Corporate Wellness Programs Yield Multitude of Benefits

Businesses that provide wellness programs for employees reap big benefits in the form of lower costs, greater worker productivity and higher morale. Leonard L. Berry, from Texas A&M University (Texas, USA), and colleagues reveal that well-run corporate wellness programs yield a six-to-one return on investment.  The researchers found that the most successful wellness programs are supported by six essential pillars: engaged leadership at multiple levels; strategic alignment with the company's identity and aspirations; a design that is broad in scope and high in relevance and quality; broad accessibility; internal and external partnerships; and effective communications.  From offering workers a few passes to a fitness center to sharing nutrition information in the cafeteria, corporate wellness programs, corporate wellness programs may become a strategic imperative, as “companies can use wellness programs to chip away at their enormous health care costs, which are only rising with an aging workforce.”