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Harvard Business Review on the Problem with Wellness Programs

The HBR has a great article on the challenges and problems associated with wellness programs that is well worth reading.  It makes several important points about the approach that most firms are taking with respect to forcing wellness down the throats of employees and doing it with little reference to need or function.  The article lists some important features about most wellness programs and, unlike most authors, Khanna and Lewis, offer some ideas on how to revamp the programs.  The article is not ‘anti-wellness’ but it is a critique of ‘on size fits all’.

The important take-away is that annual physicals and BMI measures and some of the other features of the standard wellness campaigns are over-rated and actually may raise health care costs without improving the overall health status of the workforce.  The article is on the HBR Blog and, once you read it, you may want to take a look at the book that these authors wrote which is entitled, Surviving Workplace Wellness.