Much-Touted Workplace Wellness Programs Don’t Live Up To Hype In Sweeping Study That Could Put Doubts To Rest
Many employers have embraced work wellness programs, but studies about them have been mixed. However, the latest one was one of the first large-scale studies that is peer-reviewed and employs a more sophisticated trial design. The results: the programs don't cut costs or improve health in any significant way. “These findings may temper expectations about the financial return on investment that wellness programs can deliver in the short term,” conclude the study’s authors, Dr. Zirui Song
The New York Times:
Employee Wellness Programs Yield Little Benefit, Study Shows
Companies have long embraced workplace wellness programs as a way to improve workers’ health and reduce overall medical spending, but a new study may prompt employers to rethink those efforts. The study, published on Tuesday in JAMA, a medical journal, looked at the experience of 33,000 workers at BJ’s Wholesale Club, a retailer, over a year and a half. While workers who enrolled in the wellness program reported that they learned to exercise more and watch their weight, the research found no significant differences in outcomes like lower blood pressure or sugar levels and other health measures. (Abelson, 4/16)
Kaiser Health News:
Workplace Wellness Programs Barely Move The Needle, Study Finds
A host of studies over the years have provided conflicting results about how well they work, with some showing savings and health improvements while others say the efforts fall short. Many studies, however, faced a number of limitations, such as failing to have a comparison group, or figuring out whether people who sign up for such wellness programs are somehow healthier or more motivated than those who do not. Now researchers from the University of Chicago and Harvard may have overcome these obstacles with one of the first large-scale studies that is peer-reviewed and employs a more sophisticated trial design. (Appleby, 4/16)
Modern Healthcare:
Workplace Wellness Programs Don't Improve Employee Health: Study
More than 4,000 employees of big box retailer BJ's Wholesale Clubs participated in the study's wellness program over 18 months. But there was little difference in productivity between the control and wellness program groups. Song said it was possible that the study was too short to see a positive clinical difference or that the program's impact was short-lived. (Johnson, 4/16)
WBUR:
Harvard Study On Workplace Wellness: Behaviors Change But Health Does Not — So Far
The randomized, controlled study followed more than 30,000 employees at BJ's warehouses around the Eastern United States. A wellness program at some sites did improve health behaviors, says Dr. Zirui Song, assistant professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School. "However," he says, "we found the workplace wellness program did not result in significant differences in clinical measures of health like blood pressure or weight, health care spending or utilization, or employment outcomes after 18 months." (Goldberg, 4/16)
In other exercise news —
The New York Times:
10 Years After An Exercise Study, Benefits Persist
The workouts we completed years ago may continue to influence and improve our health today, according to a fascinating new study of the current lives and health of people who joined an exercise study a decade before. The findings suggest that the benefits of exercise can be more persistent than many of us might expect, even if people are not exercising to the same extent as they previously did. But the impacts also may depend on the types and amounts of exercise involved. (Reynolds, 4/17)
