As New Year weight loss challenges return to office calendars, a growing call is asking companies to rethink what “wellness” means and who it serves. The concern is simple and timely: programs designed around shedding pounds can make plus-size employees feel singled out, unwelcome, or judged. The push is for workplaces to include everyone, not just those who fit a narrow idea of health.
One advocate put it plainly, linking January goals to inclusion at work.
“With talks of weight loss challenges popular at the start of the year, creating a space for plus-size workers to feel welcome has just as much to do with inclusion as any other group.”
The message lands as companies plan wellness contests, set step targets, and hand out prizes for weight change. It also lands amid rising awareness of weight stigma and its impact on careers, mental health, and medical care.
Why New-Year Challenges Can Backfire
Traditional programs prize numbers on a scale. That can turn a team event into a public measure of someone’s body. For many, it feels less like motivation and more like pressure.
Researchers at the Yale Rudd Center have documented weight bias across workplaces for years. Experts warn it can affect pay, promotions, and daily interactions. When a company pushes weight loss contests, those biases can show up under a wellness label.
Employers say these contests build morale. Some employees like the structure. But critics argue the format sets up a lose-lose dynamic. People who do not lose weight feel they failed. People who opt out feel seen as not “team players.”
The Inclusion Gap
Diversity efforts often focus on race, gender, disability, and age. Size is rarely included in policy. Yet workers report teasing, subtle slights, and fewer customer-facing roles. Even office furniture can send a message, from too-small chairs to limited seating options.
Several states and cities now ban weight-based discrimination, including New York City and Michigan. Legal protections are growing, but company culture tends to move slower than laws. HR leaders say the safer approach is to design programs that do not hinge on body size at all.
What Employees Say
Employees who spoke with HR teams describe awkward weigh-ins and public leaderboards. Many said they avoided team lunches during challenges to dodge comments. Some described medical concerns that make weight change risky or irrelevant.
On the other hand, a few workers credit wellness programs for building social ties and sparking healthier habits. The split shows why a one-size-fits-all plan misses the mark. Choice matters. Privacy matters even more.
What Better Looks Like
Experts recommend shifting from weight to well-being. That means focusing on sleep, stress, movement, nutrition access, and mental health. It also means designing spaces that fit every body.
- Make participation voluntary and private. No weigh-ins. No public rankings.
- Offer varied goals: hydration, steps, mindfulness, and breaks, not pounds lost.
- Provide size-inclusive seating and gear in conference rooms and gyms.
- Train managers on weight bias and respectful language.
- Work with vendors who avoid weight-based incentives.
The Society for Human Resource Management reports that wellness programs work best when they are supportive, not punitive. That lines up with what clinicians say: health measures should be personal, tracked privately, and separated from job performance.
Industry Response And Data Gaps
Wellness vendors argue that measurable goals drive engagement. Some offer “weight-neutral” options, but many still market contests because they are easy to run and sell. That tension shows up each January.
There is also a data problem. Many companies track participation, not outcomes. Few measure the effect of programs on morale for plus-size staff or retention in larger-bodied workers. Without those numbers, leaders may underestimate the harm.
What’s Next For Employers
A practical path is emerging. Companies are replacing weight loss contests with points for varied activities. They are auditing office furniture for size equity. They are rewriting policies to include weight and height in anti-bias rules.
Some firms run listening sessions with voluntary, confidential feedback. Others add clear privacy guidelines to any health challenge. The goal is to keep the fun and ditch the shame.
The January rush for “healthy habits” is not going away. But the message from workers is clear. Inclusion includes size. Programs that prize well-being over weigh-ins are more likely to build trust, keep talent, and support real health.
As planning for the next office challenge begins, the path forward is simple enough to write on a whiteboard: make it voluntary, make it private, make it for everyone.
