One of the lessons I frequently relearn in life is that people do not want unsolicited advice. An example that most parents can relate to is that my six-year-old daughter does not want my help tying her shoes, even when we’re running late. Similarly, most employees — and certainly their dependents — do not believe they need to change how they manage their health.
This is why Penn State’s moderately structured, but poorly executed, wellness program failed so disastrously. The latest New York Times article about the program reports that “[a]fter weeks of vociferous objections by faculty members” university president Rodney A. Erickson — not the human resources leadership — announced it was abandoning the $1,200 annual surcharge levied against employees who refused to meet certain requirements. Those requirements included filling out a health risk assessment, participating in a biometric screening, and getting a medical check-up.
