--- title: Why Safety and Wellness Programs Are Solving the Wrong Problem description: Why aren't wellness programs working? The problem is what the programs are designed to treat. What's driving workplace stress in industrial operations. image: https://www.kevburns.com/hubfs/safety_and_wellness.jpg --- Why Safety and Wellness Programs Are Solving the Wrong Problem [![KevBurns Learning: We teach industrial supervisors how to be really great leaders.](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Kev-Burns-Learning-white.png?width=240&height=118&name=Kev-Burns-Learning-white.png "KevBurns Learning: We teach industrial supervisors how to be really great leaders.")](https://www.kevburns.com/) - [About](https://www.kevburns.com/about-kevin-burns) - [Supervisor Academy](https://www.kevburns.com/supervisors) - [7 Reasons to Not Work With Us](https://www.kevburns.com/7-reasons-not-to-work-with-us) - [52 Benefits of Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/52-benefits) - [Hope Calculator](https://www.kevburns.com/calculator) - [Issues](https://www.kevburns.com/safety-issues) - [People](https://www.kevburns.com/people-issues) - [Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/safety-issues) - [Escalations](https://www.kevburns.com/escalation-issues) - [Resources](https://www.kevburns.com/books) - [Books](https://www.kevburns.com/books) - [Newsletter](https://www.kevburns.com/newsletter) - [Downloads](https://www.kevburns.com/downloads) - [Case Study NBU](https://www.kevburns.com/nbu-case-study) - [Case Study WCC](https://www.kevburns.com/wcc-case-study-2026) - [ROI Videos](https://www.kevburns.com/videos) - [Speaking](https://www.kevburns.com/speaking) - [Media/Podcast](https://www.kevburns.com/media) - [Blog](https://www.kevburns.com/blog) - [Contact](https://www.kevburns.com/contact-us) - [About](https://www.kevburns.com/about-kevin-burns) - [Supervisor Academy](https://www.kevburns.com/supervisors) - [7 Reasons to Not Work With Us](https://www.kevburns.com/7-reasons-not-to-work-with-us) - [52 Benefits of Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/52-benefits) - [Hope Calculator](https://www.kevburns.com/calculator) - [Issues](https://www.kevburns.com/safety-issues) - [People](https://www.kevburns.com/people-issues) - [Safety](https://www.kevburns.com/safety-issues) - [Escalations](https://www.kevburns.com/escalation-issues) - [Resources](https://www.kevburns.com/books) - [Books](https://www.kevburns.com/books) - [Newsletter](https://www.kevburns.com/newsletter) - [Downloads](https://www.kevburns.com/downloads) - [Case Study NBU](https://www.kevburns.com/nbu-case-study) - [Case Study WCC](https://www.kevburns.com/wcc-case-study-2026) - [ROI Videos](https://www.kevburns.com/videos) - [Speaking](https://www.kevburns.com/speaking) - [Media/Podcast](https://www.kevburns.com/media) - [Blog](https://www.kevburns.com/blog) - [Contact](https://www.kevburns.com/contact-us) # Kevin Burns Blog #### Improve safety culture. Build teamwork. Get employee buy-in. [Current Articles](https://www.kevburns.com/blog) [RSS](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/rss.xml) [Why Work With Kevin?](https://www.kevburns.com/about-kevin-burns) # Why Safety and Wellness Programs Are Solving the Wrong Problem Posted by [Kevin Burns](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/author/kevin-burns) on July 17, 2026 Your company has wellness programs. EAPs, stress reduction platforms, mental health resources, maybe even resilience training. And still, Gallup says 80% of your employees are disengaged (20 years ago the number was 72%). Something isn't adding up. The investment in employee wellness has never been higher. But the engagement numbers are moving the wrong way.  And there's a reason for that, one that most organizations are actively choosing to ignore because it's harder to fix than to create a wellness app. The source of most workplace stress isn't the workload, the deadlines, or the job itself. Research consistently points to something far more specific. And until you address that source directly, every wellness program you run is just treating symptoms while the cause keeps showing up to work every day. This video connects the chain. And by the end, your employee wellness problem is going to look very different from what it does right now.     If you want to find out how much money you spend cleaning up after Hope Promotions, then go to our [Hope Promotion Calculator](https://www.kevburns.com/calculator). Topics: [employee engagement](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/employee-engagement), [supervisor development](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/supervisor-development), [frontline supervisors](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/frontline-supervisors), [hope promotion](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/hope-promotion), [disengagement](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/disengagement), [workplace wellness](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/workplace-wellness), [employee burnout](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/employee-burnout), [mental health at work](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/mental-health-at-work), [employee wellbeing](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/employee-wellbeing), [workplace stress](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/workplace-stress), [psychological safety](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/psychological-safety), [stress at work](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/stress-at-work), [employee wellness program](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/employee-wellness-program), [how to reduce workplace stress](https://www.kevburns.com/blog/topic/how-to-reduce-workplace-stress) ### Subscribe today to Kevin's blog --- Kevin Burns' newest book, **The CareFull Supervisor**. This is the book that every frontline supervisor should read.   ![carefull-supervisor-3d-covers-400-1](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/hubfs/carefull-supervisor-3d-covers-400-1.png?width=253&height=253&name=carefull-supervisor-3d-covers-400-1.png)   **BUY NOW:** [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/CareFull-Supervisor-Tools-Succeed-Employees/dp/1039197256)| [B&N](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-carefull-supervisor-kevin-burns/1144577942) | [Indigo](https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-carefull-supervisor-the-tools-to-succeed-and-be-the-supervisor-employees-want-to-have/9781039197268.html)| [FreisenPress](https://books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000383321344)| [Kobo](https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-carefull-supervisor)| Audible --- ### Recent Posts - [About](https://www.kevburns.com/about-kevin-burns) - [Supervisor Academy](https://www.kevburns.com/supervisors) - [Blog](https://www.kevburns.com/blog) #### © 2026 PeopleWork Align Inc. [![Kev-Burns-Learning-white](https://www.kevburns.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Kev-Burns-Learning-white.png?width=180&height=89&name=Kev-Burns-Learning-white.png "Kev-Burns-Learning-white")](https://www.kevburns.com)