Having gained steady momentum in recent years, workplace wellness is a trend that is about to explode, according to the president and CEO of the Global Wellness Summit, Susie Ellis.

Writing in her latest blog post, Ellis said experience has taught her that it’s important to champion an emerging trend at the earliest stage, so that “those who want to benefit from seeing a trend before it gains huge momentum can come along for the ride.”

The global wellness industry – now worth US$3.4tn (€2.6tn, £2.1tn) according to research by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) – has experienced strong growth in recent years and Ellis sees workplace wellness as a major opportunity to continue this success.

Noting that we are “just at the tip of the iceberg,” Ellis predicted the scale of the trend will be huge. Ellis said her convictions had been strengthened by a range of encouraging developments. She cited early findings from research that will be presented at the 2015 Global Wellness Summit (GWS) in Mexico City this November, as well as conversations with a host of leading business and wellness institutions. As such, workplace wellness will be a standout subject on this year’s Summit agenda, which carries the theme “Building a Well World.”

Workplace wellness (or corporate wellness) has been on the Global Wellness Institute’s radar for a while now and was the topic of a panel discussion at the organisation’s 2012 Summit on how spas can play a leading role.

Ellis recently outlined the challenges faced in making workplace wellness schemes the norm in an exclusive Thought Leader column for Spa Opportunities. Highlighting the hurdles to ‘Building a well world’, she wrote: “We all have so many problems to solve – from trying to create and support lifestyle change and more self-responsibility for hundreds of millions more people, to how we can envision truly healthier workplaces that think far beyond employee wellness programs that cost millions, but engage few.

“No one is going to build a “well world” alone – not doctors, not governments and not the wellness industry. Everyone has to coordinate to find better solutions together.”