working in the corporate wellness sector

A career focused on corporate wellness

Overview

Corporate wellness roles differ from occupational health or rehabilitation roles as they focus more on employee health. Corporate wellness roles broadly encompass physical and mental well-being and prevent disease and injury at work. This new and emerging sector will enable you to implement your clinical and biopsychosocial knowledge and skills in a new way of working with employers and employees to foster a safe and healthy working environment.

What it's like to be an osteopath working in corporate wellness  

In corporate wellness, you will take a broader biopsychosocial approach to health and wellbeing and look closer at the individual employee and their health. You will work with a business to identify workplace risks and hazards and look at how to promote employee productivity and engagement, attract and retain staff, and promote physical and mental well-being in employees. You may work in-house for a business, as a corporate wellness consultant, as a part of a team or as an independent contractor.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Flexibility: depending on your work capacity within the sector, you can choose your hours and work from home.
• Travel: as you will often need to visit multiple clients, you will have the opportunity to travel.
• Clinical: you will not always provide hands-on clinical treatment or intervention, so it is a physical break for your body.
• New skills: you will learn and use new skills taught outside of the osteopathic profession.

Cons:

• Competitive: this is an emerging sector with limited opportunities.
• Clinical limitations: if you enjoy osteopathy's clinical aspect, this would be a shift away from direct treatment.
• Multiple stakeholders: you will often work with multiple businesses, requiring you to manage multiple priorities and expectations.
• Multidisciplinary: many roles in this sector are hybrid. They will incorporate an occupational health and/or a Work, Health & Safety (WHS) component and even the management of worker’s compensation claims. These types of roles will require you to upskill in these areas.
• Travel: you may be required to see multiple clients in different locations.

Typical tasks and duties

• Health and wellness program development and implementation
• Workplace risk and hazard identification
• Ergonomic assessments and training
• Stakeholder and customer engagement
• Event/project management
• Education and training

Skills and experience needed

While experience is preferred, it is not essential:

• Good time management
• Ability to work effectively on an independent basis.
• Positive and client-centred professional
• Use your problem-solving skills.
• Good teamwork and working collaboratively with others.
• Developing and maintaining positive relationships with clients, stakeholders and team members.
• Background in healthcare
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Good organisational and administrative skills
• Event management
• Ability to prioritise

How to become an osteopath in corporate wellness

Once you have completed your osteopathic studies, gaining skills and experience in occupational health techniques will lay a strong foundation for working in corporate wellness. Training in workplace ergonomics, manual handling, and injury prevention will enhance your ability to support corporate clients, focusing on employee well-being and productivity.

Further qualifications and training

Additional qualifications will depend on the role you wish to pursue. In some roles, you will not require further studies other than your qualification in osteopathy. However, many organisations now expect you to hold a minimum of a Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety (WHS).

Often, the requirements employers are looking for may include the following:

• Willingness to undergo a National Criminal History check
• Generally unrestricted Australian working rights
• A current driver's license is frequently needed
• Professional Indemnity insurance (some employers provide)

Salary ranges

As an employee you can expect to earn $60,000 to $100,000, depending on your experience. With more experience and experience working in leadership roles, you can earn upwards of $150,000.

Who employs an osteopath in corporate wellness?

You can work as an individual contractor providing services to businesses or as an employee for a corporate occupational health and wellness business.

Corporate businesses will also hire individuals to work as corporate wellness advisors. This may be as an in-house advisor or outsourced to corporate clients. This is particularly seen within the private health insurance sector, where allied health professionals will be hired in these roles to provide services to corporate clients.

Usual career trajectories or pathways

Once working within the corporate wellness sector, you will have potential opportunities to build high-quality relationships with large corporate organisations that may employ you in a full-time capacity. These roles can lead to senior management roles with the potential to work as Head of Health and Wellbeing or Head of Safety. You could also decide to run your own business offering these services to other organisations.