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Corporate wellness reflects a company’s efforts to improve employee health and well-being through programs and initiatives that address the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of wellness. The importance of corporate wellness is widely recognized, but the blueprint for running a successful program remains unwritten. Changes to work environments—employees who are fully remote and now many hybrid—have caused employee well-being demands to fluctuate. As a result, corporate wellness practices have changed to adapt to employee needs.
As a corporate wellness leader, I’ve researched the effectiveness of employee health and wellness practices. Successful initiatives are more holistic, flexible, and inclusive and recognize employees’ diverse needs and preferences. Although well-intentioned, many traditional wellness practices have proven ineffective. Here’s what successful workplace wellness programs are no longer doing.
1. One Size Fits All Solutions
Employee well-being is different for each individual, and each individual’s needs change over time. In the past, solutions like meditation apps, gym memberships, a kitchen stocked with avocados and La Croix made a few employees happy. These perks appeal to some but not most. Our most successful clients have curated wellness programs for on-site and remote employees. Initiatives meet employees’ ever-changing needs and help the company culture grow with the business.
2. Disengaged Leadership
Leaders can no longer put employee wellness on the desk of HR and walk away. Research shows that leaders engaged with their employees’ health and well-being are more successful culturally and financially. Embodied leaders are now encouraging employees to engage in their wellness programs, giving them 20 minutes to practice Desk Yoga during work hours and discussing the current wellness initiatives in their all-hands meetings. Brave CEOs will slip into their yoga pants and balance in tree pose during their on-site office yoga class. Leadership must attend to their employee’s health and well-being for initiatives to work. Most importantly, leaders need to take care of their well-being, too. Don’t be afraid to share the importance of your well-being with employees to make wellness a core element of the company culture.
3. A Focus on Physical Fitness Only
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Traditional wellness programs focused exclusively on physical health—walking challenges, ergonomic assessments, and biometric screenings. Experience has taught us that employee health reaches beyond the physical body. Successful well-being programs include mental health, financial support, environmental health, community involvement, and social connection, in addition to physical fitness. Virtual escape rooms lead to collaboration among team members from different departments. A football survivor pool creates healthy competition internally. Building a succulent plant wall or zen garden sparks creativity within employees. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and offerings must be curated to achieve the best results.
4. Mandatory Corporate Wellness Initiatives
Understandably, companies want a return on their investment. Unfortunately, required participation in wellness challenges, like step count competitions, can feel punitive or alienating rather than motivational. Leading by example rather than mandate drives participation and long-term engagement. Keep in mind that a wellness initiative like meditation is more effective when fewer employees join regularly than when everyone meditates once. Since employee well-being is an individual journey, and personal preferences vary, diverse offerings will maximize overall engagement.
5. One Time Events
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One-time events during your company’s Health Fair or wellness week are a great start, but this is only the first step in addressing employee health and well-being. Workplace wellness must be integrated into employees’ daily workdays for long-term success. You wouldn’t eat a salad once and expect to lose weight, would you? Health Fairs are a great way to test new services or program ideas. But to be most effective, the services must be integrated into the employees’ daily routine and championed by leadership.
6. Throwing Wellness Spaghetti at the Wall
When corporate wellness was relatively new, companies tried different wellness approaches without any evidence or data. After 20 years of practice, corporate wellness strategies are proving more effective. A wellness strategy reduces the time and resources spent running your wellness program. The key to success in employee health includes curated services that meet specific employee needs. If employees have chronic pain, a dedicated Desk Yoga instructor can provide relief and prevention. Like any product launch or business initiative, employee wellness requires a strategy.
7. Static Offerings
As the Founder of ZaaS and a corporate wellness leader, staying updated on workplace wellness trends is my ever-changing responsibility. When the pandemic emerged, I threw out everything I knew and worked with my clients on their immediate needs. This led to an entirely new business model and virtual program that worked for employees during the pandemic. Now, three years later, things are changing again. Programs that don’t evolve with emerging wellness trends or employee needs can quickly become outdated. Continuous updates and adaptations are necessary to maintain engagement.
8. Neglecting Remote and Hybrid Workers
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Wellness programs that only cater to on-site employees miss the opportunity to support remote and hybrid workers. Leaders struggle with creating programs that meet the needs of onsite and remote employees. Corporate wellness initiatives, such as fitness classes, cooking demos, and escape rooms, can be offered on-site and virtually to satisfy employees near and far. Successful corporate wellness programs are more inclusive, reaching on-site and remote employees’ diverse needs and preferences.
Corporate wellness continues to grow and evolve. If your existing program seems outdated, don’t be afraid to change things up. Those of you starting a new program– have a strategy to find the best fit and avoid these obsolete workplace wellness practices.
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ZaaS offers curated workplace wellness services and strategies to B Corps and companies worldwide. Contact us for more information.
