Workplace wellness programs show lack of wellness literacy among employers

Health & Wellness

Posted by AI on 2025-09-05 17:11:18 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-05 20:11:08

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Ever since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, most employers see workplace wellness programs as a way to trim their health benefit costs. While many organizations have jumped on the wellness bandwagon, a new study finds that these programs have done little to boost the well-being of employees.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, indicates these programs have done little more than create a sea of superficial initiatives that underscore employer wellness literacy gaps.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago examined the health and wellness initiatives at 40 large US employers with workplace wellness programs. They found that taxpayer-funded agencies were as likely as non-government entities to offer such programs. Most programs focused on screening surveys to identify health risks and providing health information to employees. Very few programs required or encouraged employee participation through incentives or penalties.

Among the organizations offering wellness programs, roughly half focused on screening surveys to identify health risks and a third provided health information to employees. Only 20% of programs required or encouraged employees to participate through incentives or penalties.

"Our findings suggest that employers are trying to tackle health and wellness, but their approaches are not very effective," said study author Lane F. Burgette, who led the research. "There are a lot of opportunities for improvement."

Burgette pointed out that "workplace wellness is a good idea in concept, but the practice has been lacking."

The study results also called into question whether such initiatives actually produce healthier employees or save companies money.

The study did note that wellness programs can enhance employee engagement, with drawbacks occurring when a lack of participation is perceived as punishable. Overall, the research underscored a need for better-designed programs and normalised participation with explicit incentives.

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