A Literature Review on Health and Wellness Programs

Daniela Samarin
Murdoch University, 2009

Government Agency Wellness Program Evaluation: Research, results and recommendations

Wellness programs are initiatives targeting the promotion of health and the prevention of disease among employees. They typically involve a combination of processes and activities aimed at encouraging healthier lifestyle habits for employees such as increasing physical activity and providing opportunities to make positive changes in their lives. Wellness programs are designed to impact on employee health and indirectly, may also positively influence employee attitudes and organisational outcomes.

Employee Outcomes

Health outcomes related to wellness program participation tend to evolve from changes in health behaviours, especially those resulting from increases in physical activity. Examples of health outcomes associated with physical activity may include increased aerobic fitness, increased muscle performance and reductions in the risk of acute health problems. Examples of mental health outcomes associated with increased physical activity may include improvements in general mood and wellbeing, reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, and reduced stress and fatigue.

Organisational Outcomes

Organisational outcomes tend to arise from changes in employee health and attitudes. Some wellness programs have been shown to improve perceived organisational support, which can influence important employee attitudes such as job satisfaction and employee commitment, which in turn impacts on overall organisational outcomes (eg. reduced absenteeism, improved employee job satisfaction, improved employee commitment and improved perceptions of organisational support). Subsequent benefits for the organisation may include reduced costs associated with absenteeism, improved employee motivation and job performance, reduced turnover and increased employee organisational citizenship behaviours.

Costs and return on investment

Costs may include, but are not limited to; employee time spent planning, developing and maintaining the services, the cost in providing the services (ie. external provider services) and employee time spent utilising program services. Research has found that wellness programs produce an average return on investment of 3:1, with published results ranging between 2:1 – 8:1.