Are you measuring what matters?
Most organizations still measure wellness success by participation rates. Those numbers are easy to track, easy to share, and they give leaders something concrete to point to in quarterly updates. But they do not always show what really matters.
EPIC’s 2026 workplace wellness research shows that 7 in 10 employers now offer a wellness program or are building one. Mental and behavioral health support has grown quickly, increasing from 52% of programs to 75% in just two years. Employers are clearly expanding their efforts.
At the same time, more than half report low engagement as a continuing challenge. More programs have not automatically led to stronger results. It makes sense why participation is used as a key measure. It can be counted quickly and fits neatly into dashboards. But participation does not always equal progress.
An employee can log into a wellness platform and still struggle with stress or poor sleep. They can complete a fitness challenge without building habits that last. Incentives may increase activity for a short time, but that activity does not always continue after the program ends.
As new clinical benefits expand, this gap becomes more obvious. GLP-1 medications are a good example. Employers can measure how many employees use the medication and how much weight is lost. Those are clear numbers. What is harder to measure is whether muscle is preserved, whether strength improves, and whether healthy habits continue over time. Those longer-term outcomes are what truly affect performance, energy, and health costs.
The EPIC report also notes that 41% of employers expect to increase wellness spending over the next one to two years. Investment is rising and expectations are rising with it.
The organizations seeing steadier progress are not ignoring participation. They are simply looking beyond it. They pay attention to trends in retention, absenteeism, and overall performance. They look for signs that employees are healthier and more stable over time, not just more active in a single month.
Participation is not a bad metric. It is just not a complete one.
As wellness programs continue to grow, employers may need to ask a different question. Instead of focusing only on how many people engaged this quarter, they might ask whether their strategy supports lasting change. It’s a harder question to answer, but a more meaningful one.
Healthbreak has been the national leader at helping employers integrate & run impactful programs and on-site fitness centers for healthier, more productive workforces since 1990. If you’re starting this conversation within your team, we’re happy to be a thought partner and share our experience from serving over 280,000 employees.
