Depending on how progressive an organization is – or thinks it is – workplace wellness programs occupy a range of importance. In everything from the organization’s articulated ideal culture to its actual operating culture to its day-to-day activities to its recruiting material, an array of these programs has occupied places of prominence.
Yoga classes, meditation, massage, mindfulness workshops, life coaching, free organic lunches, and drumming circles are among the most popular programs – and organizations display them as proof that their employees reap benefits by working there that they may not enjoy if working elsewhere.
Nice try.
A growing body of data based on recent surveys suggests otherwise. So does my experience as a leadership advisor and coach to companies in 25 industries over the last quarter century. In this article, I will first cite the research, then the findings, and then the author’s suggestions; I will follow that with my own take on why these programs are not all they claim – and what organizations can do to drive the desired improvements.
The most recent research
As reported in The New York Times on January 16, 2024, a study authored by Dr. William Fleming, a fellow at Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Center, and published in Industrial Relations Journal, examined 46,336 employees’ feedback on 90 different wellness programs.
What was determined
Of all the programs offered, only one led to the conclusion that it increased the wellbeing of the employee who engaged in it: the opportunity to do charity or volunteer work. All others failed to make the case, and two offerings actually appeared to have negative outcomes. How ironic that those two were resilience and stress management training.
Dr. Fleming’s advice
Employers that want to improve employees’ mental health and overall wellbeing, says Dr. Fleming, would do well to focus on “core organizational practices.” If employees want these other programs, fine, but a serious effort to improve wellbeing has to be centered on work practices, he says. There’s nothing wrong with a commitment to excellence, efficiency, and effectiveness, but in this writer’s opinion, there’s something more – and it’s an obvious something.
What drives us?
My degree in psychology with a concentration in human motivation – followed later in my career by 25+ years of practice – compels me to offer this two-paragraph course in general psychology.
Abraham Maslow, who did more to change the way we look at human motivation than anyone else, developed his iconic, irrefutable Hierarchy of Needs, explaining that, as we evolve individually, we address higher-level needs, starting with the most basic physiological needs (food, shelter, procreation) and progressing through security, belongingness, esteem (self and others), cognition, aesthetics, and finally, self-actualization (reaching a continuously expanding potential). Progression through this hierarchy is self-driven, but in aligning with that of others, it becomes a social phenomenon as well.
The journey to self-actualization
Meeting our lower-level needs, which must be done before getting to the higher-level ones, is more self-centered and selfish – and there is nothing wrong with that, for the time being. But the journey upward is marked by social structure, achievement, learning, appreciation of beauty, and generosity. A key element of self-actualizing people is the transference of their evolution to help others do the same. As individuals evolve, they become better at being meaningful to others. Of all the wellbeing programs mentioned here – and of all the ones we could add – all but one address our lower-level needs, and that’s not what we seek as we evolve. Yoga, massage, meditation, mindfulness, lunches. Those all serve the “me” factor. Doing charity and volunteer work. That serves the “we.” And that’s what the evolving, self-actualizing employee wants – and responds to.
Corporate leaders, human resources departments, and organizational consultants would do well to consider this incredibly simple principle that Dr, Fleming’s results support and that this essay explains.