Workplace Wellness that Works

Workplace Wellness that Works Plot Summary

Introduction

In today's high-pressure work environments, traditional wellness programs often fall short, with dismal participation rates and minimal impact on employee health and engagement. Despite billions spent annually on wellness initiatives, most organizations struggle to create meaningful change. The challenge isn't that companies don't care about employee wellbeing—it's that conventional approaches focus too narrowly on disease management rather than creating environments where people can truly thrive. What if workplace wellness could be reimagined as a movement rather than a program? What if instead of treating employees as problems to be fixed, we created cultures that naturally foster vitality, purpose, and sustainable performance? This transformative approach requires shifting from top-down wellness management to collaborative wellbeing creation—integrating health into the very fabric of organizational life rather than treating it as a separate initiative. The pages ahead offer a practical roadmap for this journey, showing how to build wellness cultures that energize people, enhance performance, and create workplaces where everyone can bring their best selves forward.

Chapter 1: Shift from Expert to Change Agent

The most influential voices in wellness aren't necessarily those with the most impressive credentials. Consider figures like Oprah Winfrey, Morgan Spurlock, or Michael Pollan—none possesses formal qualifications in nutrition or exercise physiology, yet each has inspired millions to make healthier choices. Their effectiveness stems not from expertise alone but from their ability to connect emotionally, tell compelling stories, and embody their message authentically. This distinction between experts and agents of change reveals why many workplace wellness programs struggle despite solid scientific foundations. When Marianne Jackson, former HR leader at Blue Shield of California, launched their groundbreaking "Wellvolution" program, she recognized this fundamental truth. Rather than leading with statistics about disease risk, she assembled a cross-functional team and created an immersive wellness experience for senior leaders that spoke to their hearts as well as their minds. "My premise," she explains, "was that the principles of organizational behavior were not part of the product design process with historical workplace wellness programs." By approaching wellness as a movement rather than a compliance program, participation jumped from one in five employees to four out of five, smoking rates dropped by nearly 50%, and high blood pressure prevalence decreased from 25% to 10%. Effective change agents share several key characteristics that distinguish them from mere experts. First, they know their "why"—their deep sense of purpose that fuels their conviction. Shane Valentine, who leads the Kids Cook with Heart program, is driven by the startling fact that virtually no American children meet heart-healthy criteria, largely due to poor diet. This clear purpose inspires others to join his movement. Second, change agents speak to emotions rather than just intellect, understanding that we make decisions with our hearts first, then justify with our minds. Jonathan Haidt's metaphor of the "rider" (rational mind) and the "elephant" (emotional self) illustrates this perfectly—the elephant must be motivated before the rider can direct it. Perhaps most importantly, agents of change embody their message and don't wait for permission to start. Chade-Meng Tan, an engineer at Google, exemplifies this approach. Passionate about bringing mindfulness to the workplace, he appointed himself "Jolly Good Fellow" and launched the "Search Inside Yourself" program during Google's 20% time policy. Rather than waiting for perfect conditions or formal authority, he assembled a team of experts including neuroscientists and meditation teachers, and created a program that has since spread throughout Google and beyond. To become an agent of change in your organization, start by clarifying your personal "why"—what drives your passion for wellbeing? Then, build a core action team of diverse individuals who share your vision but bring different perspectives. Together, develop both a business case (the ROI) and an emotional case (the stories) that will resonate with decision-makers and employees alike. Remember that movements begin with conviction and bold action, not perfect plans or complete consensus.

Chapter 2: Expand Your Vision Beyond Physical Health

Traditional workplace wellness programs often define health too narrowly, focusing primarily on biometric measures like weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. This limited approach fails to inspire most employees and misses the deeper dimensions of what makes life worth living. A more compelling vision begins by expanding our concept of wellbeing beyond physical health to encompass all aspects of human flourishing. At Brocade, a global technology company, wellness manager Jacqueline Szeto has built their "WellFit" program around five dimensions of wellbeing. Their comprehensive approach addresses physical health through fitness facilities and healthy food options; emotional health through stress awareness campaigns; financial health through personal finance seminars; sustainable health through their "BGreen" initiative and active commute programs; and family health by inviting family members to wellness events and encouraging healthy practices at home. This multidimensional approach recognizes that wellbeing encompasses far more than just physical health—it includes our emotional resilience, social connections, financial security, and sense of purpose. Teresa Snyder demonstrated this expanded vision when she launched an award-winning program for her team at a multinational financial institution. She combined soft skills training with wellbeing programming organized around Maslow's hierarchy of needs, starting with basics like nutrition and physical activity before ascending to higher-order needs like resilience, happiness, and purpose. The program helped her team of performance-driven engineers recognize the connection between self-care and leadership effectiveness. "I wanted to help them understand that leadership is about more than just technical expertise," she explains. "It's about showing up with energy, focus, and emotional intelligence—all of which require taking care of yourself first." Research increasingly supports this multidimensional approach. Gallup researchers have identified five essential elements of wellbeing: career, social, financial, physical, and community. Their findings show that people excelling in all five areas are not only happier and more engaged but have medical costs 40% lower than those thriving in two or fewer areas. Similarly, Alexandra Drane's research on what she calls the "unmentionables"—relationship quality, financial stress, caretaking responsibilities—suggests these factors may be "quintupling our national health costs" yet are rarely addressed in traditional wellness programs. To create your own expanded vision, start by asking better questions. Instead of "How can we reduce healthcare costs?" ask "How can we create an environment where people thrive?" Visualize what's possible by gathering your team and exploring what wellbeing looks like across all dimensions—from physical and emotional to social, financial, career, and community wellbeing. When communicating this vision, use language that inspires rather than intimidates. Terms like "vitality," "energy," and "flourishing" create positive associations, while "risk reduction" and "disease management" often trigger fear or resistance.

Chapter 3: Uncover Hidden Cultural Factors

Two young fish swim past an older fish who greets them, "Morning boys, how's the water?" After swimming on, one young fish turns to the other and asks, "What the heck is water?" This story, told by philosopher David Foster Wallace, perfectly illustrates organizational culture—it's so ubiquitous we don't even see it, yet it shapes our behaviors in profound ways. While we often say we're creatures of habit, we're actually creatures of culture. Therefore, if we want to change behaviors, we must shift our focus from changing a few behaviors in a few people to changing the underlying culture that influences everyone. John Thiel, director of wealth management at Merrill Lynch, learned this lesson the hard way. He enthusiastically launched a wellness initiative promoting meditation, restorative naps, and finding "noble purpose" at work. Unfortunately, he didn't consider how these practices would be perceived by hard-charging financial advisors in a money-oriented, results-focused culture. Rather than prompting positive lifestyle changes, his well-intended initiative sparked a backlash, with employees defiantly consuming "meat, potatoes, and booze" at corporate events. The water in which his wellness initiative swam—the underlying culture—rejected what it perceived as foreign elements. Culture includes the people and ethos of the organization, how employees work together, the leaders and their vision, the intention behind interactions, and the collective values, norms, and rituals. As Chip Conley defines it, "Culture is what happens when the boss is not around." To assess your culture, consider using the Maslow Meets Mallory Culture Audit, which maps organizational needs to Maslow's hierarchy. At the foundation is the "Functioning Factor"—do employees have what they need to do their jobs? Next is the "Feelings Factor"—do people feel appreciated and respected? Then comes the "Friendship Factor"—are people connected to one another? Above that is the "Forward Factor"—do employees have opportunities for growth? At the top is the "Fulfillment Factor"—do people feel inspired and working toward a higher purpose? Dr. Scott Buffington, an orthopedic surgeon at UCSF Medical Center, transformed his team's culture by addressing the Feelings Factor. Known for his brusque, demanding style that occasionally drove staff to tears, he enrolled in mindfulness training and began addressing every staff member by name, including custodians. He started hosting Friday ping-pong socials at his home and shifted from seeing himself as "captain of the ship" to empowering his team. The results were remarkable—operating room turnaround times dropped to all-time lows as the newly engaged custodial staff worked at record speed. Why? Because Scott was nice to them, acknowledged them as feeling human beings, and demonstrated deep respect. To uncover the hidden factors in your own organization, start with both quantitative and qualitative assessment. Beyond surveys, use techniques like "Snow Day" (asking what would happen if everyone unexpectedly had a day off) or "Marbles" (having employees distribute marbles to represent energy allocation) to reveal cultural patterns. Collect stories through interviews and focus groups to understand the lived experience of your culture. Once you've identified cultural strengths and challenges, initiate dialogue with leaders about the findings. Frame the conversation around organizational performance, not just health outcomes. Show how cultural factors that undermine wellbeing also impact engagement, innovation, and retention—metrics leaders already care about.

Chapter 4: Build on Strengths Instead of Fixing Weaknesses

Traditional workplace wellness typically begins with a deficit-based approach—identifying what's wrong through health risk assessments and biometric screenings, then focusing on correcting these issues. This approach is problematic for several reasons. First, it's not particularly inspiring—filling out an HRA feels like a mundane, check-the-box task that can even feel threatening when tied to incentives. Second, merely knowing your health risks rarely translates into action. Third, we're diverting substantial resources toward measuring rather than doing, with biometric screenings and incentives consuming budgets that could fund actual programming. Patty de Vries, wellness manager at Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, demonstrates the power of starting with what's right. Under her leadership, health fair attendance jumped from 1,500 to 4,000 in just one year, and the wellness champion network grew from 32 to 1,075 in two years. Her secret? Creating positive experiences from the outset. "You can come into a situation with fear or with love," she explains. "I approach each with love, and the programs succeed because of it." She begins by telling employees, "You're perfect where you are. But, if you have wellness goals and want to make changes, we're here to help." This strengths-based approach aligns with research from positive psychology showing that happiness and optimism lead to better health outcomes. Studies reveal that cheerful people are less likely to develop heart disease, optimistic men are three times less likely to develop high blood pressure, and a positive outlook can even protect against the common cold. Beyond health benefits, happiness makes us more productive, creative, and energetic. Shaun Achor calls this the "happiness advantage"—happiness gives us a competitive edge in all aspects of life. To apply this strengths-based approach in your wellness movement, help employees identify their "bright spots"—areas where they're already doing well. Use activities like the "Green Dot • Red Dot" exercise, where participants shade a "vitality wheel" representing different well-being dimensions, then identify their strengths (green dots) and challenges (red dots). This simple activity helps people feel energized by recognizing what they're already doing right, then leverages these strengths to address challenges. When designing programs, start with positive experiences that create momentum rather than assessments that highlight deficiencies. For example, instead of beginning with a health risk assessment, start with an engaging challenge that builds on existing interests and abilities. Create opportunities for early wins that boost confidence and motivation. Frame messaging around growth and possibility rather than risk and prevention. And remember to celebrate progress along the way, reinforcing the positive changes people are making rather than focusing exclusively on end goals.

Chapter 5: Break Down Silos with Cross-Functional Teams

Leonardo da Vinci, the quintessential Renaissance man, united diverse disciplines from painting to engineering, mathematics to botany. His genius demonstrates the power of integration—bringing together seemingly unrelated fields to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Workplace wellness desperately needs this interdisciplinary approach to break down the silos that limit its effectiveness. The contrast between resources allocated to wellness versus learning and development is striking. Workplace wellness is a $6-10 billion industry, while learning and development commands $164 billion. The average company spends $169 per employee annually on wellness compared to $1,208 on learning and development. Employees typically get limited, optional time for wellness activities but 32 mandatory hours for training. Most telling, chief learning officers are standard in organizations, while chief wellness officers are rare exceptions. At Schindler Elevator Corporation, Julie Shipley, manager of general training, took a da Vinci approach with their "Leadership Odyssey" program. Rather than creating a standalone wellness initiative, she embedded well-being into leadership development, connecting it directly to core business objectives like building winning teams and promoting safety. The program helped managers personally experience well-being, then reflect on how this shift connects to becoming better leaders. Mike Yurchuk, director of organization development, observed, "These managers are now much quicker to recognize signs when team members are experiencing burnout and they're now more proactive in addressing these issues from a place of understanding and compassion." To take a da Vinci approach in your organization, start by building a team that crosses traditional boundaries. Include the usual suspects—human resources, compensation and benefits, facilities, IT, and marketing. Then add unexpected players like safety, learning and development, and community outreach. The Total Worker Health initiative from NIOSH demonstrates how integrating safety and health protection with health promotion creates synergy. Dr. Casey Chosewood, director of the program, explains, "Whenever you increase the collaboration and cooperation among the siloed parts of an organization, you'll see great benefits." Don't forget to include cultural ambassadors (informal leaders who influence coworkers), wellness ambassadors (those passionate about sharing wellness with peers), and challengers (those who will question your ideas and provide reality checks). Use creative brainstorming techniques like Edward de Bono's Six Hats Thinking to generate ideas that transcend traditional boundaries and create truly integrated solutions. Remember that the goal isn't just to create another wellness program but to infuse wellbeing principles throughout the organization's existing structures and initiatives.

Chapter 6: Embed Wellness into Existing Priorities

I often begin my talks with an image of Sisyphus pushing a rock uphill, asking wellness practitioners if this represents their experience trying to engage employees and gain leadership buy-in. The knowing laughter confirms that the hard sell for wellness rarely works. But there's an ingenious alternative: go stealth by "sneaking" wellness into other initiatives, even leaving the word "wellness" out entirely. Laura Young at Goldman Sachs applied this principle brilliantly when introducing mindfulness to their high-pressure workplace. "We wanted to provide a positive solution for our employees," she explains, "and we wanted to avoid using a term like 'stress management' that has a stigma attached to it. So we decided to call it 'resilience.'" Rather than positioning mindfulness as a wellness practice, her team demonstrated its connection to increased productivity and performance. They carefully designed the program to include the science behind the practice so it wouldn't be dismissed as a "new age" solution. The program now attracts over 500 employees every quarter. This stealth approach works because it connects wellness to what leaders and employees already care about. Research from Stanford University supports this strategy. Researchers compared two groups of students: one enrolled in a traditional nutrition course focused on health benefits, the other in a "Food and Society" course connecting food to environmental and social issues. Students in the second group made significantly more improvements in their eating habits, demonstrating that stealth strategies produce better results than explicit health messaging. To go stealth effectively, rename your initiatives using language that resonates with business priorities. Instead of "wellness" or "well-being," use terms like "sustainable engagement," "energy management," "mindful leadership," or "human performance improvement." Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz mastered this approach with their "Corporate Athlete" program, which is marketed as performance training rather than wellness, yet produces the same health benefits. Look for opportunities to embed wellness into existing organizational priorities like staff meetings, leadership development, management training, team development, onboarding, and community outreach. Square, a San Francisco-based technology company, created #cleanstreets, a community outreach initiative where employees clean neighborhood streets every Friday. While explicitly focused on community engagement, the program delivers multiple well-being benefits: physical activity, social connection, and community involvement. On average, 75-100 employees collect up to 300 pounds of trash weekly, building camaraderie while improving their neighborhood. When presenting your ideas to leadership, frame them in terms of business outcomes rather than health metrics. Show how your initiatives will enhance engagement, productivity, retention, or other priorities already on leadership's radar. Use language from your organization's strategic plan or annual report to demonstrate alignment with existing goals. And remember that sometimes the most effective wellness strategy is to stop calling it wellness altogether.

Chapter 7: Create Meaning Through Intrinsic Motivation

When I taught history in an urban high school, my students often asked, "Why do I need to know this stuff?" Initially, I'd respond with extrinsic motivators: "So you can get a good grade" or "Pay attention or I'll send you to the principal's office." These approaches sometimes produced short-term compliance but rarely lasting engagement. Everything changed when I started turning the question around: "Why do you think we're studying this?" By transforming a one-way directive into a collaborative quest for meaning, I discovered my students became more invested in their learning. This lesson applies directly to workplace wellness. While many organizations rely on incentives and penalties to drive participation, sustainable behavior change requires intrinsic motivation—doing something because it's personally meaningful rather than for external rewards. Michelle Segar, director of the Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy Center at the University of Michigan, explains: "Behavior change is easy! The real issue is sustaining the behavior." The key to sustainability, she argues, is finding the "right why"—a motivation that's personally meaningful to each individual. Lincoln Industries demonstrates these principles with their unique approach to wellness incentives. Rather than offering traditional financial rewards, they created an experience-based incentive: employees who achieve certain health outcomes are invited to participate in the annual "Platinum Mountain Climb," an all-expenses paid trip up a 14,000-foot mountain in Colorado. This approach has helped reduce smoking rates from 42% to less than 13% by connecting wellness to adventure, achievement, and social connection rather than just monetary rewards. Motivation comes in two flavors: extrinsic (doing something for rewards or to avoid penalties) and intrinsic (finding meaning and enjoyment in the activity itself). While incentives may increase participation in one-time activities like health risk assessments, research consistently shows they don't lead to sustainable change. A University of Oxford review of 17 studies on smoking cessation incentives found "no clear evidence" of higher quit rates beyond six months. Similarly, HealthStream Research discovered that the number one factor in employee engagement isn't money but feeling recognized and appreciated. To foster intrinsic motivation, create conditions that satisfy five universal human needs: competency, autonomy, relatedness, purpose, and play. Build competency by asking open-ended questions that draw out personal reflections and teaching skills that make change possible, like identifying "keystone habits" or practicing mindfulness. Foster autonomy by providing multiple entry points to wellness, being provocative with questions rather than just answers, and allowing employees to customize the wellness brand to their personal why. Enhance relatedness through peer-to-peer networks, team challenges, and family connections—research shows that simply feeling part of a team increases motivation and persistence by 48-64%. Remember that intrinsic motivation always trumps extrinsic motivation for lasting change. By creating meaning and tapping into what truly matters to each individual, you can build a wellness movement that endures long after the incentives end. As Sergeant Kevin Briggs, who patrolled the Golden Gate Bridge preventing suicides, discovered—finding what personally motivates someone is the key to inspiring transformative change.

Summary

Creating a thriving wellness culture requires fundamentally rethinking our approach. Rather than treating wellness as a program to be managed, we must build it as a movement that inspires and engages. This means shifting from expert-driven health management to collaborative wellbeing creation, expanding our vision beyond physical health to encompass all dimensions of human flourishing, and integrating wellness into the very fabric of organizational culture. The most successful wellness initiatives don't rely on incentives or penalties to drive participation. Instead, they create environments where healthy choices become the default, tap into intrinsic motivations like purpose and connection, and evolve continuously through experimentation and learning. As Chip Conley wisely noted, "We work hard to create transparency in relationships, encourage honesty, and help every person find their purpose and pleasure in the work they're doing." When we approach workplace wellness with this mindset—focusing on creating conditions where people can truly thrive rather than simply reducing risk factors—we unlock the potential for transformation at both individual and organizational levels. Your journey begins not with a perfect plan but with a single step: start where you are, use what you have, and build a movement that grows naturally from the strengths and aspirations already present in your organization.

About Author

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Laura Putnam

Laura Putnam, granted the 2020 Impact Award by the American Heart Association, is the author of Workplace Wellness That Works (#1 Amazon Hot New Release in HR & Personnel Management). Her company Motion Infusion, a leading well-being provider, provides speaking, training, consulting and licensing services. The company’s mission is to get people, teams and organizations “in motion” – and on the path to better health and well-being. Clients include, among others, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, Schindler Elevator Corporation, Aetna, Wells Fargo, Apple, Electronic Arts, Logitech, Visa, Fitbit and Stanford University.Laura has been featured by or has contributed to MSNBC, The New York Times, US News & World Report, Forbes, NPR and many others.Laura is a former urban public high school teacher, public policy advocate, international community organizer, dancer, gymnast and now a movement-builder in the world of health and well-being. Laura teaches at Stanford University and also is the recipient of the National Wellness Institute’s “Circle of Leadership” award. A graduate of Brown University and Stanford University, she lives in San Francisco with her fiancé.To learn more about Laura, visit: Websites: www.motioninfusion.com, www.lauraputnam.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lauraputnamTwitter: twitter.com/MotionInfusionFacebook: facebook.com/LauraPutnamAuthor Instagram: instagram.com/lauraputnamauthor

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