Declines in employee well-being rarely announce themselves, but their impact on a business can be significant. It might be a top performer taking more unplanned leave to manage a chronic condition or a rise in workplace injuries that delays projects.
Burnout is another silent drain, affecting 81% of employees — including nearly nine in 10 Gen Z-ers and millennials, according to a 2024 Mercer study.
To curb the cost of lost productivity and higher healthcare claims associated with these challenges, employers need targeted wellness programs that support their workforce’s biggest health issues — and turn lasting buy-in into measurable bottom-line results.
Why Wellness Programs Are Essential
A well-designed wellness program delivers on two fronts: It strengthens the employee experience and it protects the business’s bottom line.
For employees:
- When people believe their employer cares about their well-being, they’re more than four times as likely to be engaged, according to Gallup.
- Those same employees are 53% less likely to be actively looking for a new job.
For businesses:
- Employee burnout costs employers anywhere from $4,000 to $21,000 per employee every year, according to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
- Early intervention can reduce claims and avoid costs associated with health issues.
How to Drive Meaningful Employee Engagement
The best programs aren’t just well-designed; they’re also well-received. That means meeting employees where they are with tools and options that feel relevant, flexible and worth their time.
- Let Employees Choose Their Own Path: Traditional health benefits often fall short because they assume everyone wants the same thing. Stipends, on the other hand, provide options that help employees feel seen, valued and respected in their choices, giving them the freedom to use their credits on what matters most to them. For example, platforms that offer customizable wellness stipends allow employees to select benefits ranging from therapy and meal kits to fitness classes or meditation app subscriptions.
- Empower a “Driver”: Employee-led wellness committees or ambassador programs can create collective momentum. When participation is modeled by peers (not just promoted by HR), it becomes part of the culture, not a corporate directive. Sometimes, someone steps up organically — an influential employee whom others look to for guidance — while in other cases, company leaders may need to assign someone to take the lead. Either way, the key is choosing a person who can spark buy-in, rally participation and make wellness feel personal.
- Let the Workforce Shape What’s Next: A wellness program should be a living, breathing part of a business’s culture, which means it should evolve. Actively engaging employees in program decisions creates ownership and increases the likelihood of sustained participation. Building feedback loops into the program, such as surveys, quick polls and informal check-ins, helps identify what’s working, what’s not and where there’s room to grow. When employees can see their feedback put into action, trust deepens and participation follows.
- Make Wellness Usable, Not Aspirational: Even the best benefits can go underutilized if employees don’t feel empowered to take advantage of them. Leaders should normalize the use of wellness resources. That might mean managers actually modeling the behavior through breaks, mental health days or wellness activities so employees see that participation is welcomed. Encouraging midday breathers, supporting therapy appointments or bringing up wellness resources in meetings also sets a powerful tone and reminds employees that caring for their well-being isn’t a luxury or sign of weakness.
Cole Tsonis, GBA, is an associate vice president at Marsh McLennan Agency specializing in tailored health and benefits program design for organizations and their employees. He is based in Arizona.
Part II of this article is “Why Your Wellness Program ROI Isn’t Adding Up.”
Did You Know: According to Wellhub’s recent “Return on Wellbeing Study,” 95% of companies that track return on investment on wellness programs reported positive returns, with nearly two-thirds seeing at least a 2:1 ROI.
