In the wake of rising health care costs, employers are increasingly seeking ways to encourage employee wellness and thus reduce health risks. It has become common for companies to offer wellness programs aimed at promoting a healthier, more productive workplace.
According to SHRM’s 2024 Employee Benefits Survey, 88% of employers rated health-related benefits as very important. However, there is a complex web of laws related to discrimination and privacy that employers need to be aware of before creating and implementing wellness programs.
The post-pandemic period has seen new trends in the wellness space.
“I think when these programs first started, it was the employer trying to maybe change some behaviors” to get a healthier workforce, said Christy Tinnes, an attorney at Groom Law Group in Washington, D.C. But these days, people are now “more aware of the holistic person and health” and “employees do respond well and want to push for it.”
Some of these programs offer incentives for participation, such as gift cards, or a premium credit, such as through smoking-cessation programs. Others promote activities employees can do to get points, and those points accumulate to earn a reward.
The increased interest in wellness programs has resulted in a wide variety of offerings. Along with the traditional tobacco-cessation incentive programs, there are now programs featuring nutrition logging and self-care regimes. “That might not even be considered...
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