Employee Well-being Programs: Is it Time to Let (As We Know Them Today) Go?

This cartoon = insert face palm emoji here.

Although, if you work in a company that offers a “wellness program” the caption resonates, right?

Spoiler Alert: Wellness is Not a Program

Please help me answer this question: how did we get to where we are today in regard to referring to well-being in the workplace as a “wellness program” or “wellness campaign?”

Personally, I think it happened years ago when the medical premium reduction incentive was born. For those of you who may not know what this incentive is, here is a summary: If you, the employee, complete a task(s) (e.g. a biometric screening) within a specific timeframe (e.g. before open enrollment), the monthly premium paid for medical insurance will be lower in cost.

As a health promotion practitioner who started working in population health within the context of the workplace over 25 years ago, it pains me to hear the word program associated with wellness.

Why?

Because well-being is so much more. It means so much more. And if companies could truly see this and act on it differently, the positive outcomes that could be experienced from well-being extend well (no pun intended) beyond employee health and medical benefits.

How far beyond one might ask?

Into every topic, and desired result, being discussed today on reimagining the workplace: mental health, onboarding, leadership training, manager/future leader development, organizational development, diversity, equity, inclusion, engagement, satisfaction, psychological safety, productivity, retention (or hard dollars saved from reduced turnover), quality control, etc., etc., etc.

The moral of the story is this: well-being is one of the foundational components to building, and sustaining, a successful business. It simply cannot be ignored any longer.

Letting Well-being Programs (As we Know Them Today) Go

For the purpose of this article, let’s agree to this: how we view well-being, and position it within the workplace, has to change. Here’s how:

The word wellness and well-being in the context of the workplace is tarnished. When the word is used, it is associated with short term actions such as incentives, physical activity challenges and biometric screenings.

However, what is really being sought after by population health practitioners is to get back to the roots of what well-being in the workplace has always been about: creating an environment (CULTURE) where all employees, regardless of gender, age, race and socioeconomic status, THRIVE. And not only thrive in the workplace or a career path, but in the context of individual needs, interests, family responsibilities, etc.

Well-being simply cannot fall in the hands of Human Resources (HR).

Why?

Because when HR was “assigned” to take on well-being in the workplace, they were set up for failure.

Wait, what?

Think about it, HR has responsibilities for hiring, firing, disciplinary actions, health care benefit administration, among several other things that don’t necessarily project positivity. As a result, 1 in 5 employees say they distrust HR. What’s a bummer about this statistic is that the individuals who occupy roles within HR departments really do care and want good for their people. They simply don’t have time and/or will admit they don’t have the right training to move forward.

Therefore, it is my hope that companies will embrace the role of Chief Culture Officer (or Chief Well-being & Culture Officer if we aren’t truly ready for a name change) even if only as a fractional employee to start.

If we are going to truly look at well-being for what it is — one of the foundational components of business development and operations — we must give it the spotlight it deserves. In short, it needs a C-Suite leader who understands how to build well-being into the fabric of every single aspect of the organization.

EVERY. SINGLE. ASPECT.

The perfect lead in to #3.

Your new sheriff, the Chief Well-being & Culture Officer, understands how important collaboration is, and will be, in order to turn the titanic from “well-being program” to “it’s just the way we lead around here.” For a few easy collaborative wins, look to the following business units:

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
• Human Resources (even though we’ve assigned a new sheriff, HR remains is a critical partner)
• Organizational Development
• Safety

Why these business units? Because the desired outcomes of these units either rely on the well-being of the employee to achieve the set outcomes, OR the employee’s well-being (e.g. engagement, retention, development, etc.) is the expected outcome.

Not convinced? Here’s an example:

• Time off, with pay, to volunteer (VTO) has made its way to several DEI “lists of opportunities.” Through the use of this benefit, the employee experiences social connection (social well-being) which has a positive impact on mental health. In return, the company receives an employee who feels connected to their employer, which results in improved engagement and productivity.

And finally, #4.

One of the most important things population health practitioners learn is this: Ask people what they need, what’s important to them and what barriers they may be up against that will prohibit execution.

Sadly, “wellness programs” have become a result of companies making decisions based on what those in charge “think” their employees need or will respond to. But how do companies know these answers if they haven’t asked the employees? And by asked, I mean put the online surveys aside and have a verbal conversation.

If only, after all of this time, we’d been asking employees what they needed, well-being in the context of the workplace might be leaps and bounds to where it is today. Industry experts agree:

The Takeaway

The takeaway is this: that “silver bullet” companies are always chasing to improve the workplace, and/or the employees, has always been there. It’s well-being in the simplest form.

Sow Where to go from here? Follow me here and on LinkedIn!

I am an accomplished population health expert, educator and speaker with 25 years of experience; 17 of which have been dedicated to Employee Benefits Consulting. I have helped hundreds of organizations nationwide solve for the transformation of workplace culture (e.g. engagement, inclusion, relationship development, recruitment, retention and productivity) through the lens of health, equity, well-being, diversity, inclusion, safety and several other cross-collaboration opportunities.

Let’s change the workplace for the better together!