For instance, an organization makes a commitment to having an Employee Wellness program and, as part of it, they hold classes on stress management. As a consultant, I am brought in to faciliate this type of program. While everyone has good intentions for the program, it often does not turn out that way.

People sign up for the class and then are too busy to show up. Sometimes participants are actually pulled out of the class in order to handle problems in the organization. (Talk about stress!)

I recently faciliated a stress management program for an organization and a participant was continually being called out to handle problems. He really wanted to attend the entire class (especially the meditation section), but he wasn’t able to do so. When I returned to the organization to facilitate a time managment program, I was told that this man had suffered a heart attack during the week.

My point is this — if an organization is going to say they are committed to employee wellness, they need to show it by their actions. If associates want to attend programs, arrangements should be made (i.e., having others handle issues during the class)so they are actually able to do so. Otherwise, associates know the real story — employers say they are committed to employee wellness, but they don’t really mean it. This is a huge mistake, because when associates know they really matter to an organization, morale and productivity go up dramatically. And that is a good thing for everyone.