Posted by Employer Wellness | Posted in Employer Wellness | Posted on 09-07-2010
Corporate wellness is important to the United States’s workforce. There is certainly room for wellness programs. Notwithstanding, some groups do not support wellness programs in the workplace. Here are two common reasons why –
Corporate Wellnes and Privacy Rights
Privacy rights seem to be the primary opposition to wellness programs. Some people believe that corporations have no right to tell workers to eat healthy or lose twenty pounds.
This opinion seems to be made stronger by the hundreds of corporations seeking the help of law firms to start more assertive wellness programs. What a individuals does with his/her body is definitely a privacy issue.
However, wellness programs were initiated to be encouraging ways to help staff members get fit by offering incentives and free health programs. If corporate wellness is brought back to its original mission and participation was not monitored or mandatory, there would be far less privacy issues.
Corporate Wellness – Incentives or Penalties
Consequences rarely motivate someone like incentives do. Groups opposing wellness programs are citing that some companies are threatening unhealthful staff members with consequences for not participating or succeeding in their wellness program.
An example of such a case is a corporation based in Indianapolis that began deducting $10.00 from each paycheck for every employee with a Body Mass Index above 29.9 because not enough staff members were utilizing the corporation’s wellness program.
Employees are much more likely to participate in wellness programs if there are incentives like cash bonuses, time off work or free products rather than the threats of consequences.
Although both of these reasons are valid ones to oppose wellness programs, both issues can easily be resolved by bringing corporate wellness back to its main mission.
These programs were not meant to invade privacy or punish unhealthful person, and the majority does not. They were and are meant to be a benefit to both the employer and staff member.
By encouraging and supporting program participants, businesses will likely experience success.