According to a recent survey conducted by Virgin HealthMiles, the four most common wellness programs offered by employers are physical activity programs (58 percent), smoking cessation programs (50 percent), weight management programs (49 percent), and health risk assessments (47 percent). Virgin HealthMiles surveyed about 1,300 business and 10,000 employees for the report, and found that of the 1,300 businesses it surveyed about 80 percent offered health and wellness benefits.

While the list above covers the top four most common health initiatives or programs offered by employers, the kind of healthy perks that employees were most interested in differed slightly.

Healthy food on-site (79 percent) was the most desired perk, while physical activity programs (78 percent) and on-site fitness centers (73 percent) trailed in second and third. Health risk assessments (70 percent), health club memberships (69 percent), and nutrition programs (68 percent) rounded out the top five most desired programs.

It makes sense that a smoking cessation program might not make its way onto the most desired health program among employees, but the lists might give employers some ideas for reassessing their programs.

The survey also indicates that the top two reasons employees participate in wellness programs are to improve their health (78 percent) and to earn incentives (61 percent). The other reasons included avoiding penalties (24 percent), being included in the company's culture (15 percent), and avoiding negative opinions (6 percent). Most employers offer some kind of incentive or "carrots" (68 percent) for their wellness programs, while 29 percent offer a mix of both "carrots" and "sticks". Just 4 percent of employers offer "sticks" alone.

The Virgin HealthMiles report has many more metrics on wellness programs, employer perceptions, employee feedback, and much more. Read the full report here (PDF).