Having a sense of purpose is the key to success in many aspects of life. Purpose guides our decisions, shapes our goals, gives us a sense of direction and creates meaning for us. In other words, it’s the “why” that gives us that extra nudge we sometimes need to get up in the morning and keep going.

Purpose is similarly important for our health goals. For example, a participant may want to be more physically fit so she can keep up with her grandchildren. Another participant knows there’s a history of heart disease in the family, so he’s motivated to make healthy changes to his diet. Anchoring health goals in what is personally meaningful to us makes it much more likely we will achieve them.

Introducing Side Quests

Side Quests, WebMD’s collection of participant-driven activities, taps into personal motivations, helping participants identify their well-being goals and structure a fun, interactive plan to achieve them.

The first in the collection, “Choose Your Own Adventure,” combines gamification, health trackers, health goals and wellness challenges into an easy-to-use solution that lets participants:  

• Establish a personalized schedule, target and duration and work independently to achieve their goals;
• Identify their “why,” a central motivating statement that will reinforce their purpose throughout the challenge;
• Celebrate the progress they’ve made in their Quest within WebMD ONE.

Participants may select from over 45 specific activities designed to encourage small, achievable changes, including:

• Timed exercise
• Daily steps
• Mindful minutes
• Quality sleep

Side Quests serve as a great complement to organization-wide wellness challenges  by providing participants the flexibility to select topics and targets that align with their personal well-being journeys. Participants also control when they engage, another factor that makes it more likely to achieve their goals. Like wellness challenges, employers may choose to incentivize participation by rewarding individuals for starting and completing their goals.

For more information about Side Quests and how WebMD can empower well-being in your organization, contact us at connect@webmd.net.

Americans continue to struggle with their weight. According to the CDC, 42% of U.S. adults are obese.¹ The New England Journal of Medicine estimates that 1 in 2 adults will be obese by 2030; 1 in 4 will be severely obese by 2030.²

Many individuals have found support through prescription drugs that mimic the effects of a hormone that help people feel full. When used appropriately and in conjunction with lifestyle behavior modifications, these prescription medications can result in a significant amount of weight loss.

But, we are now seeing that when those lifestyle modifications and regular medication use are abandoned, weight loss may reverse. That’s why programs that teach participants how to manage the myriad lifestyle factors that can impact weight—like how well we sleep, our mental health, and stress levels—are so important.

Positively Me focuses on the whole person.

Our Positively Me program combines one-on-one coaching with education and clinically backed research to help participants learn mental, emotional, and physical strategies for living a healthier lifestyle based on their personal weight loss goals.

Positively Me was developed in conjunction with our Clinical Advisory Board and Diabetes Prevention Program guidelines to drive long-term positive outcomes through holistic, clinically backed methods. Michael Dansinger, MD, a nationally recognized authority on dietary and lifestyle counseling for weight loss and disease prevention and a member of our Clinical Advisory Board, explains how this program focuses on more than just weight loss:

“The Positively Me program is focused on the whole person, not just the scale. The coaches use clinically proven techniques to help participants make forward progress in their well-being in many different ways. Weight loss is just one of the many health benefits that come from working with inspirational behavior change experts that care about you and believe in your full potential.”

And it’s true. Positively Me can help participants sleep better, cope with triggers, ease high blood pressure, reduce the risk of developing diabetes, and feel healthier and happier overall, among other benefits.

Here’s how Positively Me works.

After an initial call to talk about goals and program structure, coaches and participants speak every two weeks about specific topics related to weight loss, including:

• Cognitive restructuring and positive thinking
• Environment and support
• Exercise
• Nutrition
• Sleep quality
• Time management
• Tracking food, exercise and sleep

After the first six months, coaches follow up monthly to revisit any topics previously discussed and help participants sustain healthy habits for the long-term.

Together, these topics allow participants to understand their individual relationship with weight and the steps they can take to lead a healthier overall lifestyle. By talking through the common physical and emotional barriers that people face when losing weight—including mindset, understanding and coping with triggers, and finding the time for fitness—participants learn how weight loss journeys include more than just exercising and eating right.

Coaches provide the right level of structure and support.

WebMD Health Coaches are trained in a variety of techniques—such as SMART goal setting, motivational interviewing, social cognitive theory, and more—to help participants break their goals into small, actionable steps they can easily achieve. All coaches are required to attend additional training on the Positively Me program and are certified by the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

Text check-ins twice a week deliver the motivation and consistency to keep participants engaged. They can also reach a coach by phone, online, or even at the workplace if a client has WebMD Dedicated Well-Being Staff.

Positively Me integrates seamlessly into WebMD ONE.

Participants who sign up for Positively Me see all their data right on the WebMD ONE dashboard, so there’s no need to engage with an outside weight management program. And, it’s free for WebMD ONE users. From logging weight to tracking exercise to customized weight loss tips, it’s easy to stay connected and see progress.

Here’s what a few participants have to say about their experience with Positively Me:

“I am now sleeping at least 7 hours per night and I feel so much better. I have more energy and a better attitude which helps me be more productive at work.”

“I’m finally starting to feel like eating healthy is the norm and when I eat unhealthy it feels strange.”

“When I started, I weighed 330 pounds. It was time to change and it is nice to have someone calling and motivating me. I lost 44 pounds and hope to run a marathon. It is good to have someone to ask questions.”

“My A1c went from 10.4 to 7.7 and I lost 5 pounds. The best part is I am happy. I love the food I’m eating and I have energy again.”

“We’ve worked on customizing something that will work for me. The coaches are very good at figuring out what works for me personally.”

Health experts agree: it’s not that weight doesn’t matter, it’s just not the only thing that matters. From better sleep, to being more alert on the job, to just feeling happier, losing any amount of weight has positive side effects. Positively Me teaches that weight is more than just a number on the scale, and that feeling healthy is possible at any size.

For many people diagnosed with diabetes, the daily challenge of managing blood sugar levels can be a real struggle. And while diabetes is dangerous on its own, it also increases the risk for many other serious health problems, including heart, kidney and eye disease. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, someone with type 2 diabetes is two to four times more likely to get cardiovascular disease, and 80% of people with diabetes will die from it.

That’s why we’re excited to announce our new partnership with Onduo, a virtual care management solution from Verily, that will help WebMD Health Services participants better manage their daily diabetes care.

Onduo’s virtual care solution will be integrated into WebMD ONE, providing a seamless experience for users. Onduo’s services include support for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, hypertension, achieving a healthy weight, and prediabetes. Together with WebMD’s condition management, health coaching and digital programs, we’ll be able to provide participants with access to devices and telemedicine.

Onduo’s team of health coaches, educators, registered dietitians, pharmacists and telemedicine physicians takes a personalized, whole-person approach to health and builds real relationships with participants to understand their unique lifestyle, needs and preferences. They use that data in real time to create feedback loops with members, learning about their needs and preferences, to guide them to the support they need, when they need it.

A peer-reviewed, four-month study of Onduo for type 2 diabetes with chronic care model use showed significant glycemic improvements, and comorbidity biomarkers, such as systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and weight.² The study also showed improved diabetes self-care and understanding of its impact on glucose levels for participants.

Combining the strengths of WebMD and Onduo, employers and health plans can now offer a holistic, technology-driven solution focused on improving the management of diabetes and other chronic conditions to enhance overall health and productivity.

For more information about how our partnership with Onduo can help improve your population’s health, contact us at connect@webmd.net.

We’ve long known that our Condition Management Program is top-notch—and now we’ve got proof.

To receive the Population Health Program Accreditation, recipients must meet the nine standards set out by the NCQA. We’re proud to share that all five core conditions addressed by our Condition Management Program have met these nine standards. These conditions include:

• Asthma;
• Diabetes;
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD);
• Coronary artery disease (CAD), which includes hypertension; and
• Heart failure (HF).

We’re particularly proud to have achieved this accreditation. Not only because this is the very first time we’ve submitted an application for it—demonstrating strong performance of the functions outlined in the standards, but also because NCQA prides itself on setting standards that are purposely high to encourage organizations to continuously enhance their quality. The standards are also intended to help organizations achieve the highest level of performance possible and create an environment of continuous improvement.

About WebMD Health Services’ Condition Management Program

Helping participants who are managing chronic conditions is an important part of what we do every day at WebMD Health Services. Targeted offerings include:

• Personalized health coaching. Participants partner with certified health coaches who provide the structure, support and motivation to help people keep chronic conditions under control through diet, exercise, medication adherence and mental health strategies.
• Condition-specific programs, like our Daily Habits programs. These digital programs provide people with actionable tools to manage heart disease, diabetes, and chronic lung disease and make lifestyle modifications like quitting tobacco. The programs divide a health goal into small, manageable actions each day to increase the likelihood of forming healthy, long-lasting habits.
• Offering incentives is a great way to encourage employees with chronic conditions to engage in healthy lifestyle changes. Incentives are often provided for signing up with a health coach, or achieving an improved health indicator, like a healthy blood pressure range.
• Wellness challenges. Challenges are another way to get employees with chronic conditions engaged. Whether it’s a group step challenge or an individual challenge focused on stress reduction, challenges give participants the structure and support to make positive changes over time—all while having a bit of fun.

About NCQA

NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. NCQA’s website (ncqa.org) also contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices. NCQA Accreditation standards are developed with input from various stakeholders and resources: health plans, population health management industry leaders and organizations, an expert panel and standing committees.

What the NCQA has to say about the Population Health Program Accreditation

“The Population Health Management program moves us in greater alignment with the increased focus on person-centered population health management,” said Margaret E. O’Kane, President, NCQA. “Not only does it add value to existing quality improvement efforts; it also demonstrates an organization’s highest level of commitment to improving the quality of care that meets people’s needs.”

If you are interested in learning more about how our NCQA-accredited Condition Management Program can help members of your population who are managing a chronic condition, contact us at connect@webmd.net.

Loneliness is a now public health crisis. 

In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, released a report on the epidemic of loneliness and isolation in the United States. Calling it a public health crisis, Dr. Murthy explained how loneliness not only affects our mental health, increasing our risk of depression and anxiety, but our physical health, as well. Loneliness has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and dementia. Lacking social connection also increases the risk of premature death by more than 60%.²

Our new partnership with Togetherall offers a unique way for employees to boost social connection and get the mental health support they need.

Togetherall, available through our well-being platform, WebMD ONE, is an online peer-to-peer mental health support community where all types of people can come together to share their feelings, support each other, and begin to improve their mental health.

Togetherall’s support community is available online, 24/7, and is completely anonymous, allowing participants to express themselves freely and openly. Licensed mental health practitioners, called Wall Guides, monitor conversations around-the-clock to ensure the safety of all members and increase the vibrancy of the community

Help for a variety of mental health concerns.

Participants can talk about anything that is causing them emotional distress. This can include anxiety, stress, depression, trauma, feeling low, or feeling out of control. All of these may be triggered by life events such as the loss of a loved one, relationship breakdowns, employment-related issues, financial crisis, sexuality, isolation, alcohol, or drug-related problems.

To participate in the community, participants can post to the whole community, form their own groups, or one-to-one chats. This kind of forum is unique because it allows people to connect with and benefit from others who have gone through similar struggles. It also provides much-needed social connection, relieving loneliness, and fostering hope and resilience. The anonymous nature of the forum can help reach people who may, for a variety of reasons, not be comfortable accessing other forms of mental health support.

Mental health support that is dynamic and personal.

At WebMD, we know that mental health needs look very different from one person to the next and can change depending on where an individual is at any point in time. We believe mental health support should be just as dynamic. We also recognize the pivotal role that social connection and community plays in regaining and maintaining good mental health.

That’s why Togetherall is an ideal complement to the mental health coaching and other support services already provided by WebMD.

For more information about how Togetherall can help improve your population’s mental health, contact us at connect@webmd.net.

Experts have been sounding the alarm on the need to focus on our mental health for years now.

But it took a pandemic to really bring the importance of mental health to the forefront. And while the acute phase of the pandemic is over, the effects on our collective mental health are still lingering.

Research conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2023 found:

• Adults ages 35 to 44 have experienced the highest increase in mental health diagnoses—from 31% reported in 2019 to 45% in 2023.
• Adults ages 18 to 34 reported the highest rate of mental illnesses at 50%.

When it comes to support for mental health concerns, the APA found:

• Nearly half said they wish they had someone to help them manage their stress.
• 66% said they could have used more emotional support than they received in the last 12 months.
• More than half said they wish they had someone to turn to for advice and/or support.¹

But the reality is there are just not enough professionals to meet the growing need for mental health support.

Psychology Today notes that approximately 47% of the U.S. population (158 million people) live in a mental health “desert.”² The scarcity of providers is particularly bad in rural and lower socioeconomic areas. In many parts of the country, it can take between two and five months to see a therapist.

That’s where WebMD’s Mental Health Coaching services come in.

While our Mental Health Coaching is not a substitute for therapy, it can get people on the path to better mental health while they wait to see a therapist. Coaches can direct people to the best type of therapy for their concern, and help them navigate your company’s mental health resources, like Employee Assistance Programs and our WebMD ONE Daily Habits Plans. They can even help employees explore mental health resources that are offered in their community.

Mental Health Coaches can help with:

• Alcohol and drug abuse or addiction
• Bereavement, grief, or loss
• Coping with chronic conditions
• Depression and anxiety
• Emotional eating
• Marital and relationship conflict
• Stress management, including workplace stress (this could be particularly helpful for managers who are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress)
• Trauma recovery

Our coaches know their stuff.

All of our coaches hold bachelor’s or master’s degrees in psychology, human services, counseling or social work, and maintain expertise and advanced training in stress management strategies, including meditation, relaxation, breathing, yoga and mindfulness. Many have additional certifications or licenses in counseling and addiction treatment.

How to access Mental Health Coaching.

Employees can access mental health support in one of two ways:

• By completing the ONE Assessment (health assessment), which may flag them as high risk in areas that impact emotional health, like alcohol use, anxiety, depression, stress, life satisfaction and/or social connectedness. In this case, the individual will be directly referred to a coach on the Mental Health Team.
• Employees can also self-refer for Mental Health Coaching by giving us a call and indicating that they want to focus on their mental health.

Today’s employees expect employers to provide support for all aspects of well-being, particularly mental health. WebMD Health Services’ Mental Health Coaching can help you address the need for more mental health support in your population. If you’d like more information on our Mental Health Coaching services, contact us at connect@webmd.net.

Both WebMD and Limeade share core values rooted in empowering individuals to make educated health and well-being decisions that lead to lasting behavior change. Together, we will re-energize the market delivering the most comprehensive, holistic well-being solution. The end result? Organizations with a true culture of well-being that inspires a happier, healthier, and more engaged population.

Here’s how we’ll do that:

Better Together by Making Listening an Essential Part of Well-Being

Our clients will now have the ability to gain actionable insights by listening and responding to workforce needs in real time through science-based surveys, polls and quizzes. This will allow us to elevate program adoption and participation, empowering organizations to meet their unique well-being needs and support their business goals.

Better Together with Even More Meaningful Human Connections

The human aspect to well-being is core to our business and a unique differentiator. Together, WebMD and Limeade will offer enhanced technologies that allow us to communicate and create meaningful connections with participants through WebMD Health Coaching, Dedicated Well-Being Services, and Wellness Champions.

Better Together to Drive Ongoing Engagement in Well-Being

Increasing participant engagement in their well-being is essential to ongoing improvements in health outcomes. The integration efforts will bring in key features that uniquely educate, remind, and motivate individuals throughout their well-being journey. We’ll also be able to garner consistent employee feedback to personalize the experience, resulting in higher levels of true engagement.

Better Together with Enhanced Communication Services

We will continue to employ a strategic communication approach to be able to offer the right programs to the right people at the right time for maximum exposure and engagement. Our award-winning, customized communication campaigns will be a key element of our integration strategy.

Better Together with a Client-Focused, Collaborative Team

WebMD and Limeade both believe it’s essential for our clients to see us as a partner, not just another vendor. Combining our workforces means that clients will benefit from an even more tenured team that takes time to understand the intricacies of their environment to ensure that well-being is grounded in trust. This leads to a self-supporting community that encourages lasting, positive change for their people and the organization.

Better Together with New Ways to Make Well-Being Even More Personal

Well-being is personal, and our acquisition of Limeade enhances our ability to take personalization to the next level. WebMD’s unique segmentation capabilities, combined with new technology enhancements like artificial intelligence and gamification, will now allow us to deliver an even more personalized experience for participants, increasing engagement and driving outcomes over time.

Better Together with a Trusted Brand

The WebMD name is instantly recognizable and one that consumers already know and trust. It’s an important reason why companies choose WebMD Health Services as their partner. With Limeade, we build on this trust with our combined decades of research and best practices, as well as insights and listening around the employee experience to continue to empower well-being in everyone.

Our combined organization will become one of the largest well-being providers in the market, with over 700 global employees supporting thousands of organizations. I am truly excited about our future ability to impact clients’ well-being culture by listening and responding to their workforce in real time. Our better together approach sets us on a clear path to drive engagement, reduce risk, and support the evolution of a culture of well-being for all of our clients.

We anticipate the transaction will close within the next quarter, pending regulatory and shareholder approval, and we will have more details to share at that time. For additional information on this exciting announcement, please read the press release.

Limeade’s solutions include Limeade Well-Being, an immersive employee well-being platform; and Limeade Listening (formerly TINYpulse), tools and insights to build an employee engagement strategy. Together, the combined organization will re-energize the market delivering the most comprehensive, holistic well-being solution and services that help organizations build a culture of well-being that inspires a happier, healthier, and more engaged population.

What does this mean for WebMD Health Services and Limeade clients?

WebMD and Limeade share a belief that the employee and client experience is critical to our collective success. We are dedicated to making sure that the experience for employees and for clients is as seamless and transparent as possible. We continue to remain committed to delivering holistic well-being solutions that feature the most innovative and personal well-being products and services backed by a clinically driven approach to behavior change to empower everyone in their well-being.

We will continue to provide the high level of service we have always been committed to, and we will continue to focus on improving client satisfaction.

What are the benefits of bringing WebMD Health Services and Limeade together?

WebMD and Limeade share similar core values rooted in empowering individuals to make educated health and well-being decisions. WebMD and Limeade are pioneers in developing well-being programs that deliver behavior change. Each entity brings strengths to the table, creating the industry’s only solution that brings a high-tech, high-touch personal experience to ensure we are reaching everyone no matter where they are in their well-being journey.

With more than 700 employees in the United States, Canada, Europe, Vietnam, and Australia, and an average tenure of over seven years, we are equipped to meet the needs of large multi-national and mid-market Employers, Public Sector organizations, and Health Plans and Health Systems.

Bringing our two purpose-driven organizations together is a strategic fit that will enable us to leverage our cultural synergies to deliver even bigger and better value to our clients and the market.

A lot to look forward to.

Together, WebMD and Limeade have over 40 years of combined experience driving positive health behavior changes for employees and members. The new entity is poised to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that leverage our competencies, scale, and overall stability to deliver even greater value to all our customers.

We remain committed to delivering a holistic well-being solution that combines the most innovative and personal well-being products and services backed by a clinically driven approach to behavior change. There will be more updates to come. Stay up-to-date on this exciting journey by subscribing to our blog below and following us on LinkedIn.

Well-being is a challenge for people around the globe.

Those of us in the well-being industry are all too familiar with the statistics around declining U.S. employee mental health, increasing stress and burnout, and lack of employee engagement. Studies show that global populations are experiencing similar declines in employee well-being. In a survey by Gallup, 55% of global respondents reported “struggling,” and over 40% said they experienced significant feelings of “stress” and “worry” in the preceding day.¹

So, while the need for more well-being support for global employee populations is clear, the challenge has been how to deliver a well-being solution that is fully translated, country-specific, and culturally relevant. We’re pleased to share that WebMD Health Services can now provide that type of support via the WebMD ONE platform.

What is WebMD ONE?

Through a single point-of-access, WebMD ONE offers products and services created from the perspective of the people using them, including plans to create daily habits, participate in personal and team-based wellness challenges, and engage with a system of rewards and incentives to celebrate successes.

Users have the power to connect and interact through a variety of channels – text, email, mobile or desktop – and can incorporate data from popular apps and wearables that they may already be using to improve and personalize their experience.

How does WebMD ONE support a global population?

WebMD ONE is now able to support employees in 190 countries across Europe, the Far East, and Latin America with the following features:

• An expanded range of languages. While we’ve always offered WebMD Health Services content in multiple languages, this most recent expansion includes human translated versions in Arabic, Hindi, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Slovakian, and more—bringing our total range to more than 20 different languages.
• Easy segmentation and cultural relevance. The WebMD ONE platform is highly configurable, providing the most powerful segmentation capabilities in the market today. This ensures that programs are culturally relevant and reflect any nuances your organization may have within each country and in the types of benefits offered.
• Compliance with GDPR. WebMD ONE has been built to enable compliance with GDPR, which is widely considered to be the ‘gold’ standard with regard to data privacy laws.
• Global wellness challenges. With all employees on the same well-being platform you can now offer wellness challenges that bring everyone together in the pursuit of good health, create connections across time zones and cultures, and positively impact employee engagement.
• Well-being program administration. Different countries have vastly different health systems, requiring unique and customized benefits packages. But with WebMD ONE’s global capability you’ll no longer need to select a well-being solution for each country or region, making administration much easier.
• Global WebMD offices that offer clients a local presence and boots-on-the-ground support.

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Our mission to empower well-being in everyone just got a little easier.

Inspiring well-being in everyone includes educating, motivating, and engaging all employees in an organization. We’re excited that the expansion of WebMD ONE allows us to better support organizations with employees around the world. If you would like to learn more about how you can empower your people with culturally relevant solutions that can help them improve their well-being in in meaningful ways that matter to them, please visit our website or contact us at connect@webmd.net.

What is Wellbeats?

Wellbeats, a LifeSpeak company, is a leading provider of on-demand, virtual well-being content that is accessible to employees whether they’re in the office, working remotely, or following a hybrid schedule. That’s key for today’s workforce. A June 2022 Gallup study found that five in 10 workers were working hybrid and three in 10 worked exclusively remotely, giving them less opportunity to access onsite well-being programming like fitness centers and in-person seminars.²

Wellbeats has more than 1,400 instructor-led virtual classes that cover fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness. What’s critical is that employees can access them at a pace and schedule that makes sense for their unique lifestyle and schedule. All of these Wellbeats’ offerings are available to participants via the WebMD ONE platform:

Fitness:

• Virtual workouts for every age, gender, interest, and ability level – with approachable instructors that reflect a diversity of ages, races, and body types.
• Goal-based programs such as Lose Weight; Train Your Way to a 5K, Intro to Strength, Healthy Back, and Daily Mobility.
• Fitness assessments and personal statistics to track progress.

Nutrition:

• On-demand access to recipes and classes to help participants learn about and prepare delicious, nutritious foods. Topics include: mood-boosting foods, recipes to support immune health, and healthy snacking.
• Cooking demonstrations and globally-inspired recipe content.

Mindfulness:

• Meditation, yoga, and stress reduction classes to help improve mood and mindset.
  • Guided meditation
  • Restorative yoga
  • Breathing exercises
  • Stress management programs

So, about those New Year’s resolutions…

In addition to creating SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) goals and breaking them down into small, bite-sized steps (like our Daily Habits program), experts say one of the keys to sticking with a New Year’s resolution is to lean into our brain’s natural tendency to form habits.

According to Wendy Wood, author of the book Good Habits, Bad Habits, changing our behaviors isn’t all about sheer willpower.³ There are many things we do each day out of habit so that our brain doesn’t have to think too hard about them – like brushing our teeth or putting on a seatbelt. So, a more successful approach to keeping a resolution is to create a habit.

Take the case of eating healthier. If you work in an office, you might say that on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays you bring a healthy lunch. On Mondays and Fridays you get takeout. In this way, the brain no longer needs to think about what’s for lunch. If it’s a Tuesday, it’s a bag lunch.

Also consider the popular goal of getting more exercise. Habits can help here, too. Psychologist Mark Travers writes, “We can start with a minimum viable action, like going for a walk every day or doing light stretching daily, and build on it progressively. The idea is to incorporate a desired behavior into our roster of default behaviors. Once the change is made, we can move on to more challenging behaviors like going to the gym or running a 5K.”⁴

Similarly, many fitness experts say that getting in the habit of laying out workout clothes the night before a morning workout increases the chances of following through. We’re essentially taking the micro-decisions out of the equation – so our brain is free to focus on actually doing the workout.

Wellbeats can help employees make healthy behaviors a habit.

We’re not promising that giving your employees access to Wellbeats will make every New Year’s resolution stick, but it can definitely help!

Simply having the array of Wellbeats content at employees’ fingertips takes the effort out of choosing from among the many apps and providers out there. In time, it can become a habit to go directly to Wellbeats versus tapping in to multiple providers. And, bundling nutrition, fitness, and mindfulness content into a one-stop shop also makes it easier for people to try out new things with little downside. Finally, being able to track goals and progress over time can help us, as Wood describes it, create “a sort of a mental shortcut to repeat what we did in the past that worked for us and got us some reward.”

Jason Von Bank, Wellbeats President and LifeSpeak COO explains it this way: “This partnership will expand access to Wellbeats for employers and make it even easier for them to help employees and their families make health and wellbeing an integral and ongoing part of their routine.”

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To learn more about Wellbeats, visit www.wellbeats.com, follow on LinkedIn, or check out a sampling of the company’s fitness classes during a Facebook Live session. For guidance on creating a well-being program that works for your employees, visit our website or contact us at connect@webmd.net.