Wellness that works at a biotechnology company

Since 2019, a large biotechnology company has partnered with HealthFitness to deliver a comprehensive and integrated wellness program designed to support the whole person.

This collaboration combines fitness, wellness, and injury prevention programs into a cohesive experience that empowers the company’s employees to live healthier, more balanced lives. 

Spanning multiple campuses — including a 25,000 sq. ft. facility in Thousand Oaks, California; a 7,000 sq. ft. center in Juncos, Puerto Rico; and a 6,500 sq. ft. location in West Greenwich, Rhode Island — the program offers a full suite of services, from state-of-the-art fitness equipment and group exercise studios to nutrition counseling and injury prevention. 

With more than 40 full-time staff managing daily operations, the program delivers diverse offerings such as personal training, mindfulness workshops, recreational sports, and community wellness events. 

Through this partnership, this biotech company and HealthFitness have created a dynamic, engaging, and inclusive environment that fosters wellbeing, connection, and sustained health for employees across all sites.

Integrating wellbeing into company culture

Serving nearly 20,000 employees across corporate offices, laboratories, manufacturing plants, call centers, and sales teams, the company faced a complex challenge: how to make wellness inclusive, engaging, and safe for every employee, regardless of location or role.

From day one, wellness is presented as a core value and is woven into the onboarding experience. New hires are immediately introduced to the full spectrum of available wellbeing resources, from mental health tools to fitness centers to nutrition support. This early exposure reinforces the message that employee health is a priority, setting the tone for participation and long-term engagement.

The company’s goal is to make wellness an integral part of the workday, not a side activity. This lays the foundation for employees to thrive.

Challenges We Faced: Solving for Scale and Sustained Engagement 

Designing a wellness program across such a large and varied workforce required addressing three core challenges: 

1. Reaching every role and environment. From research labs to manufacturing floors, offices, and remote setups, employees’ needs differ greatly. Programs had to be flexible, equitable, and accessible to all. 

2. Integrating injury prevention with wellness. The company recognized that fitness and wellness alone weren’t enough. Employees performing repetitive or physically demanding tasks needed injury prevention and ergonomic resources to reduce risk and enhance performance. 

3. Sustaining engagement. Long-term participation depends on leadership modeling, program variety, and continuous innovation. Programs had to feel relevant, impactful, and culturally aligned. 

The overarching challenge was ensuring health and injury prevention were inseparable from everyday work.

Where We Took It: Supporting Employees with Injury Prevention 

The company’s signature differentiator is the integration of our injury prevention programs across wellness activities. This includes:

HealthFitness staffing
Includes ergonomic evaluators, movement specialists and therapeutic massage therapists. 

Campaigns
Bi-monthly education on posture, back care, shoulder health, and ergonomics, paired with movement consultations and virtual fitness classes. 

Posture screens and ergonomic sessions
Guidance on workstation setup, musculoskeletal health, and injury prevention. 

Restorative movement series 
Multisession, six-week programs focusing on stretching, corrective exercises, and strength training for major muscle groups. 

Therapeutic table and chair massage
On-site services relieve stress, improve circulation, and accelerate recovery. 

Body Mechanics group fitness class
Designed to improve balance, posture and mobility. 

Floor observation program
Teaches practical techniques that complement physical wellness and injury prevention efforts. On-the-floor observation and follow up with manager by providing feedback on job task movement. 

Industrial athlete programming and services
Specialists observe employees in manufacturing and lab settings, providing 1:1 coaching on safe lifting, movement techniques, and fatigue management. 

Coaching and movement evaluations
Personalized assessments identify areas of risk and help employees set achievable goals for strength, mobility, and safety.

By embedding injury prevention into every aspect of wellness — from fitness and movement to mindfulness — we help the company’s employees reduce workplace injuries, improve recovery, and keep them performing safely over the long term.

The company’s comprehensive approach makes wellness a visible, living part of the workday for its employees. For example: 

• Programs accommodate diverse abilities and schedules 
• Inclusive fitness across roles 
• Group and personal training for all fitness levels 
• Recreational leagues and tournaments (basketball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, pickleball) 
• Step and movement challenges encouraging collaboration and friendly competition 
• Energy breaks and guided stretches during meetings, led by managers to model participation

Leadership engagement and culture led by HealthFitness staff 

HealthFitness supports the company’s wellness strategy by equipping leaders with coaching, tools, and on-site support so they can confidently model and reinforce healthy behaviors in their daily routines. The leaders of this biotech company actively demonstrate these behaviors through HealthFitness-led walking meetings, energy breaks, and team wellness events. 

Employee resource groups and wellbeing champions ensure programs are inclusive, culturally relevant, and consistently reinforced, while regular feedback loops drive continuous improvement. Leadership involvement reinforces the message that wellness isn’t a sideline benefit — it’s part of how the company works and thrives. 

The company’s integrated approach has earned top ranking for the Top Places to Work for Employee Wellbeing, reflecting strong participation and engagement.

Where We Plan to Go: Evolving Injury Prevention and Wellness for the Future Workforce 

The company continues to innovate, expanding the reach and personalization of wellness and injury prevention programs. Next steps include: 

• Continuing to use employee feedback and participation data to tailor programs to ever-evolving workforce needs 
• Enhancing mobile and on-demand access to fitness, wellness, and ergonomic resources 
• Expanding injury prevention programs to additional sites and roles 

The company’s vision is to energize, protect, and inspire every employee, making wellness a seamless part of daily work. By integrating fitness, wellness, and injury prevention, the company ensures employees are not only healthy, but they’re also resilient, engaged, and performing at their best.