When it comes to appealing to prospective employees, there are certain things – like compensation and company culture – that always top the list. However, in today’s modern business market, one thing has proven essential in attracting talent. Employee wellbeing.
Since it first emerged, the workplace wellness trend has flourished. Corporate wellness programs quickly became the new bargaining chip for employers in a pick-me race, catering to employees’ desire to adopt a healthier lifestyle and feel they matter beyond billable hours.
These policies, programs and benefits have since been touted to help address risk factors and health conditions that can influence employees as well as the organization. With potential costs due to illness-related absenteeism expected to cost $150 billion in the coming years, it makes sense that businesses would want to develop a strategy that benefits both their employees and their business. As of 2019, 50% of U.S. employers offered wellness programs to their employees per the RAND employer survey. Around 60% of employees approve that these programs have made them opt for a healthy lifestyle outside of the office as well.
It comes as no surprise that not only has this trend stuck around, but the global corporate wellness market has been quite lucrative – $57.2 billion lucrative.
Yet randomized evaluations of program efficacy are rare. Most recently, the results after 24 months into the University of Illinois’s randomized clinical trail found that their comprehensive workplace wellness program had no significant impact.
The 2-year study clinical trial of 4834 employees at the University of Urbana Champaign revealed that while there wasn’t a significant effect on measured physical health outcomes, rates of medical diagnosis or the use of health care services, the proportion of employees reporting the addition of a primary physician increased – as well as employee opinion of their health.
It is difficult to imagine such a significant market value can produce such insignificant results when the ultimate goal is employee wellbeing. It begs the question are these programs the real deal or simply a placebo aimed to check a wellness box?
