Corporate Wellness Benefits Businesses and Profits First

A program designed for the employee who barely reaps benefits

Photo by Anupam Mahapatra on Unsplash

I should have known, anything that has the word corporate in it does not bode well for us.

Many of us have been sold into the idea of corporate perks: that somehow it shows the employer cares.

I could not care less about free lunches or fitness discounts. I wanted freedom to walk all day and not be stuck in a chair.

But there were other benefits that enticed me for a while: Subsidised insurance, cheaper visits to the dentist and occasional retreats to slow down.

Caring is an illusion, in fact a distraction to the real problems: You are overworked, stressed and need time off.

A money-making industry

According to an article from the Harvard Business Review, employee wellness is an $8 billion industry.

It started in the industrial age as a means to protect mine workers from physical damages from the workplace. It then sprouted to offices where the benefits were adapted to provide for white-collar workers.

Perks of all kinds have flourished: Subsidised gym memberships or fitness packages, free lunches, yoga vouchers, discounted…