Employee and Organizational Wellbeing - University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Wellness in the workplace

The employee and organizational wellbeing certificate is administered by the area of Health Sciences and Wellness in the School of Health Sciences and Wellness.

This certificate prepares students from business, wellness, or other health studies with the knowledge and skills to create an organizational culture of wellbeing and manage a successful wellness program. Wellbeing concepts are incorporated in healthcare settings, workplaces, and in community outreach and business leaders indicate employee health is a top priority to attract and retain talent.

What to Expect?

Workplace wellbeing programs encompass employee activities and employer-sponsored benefits to promote positive health-related behaviors in employees. Employee wellbeing is the overall measure of an employee’s mental and physical health stemming from factors in and out of the office. Employers are increasing their wellness offerings and commitment to supporting the health of their employees to reduce healthcare costs, work injury, and improve employee productivity, resilience, satisfaction and morale.

Wellness programs are increasing among U.S. employers and are becoming part of organizational culture leading to an increased need for qualified health promotion professionals to create, operate and oversee these programs. U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report found that 80% of U.S. businesses with more than 50 employees offered corporate wellness programs.

Large Employers: Approximately 84% of large employers (those with 200 or more workers) offer workplace wellness programs. (Harvard Business Review, 2024)
Small Businesses: Around 54% of small businesses offer at least one wellness program.
Overall: More than three-quarters of employers indicated that their company offered some type of wellness program, resource, or service to their employees.

Need for Professionals

Workplace wellness and wellbeing is now a corporate priority post-COVID. In 2024, 86% of employers offer mental health support, while 45% of organizations plan to increase spending on wellness programs, 51% expect to maintain their current investment, and only 4% foresee a decrease.

Worksite wellness focuses on establishing and maintaining a healthy environment in the workplace, by promoting and encouraging employees to lead a healthy lifestyle through wellness programming. The programs and the type of professionals needed include:

smoking cessation (Wellness, Health Coaching, Nursing)
biometric screenings (Nursing, Medical Lab Science, Wellness, Health Coaching, Nutrition)
mental health, stress and resilience training (Health Science and Wellness, Psychology, Pre-phyiscal therapy, pre-athletic training, Nursing, Nutrition, Coaching)
weight loss (Nutrition, Health Science and Wellness, Pre-phyiscal therapy, pre-athletic training, Nursing, Coaching)
back health, injury prevention, and ergonomics (Pre-phyiscal therapy, pre-athletic training, pre-occupational therapy, Strength and Conditioning)
fitness classes (Pre-phyiscal therapy, pre-athletic training, pre-occupational therapy, Strength and Conditioning, Wellness)

This certificate prepares students to create programs that build a strong culture of health while developing knowledge and skills to manage successful wellness programs. Wellbeing concepts are incorporated in healthcare settings, workplaces, and in community outreach and business leaders indicate employee health is a top priority to attract and retain talent.