Biometric screenings are seriously hurting your company DEI goals

According to a recent study, six in ten employees say well-being benefits will be a top priority when applying for their next job. In a post-pandemic workforce, it will be essential for employers to create an inclusive and supportive corporate culture in order to retain and compete for top talent. While many workplaces are in the process of creating or restructuring their wellness programs, many are unintentionally taking two steps backward by relying on outdated and ineffective measurements like biometric screenings.

Biometric screenings aren’t as effective as you think

Corporations have historically invested in onsite biometric screening evaluations that measure “good health” via height, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar metrics. In the 2000s, under the Affordable Care Act, organizations could legally provide financial incentives and rewards to participate in biometric screenings in order to help employees evaluate risk for a variety of health issues and employers better understand the health of their employees and dependent populations.

While well-intentioned, biometric screenings should be omitted from wellness programs as they are costly for employers and employees, promote the inaccurate non-evidence-based idea that skinny and abled body employees are healthier or more capable and penalize individuals who don’t wish to participate in wellness programs through their employer.

To create a truly inclusive workplace culture and attract diverse talent, organizations need to implement research and evidence-based practices that honor employees with diverse bodies, backgrounds, and experiences, and retire use of biometric screenings that perpetuate racial disparities and promote fatphobia in the workplace.

The path to support every employee of every size and ability

The key to happy and healthy employees is inviting them to participate in programs that take a holistic approach to workplace culture that addresses an individual’s physical, emotional, mental, social, and financial health. Implementing programs that align with this approach can help organizations lower their financial cost, manage risk, and meet employee demands for a more inclusive and intentional workplace culture. Some ways to make it stick include:

Make culture change everyone’s responsibility.

The belief that impactful change sits on the shoulders of HR, middle-managers or C-suite team members is antiquated. True change happens in the day-to-day from every level. Everyone should play an active role in listening to what fellow employees want as part of their wellness journeys, suggesting new opportunities and policies, and retiring old ones that are no longer in line with the organization’s vision of well-being.

Establish a wellness committee.

As part of encouraging participation across the entire organization, a dedicated wellness team can help plan, promote, and implement wellness initiatives for employees to improve their mental and physical health. As part of this committee, providing self-reporting or validated surveys, and analyzing the data can help take a measured, outcomes-led approach and drive meaningful change.

Put inclusivity at the center of your wellness perspective.

Defining well-being in a way that is catered toward the realities and needs of your employee base will attract high-quality employees, improve overall engagement, and ultimately enhance employee wellness.

Take the pressure off of HR and welcome third-party experts.

Working with a third-party organization that are specialists in creating personalized, technology-backed, evidence-based, well-informed and cost-efficient wellness support that reflect the realities of your organization is an effective way to prevent overwhelming your HR teams.

Biometric screenings detract focus from nurturing a holistic wellness practice, are costly for employers and employees and promote the idea that you have to be skinny and able-bodied to be healthy, happy, and productive at work. Corporate America as a whole is well-positioned to leave behind outdated tools that only focus on physical appearance as an indicator of good health. In the post-pandemic future, company leaders must rethink biometric screenings as a single-mode for data collection and instead focus on accessible programs tailored for their employee’s needs and interests.

Maggie McDaris is executive vice president at lulafit.