I was as astounded as you were to learn last week that wrestler Oscar Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio) was suspended from wrestling for 30 days because he was in violation of the WWE’s Wellness Program. I know! Who knew the WWE had a wellness program? When I read this, I wondered what their ROI is. How are they keeping employees engaged? What vendor have they partnered with to manage the program? How exciting to have an organization so visible to the public out there championing the wellness effort!
So I Googled it. “WWE Wellness Program.” Sure enough, a press release for the WWE Wellness Program showed up at the top of the list. From the program outline:
“NEWS ALERT -- Effective today, February 27, 2006, WWE is implementing a broad WWE Talent Wellness Program. The Program has two components: 1) an aggressive substance abuse and drug testing policy; and 2) a cardiovascular testing and monitoring program.”
As it turns out, the WWE “Wellness Program” is what the rest of us would call a drug policy. But the press release is from 2006. Let’s give WWE the benefit of the doubt. Let’s check out the company’s official Talent Wellness Program Summary. According to this website, key components of the program include:
- Comprehensive Medical and Wellness Staffing and Infrastructure
- Cardiovascular Testing and Monitoring Program
- Mandatory ImPACT™ Testing
- Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy
- Annual Physical Examinations and Blood Screening
- Referrals to Consulting Health Care Providers On An As Needed Basis
Maybe WWE deserves some credit. While I suspect they aren’t aggressively managing health in the way a traditional wellness program might, one has to give them credit for implementing a program to monitor their talent’s cardiovascular, brain, and general overall health. This would seem to be in line with how most professional sporting organizations would operate. And it would appear that their drug policy makes up only a small portion of their overall wellness program (albeit a more visible portion of it). But it doesn’t appear that the program focuses much on providing coaching or case management, perhaps because most of their wrestlers rely more heavily on their own personal trainers.
Food for thought: I wonder whether the WWE is tracking ROI the way the rest of us would to see whether they’re getting any bang for their buck from their wellness program. I also wonder whether this program is specific to their wrestlers or if it applies to all employees. If all employees, this would likely not fit the bill for an effective program.
I suspect, like me, you think the WWE’s “Wellness Program” is more PR than effective health management. But the next time you’re in a meeting with decision makers in your organization making the case for a company wide wellness program, be sure to point out that even the WWE has a wellness program. Who knows? Someone in your C-suite may be a closet wrestling fan.
Editor's Note - Greg Dagley is a Benefits Consultant for a large multinational employer in Houston, TX. While his company has employees all over the globe, his job keeps him focused on US benefits and spending a lot of his time managing external vendors. Is there any doubt his Excel skills are more advanced than yours?
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