Protecting staff well-being has become critical not only to looking after your people, but also to having a hugely positive impact on business success. However, progress has slowed to a crawl and employee well-being has become just another task to check off the list.

Simply put, employee wellness programs fail.

After working with the largest organizations on their wellness programs, I noticed a clear trend. They are too prescriptive and too focused on what they offer rather than why they should offer such initiatives. What inevitably becomes “stuff” – discounts or gym memberships, fruit bowls in kitchens, Friday pizzas – while the why – providing real support to real people with a variety of wants and needs – is neglected. Employee wellness programs are too static and do not adapt to the individual wellness requirements of employees, especially their changing needs based on their current life stage.

Ultimately, the employee loses. It’s a vicious cycle and it’s essential to rethink employee wellbeing and break the ‘illusion of happiness’. HR teams need to stop offering new benefits and perks without really thinking about how employees will physically engage with them in their daily lives.

So how do HR leaders break this cycle? Start with why. If the real goal is to ensure that employees feel supported and not just survive, but thrive, this will allow companies to focus more clearly on what the strategy should be. This is how HR teams can transform employee wellness programs and have a huge, far-reaching benefit.

Find out how Heka is doing employee welfare programs right and start transforming your workplace benefits today.