Workplace Wellness Programs Get Mixed Reviews

Do workplace wellness programs really improve workers’ health? It’s a question ripe for the asking for a surprising number of companies. According to one recent survey, about half of those with fewer than 200 employees offer these programs, and 81 percent of larger companies do. Senior science writer Sharon Begley, from the online health and life-sciences publication STAT, finds that much of the conventional wisdom about their success is either “faith-based” or is vendor hype based on research that suffers from some glaring methodological flaws. More objective research has found benefits, though less than most vendors have claimed, and that some programs or some features of them work a lot better than others. When it comes to wellness programs, if you’ve seen one, you haven’t seen them all.