Corporate Wellness Today: Why It's Failing

According to the Harvard Business Review, nearly 85% of large U.S. employers offer workplace wellness programs, yet the burnout and mental health needs that they are meant to address have continued to escalate. Corporate wellness today often include medical screenings, smoking cessation interventions, fitness challenges, tracking apps and rewards initiatives. Despite a projected $94.6 billion to be spent on wellness by 2026, many programs fail to deliver tangible results​.

• Participation rates hover between 20–40%, according to RAND Corporation studies​.

• Poorly designed programs often fail to change health behaviors or reduce health risks.

• Tick-the-box solutions like apps, rewards, and generic incentives lack the ability to create lasting behavioral change with usage churn after just three months.

According to the RAND Corporation, for every dollar invested in wellness, companies can achieve a return of $1.50, primarily through reduced burnout, enhanced collaboration, and better work outcomes​. But to realize this potential, businesses need a paradigm shift in how they approach wellness.