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| Dr. Jon Robison and sidekick Lady |
Top 10 Reasons To…JUST WALK AWAY!
Business is certainly booming for wellness at the
workplace. Especially since the passage of the wellness provisions of the
Affordable Care Act, new employee wellness promoting entities are popping up
like dandelions in the spring. And more and more companies are spending
considerable amounts of money on these programs. In fact, in the next few
years, the workplace wellness industry is predicted to grow by almost 8 and 1/2%
annually, leading to
revenues of more than 12 billion dollars in the United States
“This rapid escalation in
employer investment has spawned a “Wild West” kind of market for wellness and
disease management, with thousands of vendors overwhelming employers, often
touting exaggerated claims of effectiveness.”
With this in mind we propose some simple guidelines
(with links for additional information) to help you just walk away from
proposals (suggested by vendors, consultants, brokers, relatives, etc.) that
are more likely to interfere with rather than enhance employee engagement and
well being. From the least to the most egregious we propose;
The Top 10 Reasons to - JUST WALK AWAY:
10. Someone tells you they can save you money on health
care costs
by instituting bio-metric screens and/or HRA’s at the workplace.
9. Someone suggests that you will have a better
chance of showing savings from employee wellness programs
if you use VOI rather than ROI.
8. Someone uses the terms participation and engagement interchangeably.
7. Someone suggests that a healthy organizational culture has to do with gym
memberships, broccoli in the cafeteria and stress
management programs.
6. Someone suggests that pry, prod, poke and punish
“wellness or else”
programs will improve engagement and lift employee morale. Also:
http://www.firstreportnow.com/articles/debate-employer-sponsored-
wellness-programs
5. Someone offers you an employee weight loss program, contest, competition,
app, or a secret weight loss berry from the Amazon. Also:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/poodle-science-what-can-teach-us-weight-
health-jon-robison?trk=mp-author-card
4. Someone suggests that they can show you how to turn extrinsic motivation
into intrinsic motivation with
or without a magic wand.
3. Someone suggests that in order to get employees to
participate in wellness programs you need to be more aggressive or stern with them, make
participation mandatory or perhaps have them find another job if they don’t.
2. Someone cites Katherine Baicker’s 2010 wellness ROI
publication as proof that wellness saves money. Also http://ift.tt/1xB22Hb
And, without a doubt, the current number one
reason to just walk away!
1. Someone suggests that your wellness program is voluntary even though you pay employees to participate
and/or fine them if they don’t.
We hope this list will save you from spending time and
money on initiatives that have only minimal efficacy and a high likelihood of
iatrogenesis. So, the next time someone proposes one of these to you,
remember the immortal words of the hit single of the American baroque pop band
- The Left Banke – rated by Rolling Stone as #220 of
the 500 greatest songs of all time - and - Just Walk Away - Renee. (Four
Tops cover Here)
ps - As we continue the process of ushering workplace
wellness into the 21st Century, please feel free to add your own reasons to just walk away – and, in the interest of saving time
and energy, I am guessing someone will want to add - just walk away – if someone (like me)
suggests you should just walk away(for any of the above 10 reasons).
