The Real Reason Employees Ignore Well-Being Initiatives

Many organizations invest heavily in well-being programs, only to be met with lukewarm engagement. Leaders often assume that employees are uninterested, too busy, or simply resistant to change. In reality, the issue is far more straightforward. Most well-being programs do not communicate value in a way that feels personally relevant to employees.

Employees want to make healthy choices. They want more energy, less stress, and better routines. What they do not want is another corporate task that feels disconnected from their real lives. Understanding why employees struggle to see value is the first step toward building a program that truly engages them.

The Limits of Modern Health Promotion: Advocacy

Advocacy focuses on education. It assumes that if you tell employees what they should do and why, they will act. The problem is that people rarely change behavior because they received more information.

Even in clinical settings, where patients have detailed guidance, behavior often does not improve. Many people know they should sleep more, eat differently, or manage stress more effectively. Knowing does not cause doing. This is the Knowing and Doing Gap, and it affects everyone.

Advocacy increases awareness, but awareness alone does not change behavior.

The Limits of Modern Health Promotion: Enablement

Enablement is the second common strategy. It focuses on removing barriers and offering tools. Although access is important, access alone does not explain behavior.

Even when time, cost, or convenience barriers are removed, people still hesitate. Internal factors such as fatigue, low trust, and perceived lack of control often matter more than external resources. A program can have excellent tools and still feel irrelevant if the internal motivation to use them is missing.

Employees act when they feel something is personally meaningful. Tools alone cannot generate meaning.

The Real Driver: Perceived Value

Employees evaluate well-being programs by asking, often subconsciously, three important questions.

1. What do I get out of this

2. Why should I choose this program instead of doing nothing

3. Can I trust that this will be worth the effort

If a program does not answer all three clearly, participation will remain low. Fortunately, each question can be addressed with simple, research-backed strategies.

1. Clarify the Value Proposition

Employees need to know what they will gain and why it matters. This should be communicated in clear, human language rather than corporate phrasing. For example:

• Build small daily habits that increase your energy

• Learn practical strategies that reduce stress during the workday

• Take simple actions that support long-term heart health

A clear value proposition creates immediate relevance.

2. Give Employees a Reason to Overcome Inaction

Inaction is effortless. To overcome it, employees must feel that the effort will be worthwhile.

Invite employees to imagine the future version of themselves who benefits from consistent healthy habits. Visualization of a better future increases the perceived payoff. At the same time, ensure that the effort required feels meaningful but not overwhelming. When employees see that effort is linked to real results, they become more willing to start and more likely to continue.

3. Build Trust Through Social Proof

Employees feel more confident when they know others have succeeded. Sharing stories, testimonials, or lived experiences from colleagues helps reduce uncertainty and build credibility. When someone hears that a peer gained energy, slept better, or established a routine, the program becomes more believable.

Propel helps organizations remove the barriers described above by designing well-being programs that are rooted in value, meaning, and trust.

We use the three strategies in this newsletter to shape communication and program design, supported by a fully customized well-being platform that aligns with each organization’s culture.

If you want a program that feels relevant, trusted, and worth an employee’s time, our approach can help you build it. Schedule some time with us here.

Implications for the well-being administrator:

• Employees often ignore well-being programs because the personal value is not communicated clearly enough to feel relevant or worthwhile.

• Advocacy and enablement alone do not drive action, because knowledge and access cannot replace the need for emotional meaning.

• Engagement increases when organizations clarify value, provide a reason to act, and build trust through relatable stories and experiences.

Want more? Check out our full library of past issues here.