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Where did we come from(corporate wellness)?
By: Michael Winter


These early initiatives (think executive stretching and employee housing) arenâ€™t necessarily what we think of when we think of wellness.

Corporate wellness began with an occupational health-focused program for executives â€” which paved the way for the programs we see today.

The roots of corporate wellness predate the first World War.Ford and other manufacturers invested in these early programs because they thought theyâ€™d see increased production out of healthier employees. These initiatives were the exception, not the rule â€” and they were crude by todayâ€™s standards. But they started a revolution. Companies saw the benefits of a vital workforce, and they began tapping into the programs long before the establishment of health insurance.

By World War II, major companies had introduced corporate health and
wellness benefits.
employee gym
1926 Ford introduces the 40-hour work week
1930s Hershey Foods builds a recreation complex for its employees
1950s â€” 1970s


In conjunction with the Surgeon Generalâ€™s report of the dangers of cigarette smoking,
leaders began to understand that their employeesâ€™ behavioural decisions affected the
state of their health.

Even so, leaders were mostly concerned with illness prevention â€” only one small aspect of a personâ€™s well-being. Their primary concern was to prevent absences and injuries in the workplace, rather than promoting healthy behaviours in their employees.

fitness centres
1965 The U.S. Congress passes the Cigarette Labelling and Advertising Act

LATE 1970s
The first smoking cessation programs launch

1980s â€” EARLY 2000s
nutrition became commonplace. Focused on treating high-cost employees, companies created employee wellness programs that only targeted those with the highest risk for health issues. Leaders (especially in the â€™90s) felt this was the most efficient use of their resources since these employees cost more to insure. But low participation rates and high failure rates made these programs unsuccessful.

1982 The worldâ€™s first wireless wearable heart rate monitor becomes commercially available
1992 USDA publishes the Food Guide Pyramid
2001 Dee Edington introduces â€œChanging the Natural Flowâ€ concept, revolutionising the wellness industry

Some companies never got out of the healthcare-costs-only trap of wellness. As healthcare expenses continued to spiral upward, they depended on wellness providers to help them keep these costs in check. But punitive measures against unhealthy employees â€” such as increasing premium costs â€” became less and less effective as diminishing returns on these programs set in. This model drove employees away from the program, which ultimately led to its failure.

Companies that spent so much time on the employees who were most expensive to insure missed the point. They ignored all the other employees who needed encouragement and a number of other factors that play a role in the well-being of their people â€” including stress level, job satisfaction, fitness, nutrition and sleep.

2002 WebMD Health Services forms
2003 Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are established
2010 The Affordable Care Act passes
2011 NIOSH launches the Total Worker Health (TWH) Program
2013 Launch of healthcare exchanges

behaviours for a more holistic, mindful lifestyle.


Corporate wellness is about your people. Within the last decade, employers have started taking a holistic approach that embraces the whole employee â€” not just their health risks. And thereâ€™s a lot of evidence that shows the value of creating an authentic program that focuses on, engages and challenges the whole employee.

More important, leaders now know they canâ€™t tackle one area of health and well-being and hope for success in all areas. They have to take a whole employee approach that respects an individualâ€™s physical, mental, social and even financial health.

2. Vesely, R. (2012, July 18). Shaping Up: Workplace Wellness in the â€˜80s and Today. Workforce. Retrieved from
6. Oâ€™Donnell, M. P. (2001). Health promotion in the workplace.

Added: 11-05-2018