Employee participation is essential for worksite wellness programs to be successful in terms of both health and finance. This makes it necessary to track employee participation rates and develop strategies to increase participation if needed. Participation rates tend to be highest in small businesses and lowest at larger businesses. Certain components of wellness programs have higher participation rates than others. Health screenings and health risk appraisals typically have higher participation rates than lifestyle change programs (Healthy Workforce 2010, 2001). A study of exemplary wellness programs shows the average participation rate of such programs was 60% (Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008).
Several strategies can be used to increase employee participation in worksite wellness programs. Studies have shown the effectiveness of creating behavior change messages tailored to employees. Individuals receiving tailored messages were 18% more likely to change at least one risk factor compared with those receiving generic messages. Another study found that messages tailored to a program participant’s readiness to change demonstrated a 13% increase in physical activity, those receiving generic messages had only a 1% increase, and participants receiving no messages had an 8% decrease in physical activity. Encouraging participants to set realistic goals has also been shown to increase participation rates. It is important to provide program participants several different options for participation. Some individuals prefer to work independently on behavior change while others prefer the support of group activities. Aside from tailoring program activities to participants, it is vital to make programs easy to access. Several surveys of employees involved in worksite wellness programs show time and location barriers as the reason for dropping out of programs (Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008).