In my previous article, I discussed how I find the notion of having employees pay for their worksite wellness programs totally odious. However, I’m not suggesting the whole wellness industry should become free to anyone who wants to take part. After all, when we pay for something, we tend to value it more and get more engaged. We are more invested in the results, which can have a positive effect on the outcomes.
One wellness professional I have worked with offers her program to her work colleagues. Half her fee is paid for by participants, and the other half is sponsored by their employer. We are not only supportive of this practice, but we encourage it.
So what’s the difference? I honestly believe that a large part (no, not all!) of the responsibility for today’s epidemic level lifestyle diseases falls on corporations’ shoulders. Many employees would love nothing more than to enjoy a real lunch break with a mid-day walk, leave work early enough to cook dinner at home, and savor a work-free evening. The reality, however, is usually much different, making this natural rhythm seem like a far-fetched ideal, often because of work pressures, deadlines and expectations.
To the same extent that employers are contributing to the problem, then they also need to chip in to the solution. Even better would be to extinguish the problem at the source, of course, but I’m that is an even longer-term endeavor. In the meantime, alleviating some of the undesirable consequences of a traditional corporate culture is the best solution.
If worksite wellness became an outside service which the employer allows to be sold to employees on site, then management is freed from the responsibility. Outcomes no longer matter to them, because they are not the ones investing. All of the organizational culture elements that contribute to our lifestyle disease epidemic can persevere and even be reinforced, unexamined and unchallenged. That’s the mistake I want to make sure we avoid.
Paying for Worksite Wellness?
In the end, I think that we should be inspired by the idea of creating worksite wellness programs that are exciting, engaging, and effective enough for employees to be willing to pay for participation. But we definitely have to be very cautious to stay away from any move that could turn that principle into a reality in our workplaces.