Workplace wellness programs: do they work?


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
These programs, where employers institute financial incentives for their workers to improve their health, with the idea that they will thus require less health-care spending, are now a $6 billion industry. Pay your workers not to smoke, for example, and perhaps they'll require fewer trips to the doctor.
Do these work? Aaron Caroll digs into the evidence below. The answer? Not really. There is evidence that some programs strictly targeted on disease management can provide some savings. But the broad programs aimed at improving health in general don't seem to work at reducing spending. Worse, employers often use them as a convenient excuse to shift costs from employers to workers. Watch the explanation in full below. --Ryan Cooper
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
Why the Roman Empire is suddenly everywhere online
The Explainer It fell more than 1,500 years ago — so why is it dominating social media?
By Justin Klawans Published
-
How climate change is going to change the insurance industry
The Explainer Some regions will soon be 'uninsurable'
By Devika Rao Published
-
TV to watch in October, from 'Loki' to 'The Fall of the House of Usher'
The Explainer Celebrate spooky season with some eerie streaming shows
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published