A fruit bowl, a step challenge and a yoga class once a month. Most corporate wellness looks like that, and most leadership teams can tell it isn’t changing anything.
What the research found
Harvard and University of Chicago researchers ran a randomised trial of a typical wellness program across 160 worksites of a large US retailer, covering nearly 33,000 employees. After 18 months, more people said they exercised regularly and were managing their weight. But there were no significant differences in clinical health measures, healthcare spending, absenteeism or job performance. Employees completed an average of 1.3 of the 8 modules (Song and Baicker, JAMA, 2019).
Almost nobody finished it, and nothing that mattered to performance moved.
What works instead
- Start with the leaders. Culture follows the people at the top. If the leadership team runs on 5 hours of sleep and skips training, the program is a poster on the wall.
- Measure first. Test each person individually. Personal targets get used. Generic ones get ignored.
- Build it around the calendar. Short sessions that fit a working week and survive travel, built on the minimum effective dose.
- Coach in small groups. Small groups and one-to-one follow-up get used. Mass emails and apps get ignored.
- Track what causes performance. Sleep, energy, training and focus, reviewed every quarter, alongside the business numbers the company already watches.
We don’t add more to your calendar. We remove what’s leaking.
For your team
Through Fitcorp Global I run leadership performance programs for teams. If you’re responsible for a team that needs to perform under pressure, get in touch.
Start with yourself. Take the Life Quest Quiz or book a Stealth Strategy Call.
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