On fostering employee participation in voluntary corporate-sponsored wellness programs

Abstract

As organizations are increasingly turning to voluntary wellness programs to improve employee well-being, the majority of studies in literature have focused on corporate-level benefits of wellness programs, such as productivity. However, there is a scarcity of studies that examine the intrinsic motivators that influence employee participation in such programs. In this study, we use a unique secondary dataset from a voluntary corporate wellness program and propose a novel theoretical framework based on motivational and behavioral theories to examine and understand the participants' behavior. Our findings show that frequent participants are overall healthier and have a stronger intrinsic motivation to commit to a wellness program, as they are better in allocating their limited time resources between various wellness activities. In contrast, one-time participants prove to be less health-conscious and interested in investing time and energy in a wellness program. This study makes several contributions to theory and practice by identifying the individual characteristics and intrinsic motivational factors that compel participants to engage in frequent participation in wellness programs. We also offer recommendations to program administrators on how to personalize ongoing wellness programs to bolster employees' participation and promote more health-conscious behaviors.