What is the ROI of your company’s wellness program?

The last year and a half have brought about so many workforce trends, it’s hard to keep track:

• Companies moved to fully remote or hybrid work models
• Employees demand higher wages, more flexibility, and more comprehensive benefits
• Corporate health benefits have become a requirement to retaining employees, not just a perk
• Less distinction between work and home life, which is resulting in burnout
• In-office perks like free beer and ping-pong tables have become irrelevant

At the same time, our work lives have become no less stressful, as companies struggle to do more with fewer resources. But perks like corporate physical training can improve mental and physical health, reduce absenteeism and save on health care costs — corporate trends that keep employees engaged and companies healthy.

Most corporate wellness programs don’t pay off

While many companies offer corporate wellness benefits like gym membership reimbursements, smoking cessation tools, and healthy meals or snacks in the office, these perks fail to make a lasting effect on overall employee health. Employees get busy and revert to their comfort habits, which may help them get through the push of work. When the company not only offers but facilitates wellness and physical fitness programs, the buy-in and retention rates increase significantly.

Consider your current wellness plan. Now ask yourself:

• How many of your employees work out every month?
• How many of your employees make their physical health a priority by taking time out of their workday to exercise?
• How many of them commit to physical activity even three days a week?

Studies have shown that company-wide participation in a corporate wellness program tops out around 5% on average. But what would your company save on health care costs if more than 25% of the employees committed to working with a physical trainer for the next year. Now compound that over the next five years.

Why an app-based physical fitness program works

Companies are changing rapidly with the move to remote work: we’re all spending less time in the office, more time at our desks at home, and less time turned off from work. This has resulted in more employees burning out, many employees moving to new jobs, and unintended health effects that go beyond the pandemic.

Offering health benefits beyond reactive medical care and providing access to active tools and resources that will help employees to improve their can result in increased engagement, healthier employees, reduced absenteeism, and lower health care costs.

Companies that give health benefits or exercise perks often put the onus on the employee to prioritize their health outside of work hours — in addition to the eight or nine hours they spend at work and their family commitments. An app-based fitness program provided by the company shortcuts many of these excuses to not prioritize individual fitness.

According to the US Chamber of Commerce, a well-designed employee wellness program will provide companies with a return on their investment (ROI) of $1.50 to $3.00 for every dollar spent. Consider how many $70 gym membership payouts your company does every month. Can your company afford to continue to pay out those perks without the returns?

Casey Stanley is the co-founder of YOK Corporate Fitness. He is dedicated to helping employers save on health care costs and increase worker productivity by helping team members improve their health through personal training.