsely claim that the studied program was atypical and that the researchers failed to report on measures such as mental health, energy levels, quality of life, or job satisfaction.
Here's what should happen next:
We should be prepared to accept, based on a growing body of evidence, that typical wellness programs don't deliver on their promise.
We should collaborate with employees to figure out how we can effectively support their wellbeing.
Research should be leveraged to improve employee wellbeing strategies. Circling the wagons around the status quo or interpreting studies simply as a yay/nay on employee wellbeing are both unproductive.
See the abstract/article: