Eighty percent of large American employers offer workplace wellness programs. Zirui Song of Harvard Medical School and Katherine Baicker tested one in a randomized trial at BJ’s Wholesale Club. The program ran at 20 sites, with 140 sites as a control, for 18 months from January 2015.
Employees in the program reported more exercise and more attention to their weight. Measured health, health spending, absences and job performance did not change significantly. The results appeared in JAMA in April 2019.