7 employer wellness programs that move the needle on improving employee health

From walking challenges to lunch and learns on healthy eating habits, employers across the U.S. are offering a variety of wellness programs to support their employee populations. According to the KFF Employer Health Benefits 2022 Survey, 85% of large firms and 54% of small firms offer specific wellness programs, and 27% offer incentives for participating in or completing those programs. While these programs are crucial in helping employees identify health risks and unhealthy behaviors, Marathon Health has identified seven programs that are successful at getting employees engaged in their health and that move the needle on improving health outcomes.

“Oftentimes, these programs act as that first exposure to learning about healthy behaviors,” says Jackie Bezy, a Marathon Health Coach who helps to teach wellness programs to employees. “Maybe your employee isn’t ready to talk to a health care provider, but they feel comfortable watching a health and wellness webinar virtually. They can participate in the Q&A anonymously or engage in the group chat. By getting to know me as a health coach who is teaching the programs, employees might set up a 1:1 health coaching session or schedule an appointment with a health care provider. It’s the first step to get them to engage in other programming or in taking care of their health.”

Engagement in these programs, however, is only good as your company’s leaders who support them. By allowing employees to be able to participate in programs during work hours, you are creating a culture of health proactivity. To increase participation, employers who offer incentive points that count toward lower health care premiums or gift cards, for example, are more successful.

The programs you offer should also be designed to prioritize participants. “While education has a place, effective programs should really dive into evidenced-based behavior change theory and practical application skills to help support participants on their health and wellness journey,” says Lauren Hutchens, National Director of Health Coaching at Marathon Health. “We’ve found engaging wellness programs meet participants where they are at, and in turn improve chronic conditions, and encourage healthy lifestyle changes and behaviors.”

Here are seven popular wellness programs that move the needle on improving employee health:

1. Know your numbers + goal setting

Help your employees learn the importance of a biometric screening and understand what their health-related numbers mean. It’s important for employees to know their height, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar level. The program should provide tips and tricks on how lifestyle and behavior changes can impact health numbers and encourage employees to get an annual biometric screening.

“It’s so important to understand the why behind something,” says Health Coach Rebecca Rosati. “It’s nice to be able to make the connection between normal ranges, what the numbers mean to their health, and how they can implement new habits to improve them.

Bezy says the program can also set the stage for offering future wellness programs, too. “I’ll get feedback from employers like, ‘Blood pressure was a huge discussion after that. Do you have any more programs based on that/?’ Then we can dive into our toolbox and figure out what programs to offer next.”

2. Mindfulness and stress management

Mindfulness and stress management have always been popular topics, but isolation caused by COVID-19 sparked a renewed interest. Mindfulness programs should provide strategies to truly focus on your employees’ health and wellness goals,” Bezy says. “When we think of health, we typically think of the more physical things, but our mental health is equally as important.”

Consider offering webinars on topics like how to focus on happiness, how to recharge, how to reduce stress, and meditation and mindfulness. These topics should focus on skills to live a happier life, assessing key areas that are draining energy levels and making a plan to recharge, learning the benefits of meditation and offering a guided meditation course, and understanding techniques to reduce stress levels.

3. National observances and seasonality

Connecting wellness programming with national observances encourages engagement and participation because the topics are already top of mind for many employees. We’ve found our most popular wellness programs include focusing on heart health in February, colon cancer awareness and prevention in March, breast cancer awareness and prevention in October, and tobacco cessation in November.

“If there’s already some undercurrent or buzz going on, try to tie into that,” Hutchens says. “It also helps to keep seasonality in mind. We do a lot of programs around ‘Maintain, Don’t Gain’ through the holidays, then New Year’s resolution challenges. In the spring, we start promoting walking and physical activity.”

4. Nutrition

The harmful effects of poor nutrition include an increased risk for obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and at least 13 types of cancer (including uterine, breast and colorectal). Yet nine in 10 Americans consume too much sodium, while fewer than 1 out of 10 adults eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, according to the CDC.

Offer a program that helps employees learn how to utilize pantry and freezer staples to build a healthy plate at home. The program can also focus on helping employees explore the relationship between what they eat and how they feel, along with how to incorporate healthy eating habits into daily life. The program should also address an intro into food tracking through apps or food journaling.

“It’s all about giving employees tools they can use in their day-to-day lives to make healthier eating decisions,” says Hutchens. “Our attendees get really excited and also tend to share healthy recipes with one another that they like. It’s great.”

5. Chronic condition management

While some programming is more general, chronic condition sessions allow for deep dives into more specific topics based on members’ health needs, whether they have or are at risk for a condition like heart disease, diabetes or high cholesterol.

“When it comes to chronic disease, there’s a lot of fear, which results in resistance,” Rosati says. “Offer a webinar series that employees can watch on their own time. Employees can actually discover and learn a lot for themselves, which can kick-start their journey to finding better health.”

6. Lifestyle modification program

According to the CDC, nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, while 38% have high cholesterol, two leading risk factors of heart disease. Because these metabolic conditions impact so many, this program appeals to a wide audience. Learning lifestyle modification techniques helps employees take control of their health to prevent chronic health conditions.

“We currently offer a program called S.P.A.R.K. (Support, Prevention, Assessment, Results, Knowledge) Total Health Program that consists of 10 group sessions focused on metabolic syndrome education, including its impact on life, risk factors, diagnosis and prevention,” Hutchens says. The sessions include activities to reverse health conditions that increase the chances of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes, like high blood pressure, high blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol levels.

Alana Dietz-Smith, who participated in the program offered by her employer, says she had high cholesterol but didn’t think about how it affected her (other than it being bad). “This program is so informative, and now I can really understand why it is so important to live a healthier life,” she says. “I have changed my goals. I want to feel better and not just look better.”

7. Weight management program

Hutchens estimates 80-85% of her health coaching referrals involve weight. By offering an eight-week group program on weight management, employees can learn topics like goal setting, nutrition, physical activity and stress control from a health coach.

“It’s important to look for a way to incorporate more than education with a program like this,” Hutchens says. “If someone wants to know how to lose weight, they can Google it. Your goal should be to support employees in understanding how they can make realistic changes to live a healthy lifestyle that works for them.”

Related: Is your diabetes management program working? 3 steps to success

When wellness is embedded into your workplace culture, you’re showing employees just how much you truly value them — no matter what wellness programs you offer. It’s an investment in your people. Helping employees make lifestyle changes is key to a productive, happy and healthy workforce. Here are four tips for a successful wellness program:

• Tailor wellness programs to your employee population by using claims data or employee health surveys to determine which programs to offer. Example: if a large portion of your employee population suffers from diabetes, offer a diabetes prevention program and a diabetes management program.
• Develop monthly communications through your employee intranet, chat channel or e-newsletter to encourage program participation and promote incentives if you offer them.
• Encourage leaders and managers across the company to encourage participation in their meetings with employees.
• Hold a meet and greet with the health coaches or providers who teach the programs.

Shannon Isom is Senior Director of Engagement at Marathon Health. She is an engagement specialist dedicated to piecing together engagement puzzles for the client base at Marathon Health, a national leader in delivering advanced primary care solutions for employers.