Would you go jogging if you didn’t have jogging shoes?

Would you go jogging if you did have jogging shoes?

Would you go jogging if you thought you did not have jogging shoes, but no one told you they were in your closet?

[Image courtesy of Flickr user Kullez via a Creative Commons license] You might not go jogging if you didn't have shoes, but would you if you had them, or found out you had them when you didn't think you did? Beleif and relality can be two different thigns, and this aplies to workplace welness programs, according to a couple fo recent surveys.

[Image courtesy of Flickr user Kullez via a Creative Commons license] You might not go jogging if you didn’t have shoes, but would you if you had them, or found out you had them when you didn’t think you did? Belief and reality can be two different things, and this applies to workplace wellness programs, according to a couple of recent surveys.

There is reality and belief. Reality is that you don’t have shoes. Belief is the ignorance that you have shoes but are not informed of the fact.

There’s little question that jogging is a good exercise for overall physical health and well-being; in its own way, it could be considered a wellness program. Take a thought to your workplace and employer – do you have a wellness program in place at your worksite, one of those benefits that come with taking the job with this employer?

Would you believe that if you said no, you might be a victim of ignorance rather than reality?

Wellness programs put forth by employers are apparently more prevalent that workers seem to think, at least according to the results of a couple of studies recently. As many of these programs are voluntary, it contributes largely to a lack of communication and an abundance of ignorance from the workforce in their access to these wellness initiatives. These studies seem to suggest that these employers are either lousy communicators of these programs (presuming they communicate at all) or the workers’ perception or understanding of a “wellness program” is different than what is actually considered a wellness program by the employers.

The disconnect seems to be wide, as one study from the Brodeur Group revealed that 34 percent of workers said there is a workplace wellness program available to them, but another survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) revealed that 70 percent of employers said they had a wellness program in place available to their workers.

In other words, there are twice as many pairs of jogging shoes in the closet than people who know the jogging shoes are in the closet.

But perhaps this may not be a matter of no communication, but a miscommunication – like, maybe workers see the jogging shoes but don’t equate them to a wellness program, while the employer which placed those jogging shoes in the closet does consider them a wellness program.It could very well be a matter of the workers understanding the employer’s definition of “wellness program,” and the employers reaching out to the workers’ understanding of the term and find a way to cross that bridge.

While wellness programs are voluntary, employers do provide them as a “fringe benefit” alongside vacation and sick leave and health insurance. This means that employers pay for the cost of these programs in order to give them for free or at low cost to employees, and in many ways it would behoove the employers to educate workers of the programs so there is some use coming out of it and it is not something that employers will end up losing money for because of a lack of use.

These companies are willing to invest in these programs because they are willing to invest in safety and health of workers. These employers understand the importance of a healthy workforce in terms of morale, productivity and ability and willingness to be safe and do safe activities while on the job. In this sense, it is important for both sides to get on the same page before some of these wellness programs go away for a lack of interest and the risk of lost work time increases.

It never hurts to at least try on those jogging shoes, once you are made aware of them. And while you have them on, and they fit OK, why not take them out for a mile?