Dive Brief:

• Although seven in 10 American workplaces offer wellness programs, a new survey suggests many employees don't know those programs exist.
• According to the survey from Brodeur Partners, only 34% of employed Americans said they have a health and wellness program at work. Nearly half the respondents (45%) said they would participate if their workplace offered a wellness program, including 46% of Millennials, 47% of Gen Xers and 39% of Baby Boomers.
• Employees also resist wellness programs. Reasons cited by respondents include privacy concerns (50%), doubt that such programs would be helpful to them (31%), and lack of confidence in an employer's ability to run an effective program (19%). Fewer than one in three Millennials (27%) said they either do not participate in their workplace wellness program or would not if their workplace had one. Such resistance jumps to more than 36% for Gen X and nearly half (45%) of the 55 and older Baby Boomer generation.

Dive Insight:

Based on the survey results, employers clearly are not doing a great job getting the word out on wellness.

“Companies need to communicate clearly, aggressively and creatively about what they're offering and how the programs can enhance their employees' well-being,” says Brodeur Partners CEO Andrea Coville.

Brodeur Partnters suggests that to make wellness programs resonate with employees, communications efforts must not only make compelling logical arguments, but also must tap into the values American workers hold, the communities they belong to, and the sensory experiences that influence them.