Wellness programs and initiatives are evolving as employers
realize healthier employees give them a competitive edge.  “It’s
an issue of creating a high-performing, competitive work force,”
says Nancy Pokorny, managing consultant with Findley Davies.
“Currently, many companies hang their hat on being world-class
safety organizations. They know that maintaining a safe work
environment is good for business. As we move forward, companies
will be known as ‘healthy organizations,’ too.”  Smart Business
spoke with Pokorny about the evolution of wellness programs.
How have wellness programs evolved in recent years?  In the
recent past, company HR leaders or benefits staffs initiated
wellness programs, but now executive teams are driving strategic
wellness initiatives. We prefer ‘wellness initiatives’ because
programs tend to have a beginning and an end. Initiatives are
much more strategic and imply that wellness is one component of
the overall business strategy.  For example, a Fortune 500
Cleveland manufacturer un