Why I’m a Fan of Wellness at Work

I’m a huge fan of wellness at work. In my former life as a corporate employee, I signed up for every wellness opportunity my company offered:

• Free weekly health coaching? I’m in.
• Discount gym membership at the company gym? Sign me up.
• Increase your daily steps challenge? Sure, I’ll take that free pedometer.

Not only did I benefit on a personal level (I lost weight, addressed family health issues and increased my activity level), I appreciated that my employer was investing in me.

I know of a dozen people who took part in a wellness challenge offered by our employer. Their goal? To quit smoking. That was 10 years ago. To this day, none of them smoke. Was that easy? No. Would they have taken on that challenge without our employer’s incentive? Maybe, but maybe not.

Of course I know those wellness investments paid off for my employer, and that’s why they offered them. The potential impact wellness programs can have on decreasing an organization’s health care insurance costs is huge.

In the end, does it matter if an employer’s wellness program isn’t entirely altruistic? Not to me.

That’s why Casey Sipe’s post, Do Wellness Programs Have a Future, at Blogging 4 Jobs made my heart skip a beat. I’d hate to see a few litigious employees ruin the opportunity for the rest of an organization’s employees when it comes to improving health.

What makes more sense — investing in positive health changes, or paying millions of dollars for health issues that were potentially preventable?

The choice is ours to make.