Why most wellness programs get ignored (and how to change that)

Why most wellness programs get ignored (and how to change that)

Most companies offer wellness programs, but few see those programs used.

It’s not just an awareness problem, though that’s part of it. A recent survey by the Integrated Benefits Institute found only half of employees are even aware their company’s wellness program exists.

Of those who do know about the program, the IBI says only 64 percent participate. That means roughly two-thirds of employees are either unaware or unengaged.

That disconnect shows up in outcomes. If participation is low and health behaviors don’t change, then the business case for wellness - things like improved health, reduced absenteeism, and a stronger culture - gets harder to make.

So, what changes behavior? Incentives. Specifically, gift cards.

Used strategically, gift cards capture attention, reinforce action, and help build lasting habits. Done right, gift cards can turn wellness programs from passive benefits into active routines.

Employees can’t use your wellness program if they don’t know it exists

Most HR teams assume their wellness program has an awareness problem. Actually, they have a competing priorities problem.

Employees don’t ignore benefits because they don’t want them. They ignore them because those programs are quietly buried under a pile of onboarding checklists, compliance trainings, and unread all-staff emails.

Even the most thoughtfully designed programs get overlooked when they’re treated like just another internal memo. Employees are bombarded with tasks and updates. Wellness becomes background noise overwhelmed by the much louder, far more insistent buzz of onboarding checklists, compliance trainings, and all-staff emails.

Gift cards help break the pattern and create a moment of engagement that causes employees to pause and pay attention. It’s an incentive that gives employees a reason to open that email, scan that QR code, or click into the wellness dashboard.

Once they’re there, they’re far more likely to stay engaged.

Here’s a few ways to create that moment of engagement.

• Embed a reward in onboarding: Offer a gift card to new hires who explore the wellness portal or attend a short intro session. Make it part of the first-week experience, not something they have to stumble into later.
• Run a discovery challenge: Use a time limited push that makes the reward feel instant. Try something like “log into your wellness dashboard this week and earn $25”.
• Use ambient channels employees already check: Slack, Teams, Zoom waiting rooms, office break rooms … wherever your employees’ attention lands when their mind wanders is a candidate for a pinned message like: “Know your benefits? Log in, learn, and earn today.” This approach catches people in low-focus moments and redirects their attention with a payoff.

Move your wellness program from awareness to activation

Getting employees to notice your wellness program is one challenge. Getting them to act on it is another. After all, that Integrated Benefits Institute study showed plenty of employees know their company programs exist and still never participate.

Even employees with the best intentions can struggle to take the first step. Some don’t know where to begin. Others worry it’ll take too much time. Some are simply unsure what the program is asking them to do. And, sure, a few probably wonder whether it’s really worth doing.

This is the activation gap. To close it, you need more than emails and intranet pages. You need an incentive that feels immediate, personal, and valuable.
That’s where a small gift card, tied to a specific behavior, can make an outsized impact. A gift card creates a reason to engage now, not “someday”.

• Reward the first step, not the finish line: Don’t wait for a full program completion to deliver your employee’s gift card. Offer a small gift simply for logging in, signing up for a first session, or completing a short wellness assessment. Each of these actions is small enough to feel doable, but meaningful enough to increase the odds employees will stay engaged.
• Build momentum with repeatable rewards: Create simple, recurring challenges. Give everyone who attends three wellness events in a quarter a reward, for example.
• Pair participation with an immediate, visible win: Ask employees who participate to fill out a survey or give feedback on the program. These incentives make employees feel like active participants in mapping out their health journey.

When wellness participation drops off, here’s how to bring it back

Wellness program engagement isn’t a one-time win. Most programs see a surge after launch, then a slow fade. Employees sign up, participate for a few weeks, then disappear. Others never make it past the login screen.

Retention and reactivation strategies are just as important for wellness programs as they are for product launches. 

Gift cards serve as gentle reminders that the program still matters to the company and employee participation is noticed. They also show that returning after an absence is welcome and easy.

• Celebrate milestones: Instead of waiting until someone finishes a six-month challenge, recognize monthly participation streaks, consistent log-ins, or other types of progress toward larger health goals. A $25 gift card for sticking with it is a lot cheaper than trying to re-engage someone who drops off.
• Use seasonal reactivation campaigns: Wellness interest is cyclical. January. Spring. Back-to-school season. These are all prime moments to invite lapsed users back. Pair your campaign with a gift card: “Restart your wellness journey this month and earn a $25 reward.”
• Use gift cards to gather feedback and re-engage: Thank employees for completing a short survey or wellness check-in. It shows that their voice matters and puts the program back on their radar. A low-effort action paired with a small incentive is often enough to reactivate someone who had just drifted away.

Make wellness work better for you and your employees

Most wellness programs fail quietly not because they’re poorly designed, but because they’re invisible, inconvenient, or easy to quit.

Gift cards alone aren’t enough to fix that. But, used strategically, they help solve the real blockers: low awareness, low activation, and high drop off.

You can use these incentives to create timely nudges and signal appreciation for their efforts. When paired with smart messaging and consistent follow-through, they become part of a system that drives higher wellness program participation.

Ready to make participation in your wellness program the norm, not the exception? Let’s talk.