Wellness Programs 
at a Workplace 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By: Jennifer Solis 

 
 
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Table of Contents 
 
Executive Summary 3 
Introduction 4 
What is a Wellness Program? 4 
Different Types of Wellness Plans 5 
Benefits of a Wellness Program 6 
Small Businesses 8 
How to Successfully Plan a Wellness Program 8 
Conclusion 9 
Infographic 10 
About the Author 1​1 
Annotated Bibliography 1​2 

 
 
    

 
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Executive Summary 
 
Wellness programs are not only for the pure benefit of employees but also for 
the employers. Wellness programs' overall goal is to increase employees' 
overall health by implementing weight loss programs, smoking cessation, 
mindfulness techniques, stress management, therapy, and much more. When 
companies provide wellness programs and stress reduction programs, we see a 
significant boost in our employees' productivity and adaptability. Stress can be 
the culprit of many health-related concerns such as cardiovascular disorders, 
coronary heart disease, anxiety, and depression. Workplace stress can also 
impact occupational injuries, thus another benefit of wellness programs. 

Employees producing healthy well-being affect professional potency and 

elevate prosocial behaviors both in and out of work. Wellness programs are an 
act of gratitude for our employees and show them how much we care about 
their health both at work and at home. Employers who have invested in 
wellness programs see a decrease in employee turnover and increased 
employee satisfaction 

   

 
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Introduction 
Over the last few years, health has become a staple for individuals. Newer 
generations are making better health-conscious choices. Health and wellness 
is an industry that continues to grow. We have seen the sector grow by 12.7% 
between 2015 and 2017 (Minds, 2019). Health and wellness promote healthy 
activities from yoga, skincare, nutrition, weight loss, emotional, mental, and 
workplace wellness (Minds, 2019). 

The majority of our day is spent at work or doing work-related activities. It is 
estimated that, on average, a person spends 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime 
(Gettysburg College, n.d.). It is reported that Americans devote more time to 
their work than other countries globally, but Americans say their top three 
stressors are work-related (Clark, 2020; Richardson, 2017). Wouldn't it be 
great if a workplace would show appreciation for all the employees' hard work? 
That's where wellness programs kick in. The significant part is that wellness 
programs are beneficial for both employers and employees. 

 
What is a Wellness Program? 
Wellness programs are designed to improve and maintain the well-being of an 
individual. Programs have a wide variety of health improvements such as 
smoking cessation, weight loss education, fitness/gym memberships, therapy, 
and many more programs that promote better overall health for the individual 
( Black, 2018). These programs aren't designed to force a person to lose weight 
or to stop smoking; it is designed to help a person who may need direction for a 
lifestyle change and provide motivation. Wellness programs are specifically 
designed for the employee's physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional 
well-being. It is essential to know that it is not required to participate in the 
programs ​(Tappero, 2015)​. 

 
 
 
 
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Different Types of Wellness Plans 

 
Nutritional Coaching 
An individual can attend classes with a nutrition-based professional that can 
be focused on matters such as salt intake, carbohydrate intake, or obesity. 
Companies that offer cafeteria services or catering to their employers are also 
coached to make healthier nutritional choices as a whole. 
 
Fitness Centers & Gym Membership​s 
Depending on the size of the company, some offices already provide a fitness 
center in their office. Offices that don't have space might offer gym 
memberships to outside facilities included in a wellness plan. 
 
Smoking Cessation 
This plan allows employees who smoke to work with smoking cessation 
professionals to stop smoking. Each plan is individualized for the employee 
and can consist of a mixture of medication, nicotine patches, and support to 
stop smoking ("Help Employees Stop Smoking", 2020). 
 
Weight Loss Programs 
A mixture of nutritional coaching but also works as a rebranding of the 
organization's nutritional environment. Organizations can switch to a 
healthier option for catering and vending machines (Tappero, 2015). Some 
weight loss programs also include content and rewards for motivation 
(Tappero, 2015). 
 
Stress & Emotional Health Assistance 
Stress at work is possibly inevitable. With a stress-reduction plan, participants 
can learn new techniques to reduce stress not only induced by work but in their 
personal life as well. Stress can be a factor that can trigger numerous health 
concerns, such as heart disease and anxiety, which can cause absenteeism 
(Lacerda et al., 2018). 
 
 
 
 
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Benefits of a Wellness Program 
 
Increased Productivity & Performance 
A survey conducted by the nonprofit Health Enhancement Research 
Organization resulted in over 90% of business leaders stating that they saw an 
increase in their employees' productivity after implanting a wellness program 
(Miller, 2015). Productivity was defined by the quantitative value of the 
employee's work, while the employee's performance was defined by the 
qualitative amount of the employee's work (Miller, 2015). 
 
Positive Mental and Emotional Well-being 
Wellness programs focus a large part on the mental and emotional well being 
of the employees. Stress not only affects the productivity of an employee at 
work but also in their personal lives too. This plan helps by providing tips such 
as mindfulness techniques, yoga, therapy, and stress reduction so the 
individual can find better ways to destress (Kachan et al., 2017). Stressful 
events at work can trigger anxiety and depression episodes in an individual, 
thus causing their work ethic, performance, and productivity to decrease 
(Lacerda et al., 2018).  
 
Improve Employee Recruitment & Reduce Turnover 
Hiring the right person is talent acquisition's primary goal, but just as 
employers want the best, new hires want what's best for them. Showing 
prospective employees all the assortment of plans that an organization 
provides to their employees can always make a difference when employees are 
choosing between competitors (Clark, 2020). It also shows that employers care 
about their staff members. One company saw its attrition rate of 15% drop to 
0% after starting a wellness program plan for its employees; for three years, 
they have not had any employees leave (O'Reilly-Hyland, 2020). 

The feeling of burnout is the chief hindrance that employees use as a reason for 
leaving their job. Workplaces see massive turnovers in their companies, 
affecting productivity and performance in Human Resources and Talent 
Acquisition to start a hiring process. Large turnovers cause companies an 
 
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unnecessary expense of time. Employees state that after their employer 

started a wellness program focusing on mental health and stress 
management, they took advantage of these programs finding a new 
satisfaction in their work (Pink-Harper & Rauhaus, 2017). 

Strengthen Employee/Teamwork Bond 

Relationships at work can be tricky. It is not only beneficial for bonds between 
employees to be stable but also between management and employees. Often 
employees feel a certain disconnection with their workplace and colleagues, 
affecting their productivity and performance (Kohll, 2018). Mixing in 
teamwork bonding techniques such as team potlucks, team activities 
and outings (Kohll, 2018). 
 
Financial Wellness 
Employers often overlook finance, but it is an essential factor for an 
employee's overall wellness. According to Forbes, 58% of employers state that 
employee absenteeism is related to financial problems, and 71% of employees 
say that their primary source of stress is related to personal finances (Kohll, 
2018). Employers can ease financial stress by providing tuition assistance, 
retirement education, and finance-focused luncheons (Kohll, 2018). 
 
Reduction in Healthcare Insurance Premium Costs 
For every dollar invested in a wellness program, employers have seen a return 
of their investment ranging from $2 to $4 (Black, 2018). The majority of 
insurance costs are related to unhealthy behaviors, and by implementing 
wellness programs, individuals have unlimited access to tools that will help 
improve their health. High healthcare costs are associated with obesity, 
smoking, diabetes, and hypertension (Black, 2018). These are all behaviors that 
can be modified for a healthier lifestyle. 
 
 
 
 
 
(Mattke et al., 2013)  

 
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Small Businesses 
While we have seen wellness programs, mostly in larger corporate companies, 
smaller businesses have started to see a significant difference from them. A 
three-year longitudinal study focused directly on small businesses concluded 
that smaller companies find more use and practical value from small 
companies (Schwatka et al., 2018). Improvements in stress, smoking, healthier 
consumption choices, and physical activity were seen in employees throughout 
the three years, although no change in absenteeism was noted (Schwatka et al., 
2018). 

How to Successfully Plan a Wellness Program 

Wellness plans might seem like a considerable expense upfront, but the lasting 
effects it has on the employees are worth the investment.  
According to Meritain Health (2015), a company can make a wellness plan a 
success by: 
● Participation from all employees, including executives and supervisors, 
is vital to building strong relationships. 
● Use a reward or incentive program to encourage participation and build a 
strong foundation for teamwork. 
● Design a wellness program that will work for your employees. Don't be 
afraid to ask employees what benefits they would like and make changes 
and adjustments when necessary. 
● Communicate all the possible programs available to your employees and 
remind them what benefits they have. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Mattke et al., 2013) 

 
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Conclusion 
Wellness programs are beneficial for employees but ultimately are most 
advantageous to the employer. At first, it might seem like a big expense, but 
the payoff is significant because organizations will see a decrease in 
absenteeism, health insurance costs, work stress, and employee turnover. 
Employers will see an increase in employee productivity, performance, and 
employee recruitment.  
 
By providing these extra perks, organizations better the workplace experience 
of an employee and, eventually, their personal experiences. Health is not only 
about what an individual consumes or physical activity performed; it also 
pertains to their mental well-being, and these programs provide a space where 
therapies are encouraged and not seen as taboo.  
 
For these programs to be successful in the workplace, employers must 
encourage all employees, including high executives, to be involved. Ultimately 
communication is also crucial, as in any relationship. Ask the employees what 
they would like to be offered and what would be most beneficial for them.  
   

 
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About the Author 

 

Jennifer Solis is a student at George 

Mason University, pursuing a 
Bachelor's of Science degree in 
Psychology. Jennifer has worked in 
office settings where wellness 
programs were and were not part of 
employers' benefits package. 

In locations where wellness 

programs were not offered, staff 
members always wished and 
addressed management to introduce 
wellness programs. The overall 
environment at the workplaces where 
wellness programs were offered was significantly more positive. She and her 
colleagues created a group at work to motivate each other and use wellness 
programs.  

   

 
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Annotated Bibliography 
Black, A. (2018, November 7). ​Five Reasons Employee Wellness Is Worth the 
Investment - News & Events​. Health.gov. 
https://health.gov/news-archive/blog/2017/05/five-reasons-employee-
wellness-is-worth-the-investment/index.html.  

This is a website that explains why wellness programs expenses are worth it 
for employers. It explains how it can lower health care costs, increases 
productivity, and possible tax incentives.  

This website is helpful because it is a government website, so the accuracy of 

the information is more plausible. I would use this information for explaining 
the benefits of wellness programs. 

Clark, S. (2020, March 31). ​6 Ways to Improve Employee Recruiting and Retention​. 
CMSWire.com. 
https://www.cmswire.com/digital-workplace/6-ways-to-improve-emp
loyee-recruiting-and-retention/.  

This website explains how wellness programs can aid the recruiting of new 
employees and retain current employees. It explains how turnover can cause so 
much loss in revenue for employers.  

This website is helpful because it talks about more benefits in why wellness 
programs can be so beneficial to employers.  

Help Employees Stop Smoking​. (2020, June 23). 

https://www.lung.org/help-support/corporate-wellness/help-employee
s-stop-smoking.  

Talks about why smoking is bad, and how wellness programs offered by 
employers are so important in helping people to stop smoking. It also talks 
about why smokers can cause an expense to employers due to the frequent 
smoking breaks. 

This is helpful research because it also talks about the different types of 
therapies that are offered in a wellness program that involves smoking 
cessation. It breaks down how smoking cessation plans work. 

Kachan, D., Olano, H., Tannenbaum, S. L., Annane, D. W., Mehta, A., Arheart, K. 
L., … Lee, D. J. (2017, January 5). Prevalence of Mindfulness Practices in 

 
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the US Workforce: National Health Interview Survey. Preventing 

chronic disease. 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5217767/. 

The article is about how using mindfulness techniques in a workplace can 

prevent employee’s health, lower employer’s costs by eliminating work stress 
to employees. The mindfulness techniques discussed are yoga, tai chi, 
mediation, and qigong. While evidence shows that employees’ stress lowered, 
sociodemographic factors seem to affect if an employee will participate in the 
activities (blue collar vs white collar and gender). 

This source is helpful because it talks about a different direction of wellness 

programs with mindfulness techniques. These techniques are used for people 
with anxiety. It helps individuals ground themselves to the “present” and not 
the past. 

Kohll, A. (2018, September 5). ​Is It Time To Rethink Your Employee Wellness 
Strategy?​ Forbes. 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2018/08/29/is-it-time-to-reth
ink-your-employee-wellness-strategy/?sh=6a44830321ae.  

This article talks about various types of plans that can be offered in a wellness 
program. What I liked most about this article is that it talks about financial 
wellness, which other articles didn’t really talk about.  

I would use this information for the benefits of wellness programs and how 
financial wellness can help employee lessen their stress. 

Lacerda, S. S., Little, S. W., & Kozasa, E. H. (2018). A Stress Reduction Program 
Adapted for the Work Environment: A Randomized Controlled Trial With 
a Follow-Up. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. 
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00668 

This article talks about the way stress can affect an individual’s work ethic, 
thus affecting the employer. Stressful events at work can trigger anxiety and 
depression symptoms in employees. By implementing wellness programs, 
employers can help employees eliminate and find a better way to destress. 
Wellness programs also help employees outside of work, ultimately improving 
society. 

This article is helpful because it also talks about mindfulness techniques. But it 
also talks about how wellness programs aren’t only helpful to the employer, 

 
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it's a bigger picture that these programs will ultimately help society to learn 
better ways to destress and have better well-being health. 

Mattke, S., Liu, H. H., Caloyeras, J. P., Huang, C. Y., Van Busum, K. R., 
Khodyakov, D., & Shier, V. (2013, May 30). ​Reviewing Workplace Wellness 
Programs​. RAND Corporation. 
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR254.html.  

This is a study done that focuses on wellness programs and the workplace. It 
has various graphs that can be useful. It also has a lot of information/graphs 
that deal with people who participate and those who don’t participant in 
wellness programs.  

Meritain Health Advocates for Healthy Living. (2015). ​Make Wellness Work for 
You​.  

This is a white paper that was done by Meritain Health, an insurance company. 
It talks about all the benefits that an employer and employee would have from 
wellness programs.  

This is useful for the tips it has on how to make the program successful.  

Miller, S. (2019, August 16). ​Employers See Wellness Link to Productivity, 

Performance​. SHRM. 
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/wel
lness-productivity-link-.aspx.  

Minds, B. (2019, August 23). ​The Health & Wellness Industry Is Now Worth $4.2 
trillion​. Medium. 
https://medium.com/manager-mint/the-health-wellness-industry-is-
now-worth-4-2-trillion-866bf4703b3c.  

This is an article about how the health and wellness industry is booming, and 
how fast is it growing. It gives percentages of how fast it is growing that will be 
beneficial for facts.  

One third of your life is spent at work​. Gettysburg College. 

https://www.gettysburg.edu/news/stories?id=79db7b34-630c-4f49-ad
32-4ab9ea48e72b.  

This I am just using for one simple fact that it has about the average individual 
works 90,000 hours in their lifetime. 

 
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O’Reilly-Hyland, P. (2020, February 21). ​5 ways wellness programs boost 

recruiting & retention efforts​. BenefitsPRO. 
https://www.benefitspro.com/2020/02/21/5-ways-wellness-programs-
boost-recruiting-retention-efforts/?slreturn=20201024113449.  

This article talks about the benefits of wellness programs have when recruiting 
new hires. It also helps in decreasing turnover in the workplace. This 
information will be useful because I have a section about how wellness 
programs are great for recruiting new hires. 

Pink-Harper, S. A., & Rauhaus, B. (2017). Examining the Impact of Federal 

Employee Wellness Programs and Employee Resilience in the Federal 
Workplace. Journal of Health & Human Services Administration, 40(3), 
353–387. 

This article explains that companies are seeing a high turnover rate. In a study 
performed the main reason for turnover was because of feeling burnout. 
Employees whose companies introduced wellness programs seem to be 
satisfied with the outcomes of the programs, and turnover rates decrease. After 
performing in wellness programs, employees said to feel satisfied in their work 
environment. 

This article can be useful because it talks about burnout and employees leaving 
jobs because of this feeling. It can show how important it is to be able to assist 
employees during this period and find ways to decrease turnover. 

Richardson, K. M. (2017). Managing employee stress and wellness in the new 

millennium. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 423–428. 
https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000066 

Studies show that Americans complain that their job is extremely stressful. 
Employers have started to incorporate wellness programs for incentives such 
as lower healthcare premiums. But recently wellness programs have been used 
because of a spike in culture for health awareness and employee well-being. 
The stability of a workplace is hugely impacted by the long-term success of 
employees health. 

This article is interesting because they continue to redo the study every ten 
years to see how wellness programs change and the progression that they have 
at workplaces. This article brings into light other factors that could cause 
stress at work, such as technostress. 

 
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Schwatka, N. V., Smith, D., Weitzenkamp, D., Atherly, A., Dally, M. J., 
Brockbank, C. V. S., … Newman, L. S. (2018). The Impact of Worksite 
Wellness Programs by Size of Business: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study of 
Participation, Health Benefits, Absenteeism, and Presenteeism. Annals 
of Work Exposures and Health, 62(Supplement_1), S42–S54. 
https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxy049 

This article focuses directly on how wellness programs can affect small 
businesses. Employees from a small business are more likely to use the 
benefits of a wellness program when compared to larger corporations. 
Employees showed improvements in stress, smoking cessation, making 
healthier consumption choices, and implementing physical activity. No 
substantial change in absenteeism was viewed. 

This is a great study because it focuses on a smaller business scale. Although it 
didn’t show a change in absenteeism, it did show that employees in smaller 
businesses are more likely to use the programs offered through a wellness 
program, affecting the overall health of employees.  

Tappero, J. (2015, July 7). ​Workplace Weight Loss and Wellness Programs​. West 
Sound Workforce. 
https://www.westsoundworkforce.com/workplace-weight-loss-and-we
llness-programs/.  

This article talks about how weight loss programs are available in wellness 
programs. It goes into detail about the different types of plans there are in 
relation to weight loss plans. This will be helpful because I have a section about 
weight loss plans. It also explains other ways that an employer can help by 
offering healthier options during work luncheons.