Flexible Worksite Wellness Programs

Obstacles Of Worksite Wellness Programs

Worksite wellness programs are designed to help improve the overall health and awareness of health related issues of employees in the workplace.

Although these programs are set up to help individuals set, work toward and maintain healthy lifestyle choices, they sometimes fail.

There are five main reasons worksite wellness programs are unsuccessful. The first reason is because of lack of employee interest. It’s imperative when presenting a new wellness program to employees that every effort is made to communicate the all encompassing benefits of the program to the organization and to the individual.

Next, workplace wellness programs can fail because of lack of staff resources. If a wellness program is introduced but there are few resources to offer with the program, it will be difficult for an employee to want to take advantage of it.

As part of the previous reason for failure of a wellness program, inadequate funding also can set a program up for failure. With little money to promote a wellness program, it can be difficult to spread the word about the benefits of a workplace wellness program.

An all too frequent reason that worksite wellness programs don’t reach optimal success is because the program and its coordinators fail to engage high risk employees. If high risk employees have the majority of the health issues in a workplace, they should be the most targeted individuals for a wellness program. To see 100% participation is the optimal goal, but to engage those with the most severe health concerns is a huge priority.

Finally, the inability to enlist the support of higher management is a significant reason why worksite wellness programs may not be successful. Without the endorsement, support and flexibility that management can offer a wellness program, it is far less likely that it will actually succeed.

Worksite wellness programs succeed for just as many reasons as they fail. With engaged and motivated employees, obtaining health and wellness goals is attainable and promising.