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Corporate health guide

Genetic analyses at work: the concept behind a personal health offer

Reviewed by Dr. Daniel Wallerstorfer, molecular biologist and founder of Novogenia · Updated: 15 October 2026 · Reading time: 9 min

In short

A genetic analysis turns general workplace health promotion into a personal offer: employees learn how their own body handles nutrition, exercise and stress – not the average body. The concept rests on four principles: voluntary, confidential, supported and lifestyle first. The company makes the offer possible and pays for it; it receives neither individual results nor aggregated genetic reports. Medical analyses run only through a physician with the required qualifications, kept separate from occupational health screenings. Personalized supplements are an optional, private next step. A simple format: a talk on nutrition and genes, followed by voluntary analyses and one-to-one sessions.

One size rarely fits all

A nutrition talk for everyone is like a one-size-fits-all T-shirt: it fits many people a little – and hardly anyone properly. The European Food4Me study looked at what happens when advice becomes personal. Adults from seven countries received either general dietary advice or personalized advice – depending on the group, based on their diet, on their body measurements and blood markers as well, and in one group on their genes too.

After six months, participants with personalized advice ate less red meat, less salt and less saturated fat, took in more folate and scored higher on a healthy eating index than the group with general advice. 1,269 people completed the study (Celis-Morales et al., International Journal of Epidemiology 2017).

The logical conclusion: personal advice moves people more than general advice. That is exactly where a genetic analysis comes in as part of workplace health promotion. It is not the whole program, but a strong personal starting point. “You should drink less coffee” becomes “this is how fast your body breaks down caffeine.”

What a genetic analysis adds to workplace health

Classic health promotion explains what is good for most people. A lifestyle analysis adds what applies to this one person. It reads genes that influence how the body processes nutrients, responds to training or copes with stress. At Novogenia, a gene is included in the analysis only if it is backed by at least three independent studies. The recommendations derived from it are logical conclusions – and genes remain one factor among many.

At work, this brings three things:

A personal reason: if you know your body breaks down caffeine slowly, you see that third cup in the afternoon with different eyes. General tips gain a connection to your own body.
A fresh way into familiar topics: a talk on nutrition and genes sparks curiosity about topics many people feel they have heard too often. It covers genes in general – never the results of individuals.
A lasting point of reference: inherited predispositions do not change. The report remains a foundation long after the health day – for workshops, for one-to-one counseling and for personal decisions.

One honest sentence belongs here: knowledge alone does not change everyday life. A systematic review of 18 studies found that simply communicating a DNA-based disease risk did not reliably change behavior. But it also found no adverse effects such as anxiety or depression (Hollands et al., BMJ 2016). For workplace health, this means: the analysis opens the door, and support walks people through it.

The building blocks of a program

A program with genetic analyses consists of a few clearly separated building blocks. For each one, the key question is: who sees what?

Building block	What it contributes	Who has access
Talk or workshop	Knowledge about genes, nutrition, exercise and recovery – also for everyone who does not take an analysis	All participants; no personal data are discussed
Lifestyle analysis	A personal report on nutrition and weight, sports and performance, stress and recovery, or skin	Only the employee
One-to-one counseling	Turns the report into a plan for everyday life	The person – and the external professional, if the person shows them the report
Personalized supplements	An optional, private next step: a formula based on around 50 genes, a questionnaire and, on request, blood values, in daily sachets for 90 days	Only the person
Medical analysis (optional)	Medical questions, under a physician’s responsibility	The person tested and the responsible physician

Personalized supplements deserve a sentence of their own: a formula reveals what is in the genes. So our recommendation is that the formula, the report and the delivery go straight to the person – even if the company contributes to the cost. Which analyses and products fit in detail is covered in Which offers suit employees.

Four principles everyone can agree on

What makes a workplace genetic testing offer a good one? A US research group put this question to employees, employers, ethics and legal experts, testing companies and health professionals over several survey rounds. They ended up with twelve key characteristics. Most participants considered privacy and security, voluntariness, transparency, understanding and education, anti-discrimination, employee control and evidence-based testing both important (more than 90%) and necessary (more than 75%) (Charnysh et al., HGG Advances 2025).

That is exactly what the concept builds on:

Voluntary: everyone decides for themselves whether to take part. Those who do not take part must face no disadvantage; in Germany, this is set out explicitly in the law (Section 21 GenDG). There are no benefits tied to results. How to invite people without pressure is covered in Internal communication: participation without pressure.
Confidential: employees register themselves and give their consent directly to the lab or partner. The saliva sample goes straight to the lab and the report straight to the person. More in Data protection and confidentiality of results.
Supported: a talk sparks curiosity, workshops on exercise, sleep and nutrition turn it into practice, and voluntary one-to-one counseling by external professionals translates the report into a plan.
Lifestyle first: lifestyle analyses form the core. Medical analyses are available only under a physician’s responsibility and separate from occupational health screenings – in Germany, genetic examinations within occupational health screenings are prohibited in principle (Section 20(1) GenDG). More in The role of the occupational physician.

What the company gets – and what it does not

The company gets a health offer for its people – and the invoice. The longevity guide sums it up in one formula: “the employer gets the invoice, not the result.” In detail, this means:

no individual results and no aggregated genetic reports – not even for a department or a site,
no saliva samples passing through HR or any other part of the company,
no consent forms ending up with the employer.

On top of that, our recommendation: design the process so that the company learns as little as possible about who took part and which analysis anyone chose. The program is evaluated through participation and anonymous feedback – how that works is explained in Measuring benefits and impact.

This is not a courtesy; it is the law. In Germany, the employer may neither require, receive nor use the results of genetic examinations (Section 19 GenDG). In Austria, the ban explicitly covers the employer’s agents and staff as well (Section 67(1) GTG) – so whoever organizes the program on the company’s behalf does not see any results either. In Switzerland, employers may neither require genetic tests outside the medical field nor make use of such data (Art. 37 GUMG). The legal situation in detail: Law: what employers may and may not do.

What a program looks like in practice

A simple format works well as a framework: a talk on nutrition and genes, followed by voluntary analyses and one-to-one sessions. After the talk, interested employees register themselves. In Germany and Austria, they take the saliva sample at home and send it straight to our lab in Eugendorf near Salzburg. In Switzerland, the sample is collected in the presence of an authorized health professional, who also prescribes the analysis.

The analysis takes 4 days. Each person receives their report digitally via a secure portal, in up to 18 languages – practical for international workforces. Workshops and one-to-one sessions then help turn the report into a plan. Anyone who wishes can go one step further privately, for example with personalized supplements. The process from kick-off to report is described in Rollout: from kick-off to results.

What the concept deliberately is not

A clear concept is defined by its limits, too. A program with genetic analyses is:

not a search for diseases: it is about nutrition, exercise, recovery and skincare in everyday life – not about detecting diseases in the workforce.
not a suitability test: the results play no role in hiring, assignments or promotion. The company does not even know them.
not a team comparison: there are no genetic statistics per department and no types people are sorted into.
not a savings promise: a serious program promises neither health outcomes nor cost savings. It offers a personal, voluntary option and shows that the company invests in its people’s health.

If you communicate these limits openly from the start, you win what such a program needs most: the trust of your employees. You will also find the legal basis for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with a comparison table and a checklist, in the longevity guide under Corporate health programs with genetic analyses.

How we do it at Novogenia

How we put the concept into practice at Novogenia:

No employer access: with lifestyle analyses, the employer gets no insight into genetic results – neither individually nor in aggregate.
Medical analyses only through a physician: medical prevention analyses are possible only if the company has an appropriate company physician. Apart from the person tested, only that physician sees the result – never the employer.
Direct consent: employees register themselves and give their consent to the lab or partner, not to the employer. We define who has which data protection role together in the contract, before the first data flow.
Our own lab: analysis in 4 days in our lab in Eugendorf near Salzburg, Austria; the report arrives digitally via a secure portal, in up to 18 languages.
Optional next step: anyone who wishes can add personalized supplements in daily sachets privately; one delivery lasts 90 days.

Frequently asked questions

What does a genetic analysis offer that a classic health day does not?

A personal connection. A health day explains what is good for most people. A lifestyle analysis shows how your own body handles caffeine, vitamins, training or stress, for example. It achieves the most in combination with a talk, workshops and voluntary one-to-one counseling.

Does the company find out who took part?

It never learns any results. Employees register themselves and give their consent directly to the lab or partner; the saliva sample goes straight to the lab. We recommend designing the process so that the company learns as little as possible about who took part and which analysis anyone chose.

Does the company physician need to be involved?

Not for lifestyle analyses. In Switzerland, however, they must be prescribed by an authorized health professional, such as a physician, a pharmacist or a nutritionist with a university of applied sciences degree (FH). Medical analyses are possible only through a physician with the qualifications national law requires – and never as part of occupational health screenings.

Can employees get personalized supplements through the company?

Personalized supplements are an optional, private step after the analysis. Because a formula allows conclusions about a person’s genes, we recommend that the formula, the report and the delivery go straight to the person – even if the company contributes to the cost.

How reliable are the results of a lifestyle analysis?

The genetic traits themselves are well documented: at Novogenia, a gene is included only if it is backed by at least three independent studies. The recommendations derived from them are logical conclusions, not scientifically proven. A lifestyle analysis is not a diagnosis.

A health offer for your team?

Tell us about your company – we will show you how a voluntary offer for your employees could look.

Request a project →Corporate health in the longevity guide

Note: This guide is general information for businesses and professionals and does not replace medical or legal advice. The genetic traits determined in a genetic analysis are well documented (each gene included is backed by at least three independent studies); recommendations derived from them are logical conclusions, not scientifically proven. Regulations can change; errors and changes excepted.