I get a lot of articles sent my way about health and wellness at work—by colleagues, friends, and family members. There are few articles that do a decent job of putting general advice on workplace interventions into context, which is why I was pleased to read the recent BBC article on Boring office wellness alternatives that actually work
In this article, author Chris Stokel-Walker hits all the right points, incorporating contextual factors into understanding why some wellness programs work and others don’t, and why we should ultimately not have a one-size-fits-all approach. One example Stokel-Walker gives is unlimited leave, which on the one hand can demonstrate trust and respect of employees but on the other hand can undermine health when employees do not actually take their vacation because there is no rule or expectation that they should. This article recognized that some trendy wellness programs and policies are not necessarily the ones that will have the greatest impact on office workers. In this post, I go into why this is the case and present some recent work done by researchers at ICHW that can help guide employers on what they should do for their organizations.
Attracting and retaining talent is in the forefront of companies’ minds today, and increasing competition within the job market today means it’s more important than ever to provide wellness programs and policies that are actually effective.
Indeed, an important reality is that employees may resent when some perks are taken away from them, even if they were not wanted or used in the first place.
As hinted in the BBC article, it is important for leadership to learn what the employees really need, provide solutions that address the real problems, and for organizations to evaluate what is implemented to understand program effectiveness. Recently, ICHW conducted research in the area of wellness programs and similarly observed that not only do employees rarely get the option for input or feedback, but also concluded that organizational context matters when it comes to choosing the “right program.” Our findings in the Finding Fit: Implementing Wellness Programs Successfully employer guide is based on a review of wellness interventions, results from employer and employee surveys, and qualitative data collection on wellness practices of a mix of small, medium, and large organizations nationwide.
As part of this study, our researchers sat down with leadership, human resources, and direct reports to understand from them their current needs as an organization, what they are already doing to address health and well-being, and what could address the needs of their employees in ways that would improve individual and organizational outcomes. What seemed like flashy perks, like biggest loser style weight competitions or positivity chants, were simply unnecessary or received with disdain. Some boring practices like providing flexible work policies or practicing work hour boundaries and email limitations actually made quite a difference.
Here’s how you should approach implementing effective change in your organization (as outlined in our employer guide):
Find out what employees need. Find out what employees need to do their work better and healthier on a basic needs level, whether it’s privacy, autonomy, comfort, and so on—not necessarily the perks they want
Find out what your organization can provide. We understand organizations have various constraints. Find out what is realistic to provide using the finding fit assessment in the guidebook.
Communicate change. Open communication between employees, leadership, and HR. Make it possible to give feedback, whether through anonymous feedback forms or focus groups or staff meetings. Use this feedback and other evaluation metrics to continuously improve.
