Henry Albrecht, chief executive officer of wellness platform Limeade, knows it can be difficult for some employees to participate in workplace-sponsored health programs.

Albrecht told HR Brew that on Limeade, there is no shortage of people in your corner, encouraging you to give a wellness plan a go—like the company’s chief product and technology officer, Larry Colagiovanni, who had playfully goaded Albrecht into maintaining his place on the company’s walking-challenge leaderboard, which shows participants how many steps they’ve taken and where they stand relative to their colleagues-turned-competitors.

“I’m getting a nudge from a human being saying, ‘I’m gaining on you, but we’re in this together, and it’s a fun experience,’” Albrecht said during the phone interview.

For some workplace wellness evangelists who have championed the $6.8 billion corporate wellness industry, the pressure to participate can be in good faith. Though SHRM’s Employee Benefits Survey for 2020 suggests that workplace wellness benefits dipped in popularity during the pandemic, in part because Covid-related shut-downs made it difficult to incentivize things like gym memberships, SHRM previously extolled the benefits of such programs pre-pandemic, arguing that a “well-executed wellness program can reduce health care costs, augment productivity, and increase employee retention.”

Myke Murray, the general manager of Exos, told HR Brew that “a healthy employee is somebody that doesn’t miss work as often.”

For other workplace experts, executives’ enthusiasm for wellness at work may need tempering. Some say that while wellness is a laudable goal, a sustainable wellness culture should be on employees’ terms, and the best programs are ones with clear boundaries.

Surrounded

Albrecht passionately discussed how Limeade clients can utilize employees to promote the wellness programs—everyone from managers to employee resource group organizers to coworkers in an employee’s social network can help spread the word to entice people to participate.

“We’re trying to surround you with enough care and enough role models to say, ‘85 other people in my department [are] doing this, maybe it’s not so bad after all,’” Albrecht said.

When disability rights advocate Emily Ladau heard about Limeade’s platform, she told HR Brew that she loves Albrecht’s enthusiasm for wellness but cautioned that companies should be mindful that wellness isn’t one-size-fits-all.

“To be truly inclusive is to recognize that, sometimes, you just can’t force this on people,” Ladau said. Keep reading here.—SV

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California could soon codify chill vibes into law as its state legislature considers a proposal that could make a 32-hour workweek a reality for workers at private companies with 500 or more employees. But maybe wait a tick before you crank up the Phantom Planet: The state assembly’s Labor and Employment Committee will decide this week if it will move forward, and opposition, including that from California’s Chamber of Commerce, has been staunch, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.

Regardless of what shakes out in Sacramento, a certain “momentum” is swinging in the direction of alternative work arrangements, according to Brian Kropp, group VP and chief of HR research at Gartner. Kropp told HR Brew the California bill is indicative of a changing tide: “The fact that it’s getting a lot of attention, and that it’s getting closer to potentially passing, speaks to the momentum around companies thinking differently about what work looks like.”

Companies are experimenting. The idea of a shortened week isn’t so radical, Kropp told us. Last summer, only 2% of companies were experimenting with a four-day work or an alternative schedule, but that jumped to 15% by March, according to unpublished research conducted by Gartner that surveyed 250 executives at firms in the US and UK. Kropp said that 15% is still not a very large percentage, but given the tight labor market, he believes organizations will continue to attempt to woo talent via alternative schedules. The remote work consultancy, Buildremote, has a running list of companies worldwide implementing four-day and asynchronous schedules.

“What [companies] are trying to experiment with is, if [they] become more flexible, not just about where people work, but when and how much people work, then they see that, really, as a competitive advantage in terms of attracting and recruiting talent.” Keep reading here.—SB

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Valentina Thörner is the head of remote and support quality at Klaus, a customer-service technology company, where she’s worked since 2019. As a member of the executive team, she’s responsible for handling all aspects of remote work for Klaus’s more than 50 employees in 13 countries. Thörner spends her time helping employees navigate the challenges, opportunities, and cybersecurity considerations that can arise from working remotely.

How would you describe your specific job to someone who doesn’t work in HR? I work super closely with HR, translating HR policies into remote realities and keeping touch of the pulse of remote happiness within the team.

What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked? Our remote onboarding process and the remote buddy system we have in place are top-notch—to help people transition from “traditional” jobs to our async and output-focused culture.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job? “Head of remote” is something that only works for huge companies. Instead, the sooner you start setting the stage for remote and hybrid excellence, the easier you can scale it.

What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job? Talking to our remote employees and hearing how they feel absolutely and inherently part of the team.

What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? With companies being able to choose their policies around remote, hybrid, or in-office arrangements, HR can finally be involved in strategic planning around employee engagement instead of only reacting to the pandemic.

What trend in HR are you least optimistic about? HR as simply being the enforcer of bringing people back into the office no matter what, that makes me sad.

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Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: 98% of US and UK HR professionals surveyed said they have felt burned out at work at some point during the past six months, and 78% are “open to leaving their jobs.” (Workvivo)

Quote: “I’d rather see inmates do something productive, like work in the fire camps, instead of sit inside all day watching television,” said the San Diego County deputy district attorney, about training programs designed to prepare California inmates for careers in firefighting upon leaving prison (CNN)

Read: Blue Bottle Coffee, the chain known for making a delicious, albeit expensive, cup of coffee, said it hasn’t laid off a single employee during the course of the pandemic. CEO Karl Strovink explains how. (Fortune)

Work perks go a long way: Perks are one of the top three factors millennials consider when deciding on an employer, according to a poll by Robin. Learn how employee views on company benefits have changed in a hybrid workplace.*

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Catch up on the top HR Brew stories from the recent past:

• One-way video interviews are impersonal, candidates say, and raise privacy concerns
• Q&A: Github’s Senior Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Demetris Cheatham
• Handle with care: EEOC puts employers on notice about caregiver mistreatment