Does that lunchtime aerobic workout or afternoon meditation really help you become a happier, healthier and more productive employee?
Health insurers and fitness gurus have long said that wellness programs can reduce medical spending, increase productivity, and improve well-being. However, a study released in June from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found little evidence to support those claims.
Researchers randomly selected people to participate in a wellness program at a workplace of more than 12,000 employees and found little difference in results for those who participated versus those who did not, said David Molitor, a co-author on the study.
Worker absenteeism, productivity, and general level of health showed no change in the first year of participating in the program, the study showed. Researchers suggested past studies may have shown people enrolled in wellness plans improved their health because those who join voluntarily are already more likely to be healthy.
“Workplace wellness is a big phenomenon in the U.S., but our program did not show it has a large effect on outcomes,” he said.
The program used in the study began with a biometric health screening and assessment of lifestyle habits. After the screening, participants were given suggestions for lifestyle improvements and wellness activities that they could do through their workplace. These included in-person classes on chronic disease management, weight management, tai chi, physical fitness, financial wellness, and healthy workplace habits, a “tobacco cessation hotline,” and an online, self-paced wellness challenge.
Wellness has been a trend in the corporate world in recent years, with companies introducing in-house doctors, health clinics, yoga studios, and even stress-relieving dogs to the office place to improve employee health.
The perks are designed to make employees healthier and more productive. In some cases, employers are even asking employees to wear fitness trackers. Some 13 million fitness trackers are estimated to be introduced to the workforce by the end of 2018.
Medical spending remained nearly the same for people who participated in the wellness program, at $568 annually for the control group versus $576 for those in the program. People in the wellness program had an average of 5.9 annual gym visits compared to 5.8 for those who did not.
Because low-income workers are less likely to participate in wellness programs, they lose out financially, because their salaries are essentially paying for perks they don’t use. “Wellness programs may effectively increase insurance premiums for low-income workers in poor health,” Damon Jones, a co-author on the study, said.
The study also looked at how best to incentivize employees to participate in health screenings in the workplace. Nearly half of employees (47%) will participate in screenings with no financial incentives at all. If offered $100 to participate, the number goes up to 59% of all employees, and when offered $200 the number goes up to 63%.
Because doubling the incentive from $100 to $200 causes so little change in participation, researchers suggested companies can save money by changing the structure of their incentive programs.
Some employers began to cut back on wellness benefits in 2016 after human resources studies uncovered a lower return on investment for the programs than initially expected.
Still, the programs have one measurable benefit, according to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study. They make employees think their employers care about them. Employees are increasingly expecting perks in the office, though not necessarily health-related ones.
Nearly one-quarter (23%) of employees told a 2018 Randstad survey that they would like to see more on-site lifestyle amenities like gyms and dry-cleaning at their workplaces. They also overwhelmingly want free health care and paid time off.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign said their study does not discredit health programs, but rather show they aren’t a quick pay-off.
“If a company expects to see savings in the first year, it’s unlikely,” he said. “But workplace wellness programs may be a good way for a firm to offer additional benefits even if it doesn’t help their bottom line.”
