Employers increasingly promote wellbeing to workers

Corporate wellness programs used to be all about motivating employees to get their cholesterol checked, complete their annual physicals or head to the gym.

Those are still goals. But today, workplace wellness encompasses all sorts of programs and services for the mind, body and spirit.

Workplaces have pet days and game days (think Pictionary) on company time. Purdue offers a program called Healthy Boiler Bingo. There are healthy recipe clubs and on-site health coaches. Employers are expanding mental health resources, often through employee assistance programs, or EAPs, and others by offering on-site counselors and even corporate chaplains.

The AAA Hoosier Motor Club is among employers rolling out an array of wellness services and perks for employees that include reimbursements of up to $300 a year for health and wellness activities such as walk/run events, gym memberships and smoking-cessation programs.

Fleet supervisor Sam Tate said he now thinks about wellness in everyday decisions.

“When I’m out on the road, trying not to get the bag of chips and the soda pop and [trying] to grab an apple and a banana,” said Tate, who still heads out for service calls.

AAA Hoosier Motor Club schedules on-site annual checkups for fleet drivers on its health insurance plan to accommodate their busy schedules. Tate said he liked the convenience of getting his annual physical at his workplace, saving him money on his premium payments.

Employers increasingly view wellness as a key part of the organization’s wider workplace culture, with the goal of helping workers deal with common concerns like mental health and work-life balance, especially since the pandemic. Wellness programs are also an important part of efforts to recruit and retain employees.

“COVID was a huge need, and it changed somewhat of what wellness looked like. So, we adapted to that and provided those programs that were more social and mental health,” said Annie Spencer, director of human resources for Conner Insurance.

Indianapolis-based Conner, which sells group benefits and various types of insurance, offers a comprehensive wellness program to its workers. Conner also owns Spire, a wellness services provider.

Conner’s programs go well beyond traditional wellness services.

“Who doesn’t want to do pet therapy, where we have dogs come in, and who doesn’t want to do cooking demos?” Spencer said. “But also, there’s a deeper meaning to why we’re doing it. The employees know we care about them, and we’re providing all these different opportunities for them to get to know each other, to take care of their health.”

Wider wellness

Workplace wellness programs have been around for decades but have expanded dramatically in recent years, thanks in part to increasing concerns about chronic problems, such as obesity and mental health struggles, as well as a rise in digital technology that can help companies address those problems.

Indianapolis-based health data analytics company Springbuk, which publishes an Employee Health Trends report, said that, in 2000, employer health coverage plans primarily focused on health, dental and vision plans, with limited attention on wellness programs. By 2024, the most recent trends report said, companies were providing a wider array of services, including mental health support, financial wellness programs, fertility benefits and management of chronic conditions.

Conner, for example, expanded its offerings to include everything from stretch breaks to access to corporate chaplains online or on site. “Now we’re giving you the tools for the behavior change on your own, so that you’re feeling more internally motivated,” said Kelly Fenol, managing director and wellness adviser at Spire, the Conner wellness company.

Purdue University’s Healthy Boiler Wellness Program focuses on what it calls the “five pillars” of health and wellness: behavior health, financial wellness, physical health, social wellness and work-life integration.

“The more we thought about it, we were like, ‘Wellness isn’t just physical, right? There are other components to wellness,’” said Candace Shaffer, associate vice president of benefits and payroll at the school. “So over the years, all of our benefits programs, some of our other HR programs, other programs within the university all fold up into those areas.”

Healthy Boiler Bingo awards non-cash prizes for completing five straight spots on a bingo card. Each spot has a wellness activity such as, “Declutter at least one area of your home or workspace,” and, “Alternate sitting and standing every hour for one whole workday.”

Mental health is a priority. Purdue’s employee assistance program offers six free sessions with a counselor per life episode in addition to workshops and training.

“We’ve worked really hard for folks to understand what an EAP is and how they can utilize it,” said Brandy Royer, associate director of benefits administration for Purdue. “We also have on-site counselors.”

The university also offers onsite health clinics in West Lafayette, Fort Wayne and Hammond for treating common illnesses and conditions as well as for preventive care.

Those covered by Purdue’s health plan need to get a physical to qualify for Healthy Boiler incentives. And the school said the rate at which members received their annual physicals has risen from 48% in 2018 to 62% in 2023, which Purdue attributes to the program.

Purdue offers serious perks to those who participate in the program, which motivates employees to complete a health risk assessment and anxiety/depression screening. In 2025, Purdue employees and spouses can each earn up to an additional $550 for their health savings account or health reimbursement arrangement.

Physicians at times see patients—and complete verification forms—motivated by wellness incentive programs.

Dr. Maureen Sampson, Community Health Network’s physician executive of primary care, said she’s seen wellness programs inspire patients to get checkups or manage blood pressure, blood sugar or cholesterol.

“For some, it is very motivating and eye-opening just to know where they stand in terms of their own health, but not for everyone,” she said. “That’s the importance of continuing that relationship with your primary care physician.”

Sampson said she’s benefited from Community Health’s programs aimed at physicians when the hospital system provided an artificial intelligence medical scribe to automatically take notes for patient charts. “It’s decreased our work outside of work by 22% over the past year,” Sampson said, “which is remarkable because when you have better work-life balance, you have better health.”

The bottom line

Employer spending on wellness programs varies widely depending on offerings, with surveys citing program costs from $150 to $1,200 per employee per year, according to Utah-based wellness company WellSpring.

The Global Wellness Institute, a Florida-based industry group, estimated the global workplace wellness market at $51.8 billion in 2023. The group said much of the spending was motivated by a need to reduce health care costs and other goals such as improving morale, productivity, and employee retention and recruitment.

Purdue credits its Healthy Boiler Wellness Program with helping it slow the growth of health care costs. In an August news release about its 2025 employee health plan, Purdue cited PricewaterhouseCoopers data that found the average cost for university health care nationally had grown nearly 6% annually since 2017. Purdue’s rate, meanwhile, has grown 1.6% annually. “Had Purdue’s health care costs increased at the national rate, employees would have spent an additional $72.4 million on health care from 2016-2023,” Purdue said in the release.

AAA Hoosier Motor Club CEO Matt Goins pointed to additional gains.

“It’s less about the bottom line for me because what I see is, healthy employees tend to stay longer, they develop stronger relationships while they’re here,” Goins said. “I see a more collaborative culture.”

He said he was impressed that about 40 of 300 total employees took part in the Indiana Sports Corp. Corporate Challenge. He credited Lisa Ipsen, director of human resources for AAA Hoosier Motor Club, as being the driving force behind the expansion of the wellness program and its emphasis on well-being.

“I once weighed over 300 pounds. I try to keep my weight under 200 pounds, although I don’t like to step on the scale too frequently,” Goins said.

He aims for 12,000 to 14,000 steps a day, regularly trekking three laps around the lake by his office for a quick mile. “I’ll walk around,” Goins said, “and it gives me an opportunity to talk to the employees and say hi.”•