Workplace Health and Workplace Wellness: Synergistic or Disconnected?

2020 ◽  
pp. 303-326
Author(s):  
G. Davis ◽  
E. Moloney ◽  
M. da Palma ◽  
Kerrie L. Mengersen ◽  
F. Harden
Keyword(s):  
Workplace Wellness ◽  
Workplace Health

Commentary on the Study: “What Do Workplace Wellness Programs Do? Evidence From the Illinois Workplace Wellness Study”

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 440-444
Author(s):  
Ron Z. Goetzel
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Wellness Programs ◽  
Workplace Wellness ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Wellness Program ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Workplace Wellness Programs ◽  
The University ◽  
Health And Well Being

Recently, several high-profile randomized clinical trials conducted with employees at the University of Illinois and BJ’s Wholesale Club have questioned the value of workplace health and well-being programs. This commentary focuses on the latest research published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics by authors Jones, Molitor, and Reif who evaluated the iThrive wellness program. The commentary challenges the study’s main finding that wellness programs (in general) do not work. Several perspectives are explored including whether the evaluated programs are well-designed, sufficiently potent, and appropriate candidates for randomized trials. The article also asks what role employers can or should play in improving the health and well-being of Americans given recent troubling statistics showing a decline in life expectancy and an increase in health risks.

scholarly journals Workplace Health And Fitness In Health Care And Higher Education Settings. Progressing From Corporate Fitness To Workplace Wellness

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (8S) ◽  
pp. 245-245
Author(s):  
Wendy Bjerke ◽  
Joseph Feuerstein ◽  
Warzoha Daniel ◽  
Ella Feuerstein ◽  
Nicholas Schiff-Denota ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Workplace Wellness ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Health And Fitness ◽  
Corporate Fitness

scholarly journals The price is right: making workplace wellness financially sustainable

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Lee ◽  
H. Blake ◽  
S. Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Corporate Image ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Workplace Wellness ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
The Public ◽  
Academic Literature

PurposeThe public health argument for developing and maintaining workplace wellness programmes in organisations is well‐documented, particularly within the healthcare sector which aims to “set the example” for workplace health. However, workplace wellness also makes good business sense, since it is established that investing in employee health can reduce absenteeism, improve job satisfaction and productivity and enhance corporate image. Organisations often place workplace wellness low in their priorities. The purpose of this paper is to present the case for an initial resource investment and top‐level support to pump‐prime a financially sustainable, and even profitable, programme.Design/methodology/approachA discussion is presented based on academic literature and practical applications from the authors' experiences in practice.FindingsThe authors use their own in‐house scheme, “Q‐active” as a case example based in an NHS Trust setting, to demonstrate how such schemes can be developed and successfully implemented and maintained in practice. The paper presents the use of the Business Healthcheck Tool for developing a business case for such schemes.Originality/valueWorkplace wellness schemes are financially viable and can become a vital part of a large organisations' infrastructure embedded within policies and internal “health culture”.

For Better or For Work: Dual Discourses in a Workplace Wellness Program

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 612-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie L. Dailey ◽  
Tricia J. Burke ◽  
Emmalene G. Carberry
Keyword(s):  
Family Policy ◽  
Workplace Health Promotion ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Workplace Wellness ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Wellness Program ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Workplace Wellness Programs ◽  
Work Family ◽  
A Site

Despite the ubiquity of workplace health promotion (WHP) programs, research has yet to address how employees make sense of the various meanings surrounding free wellness time at work. Through interviews with 30 participants of a workplace wellness program, this study uncovered organizational and employee discourses surrounding health at work. In sharing their health narratives, employees drew on dual discourses, expressing multiple meanings in the program’s rationale, workers’ participation, and the results of workplace health initiatives. Our findings contribute to WHP literature by proposing workplace wellness programs as a site of struggle, drawing attention to the role of agency in WHP participation, extending managerialism in WHP outside the corporate setting, and connecting workplace wellness scholarship to the meaning of work and work–family policy research.

Resistance Training: (Re)shaping Extreme Forms of Workplace Health Promotion

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric P. James ◽  
Heather M. Zoller
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Workplace Health Promotion ◽  
Employee Perceptions ◽  
Workplace Wellness ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Corporate Wellness ◽  
Employee Resistance ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Wellness Initiatives ◽  
Wellness Initiative

As the number of workplace health initiatives grows, so does the variety of programming. This study examines a fitness apparel company’s attempts to promote a fitness culture through a particular brand of “extreme” fitness known as CrossFit. CrossFit is an intense fitness regimen that has generated controversy with a cult-like reputation. We looked at the evangelical promotion of CrossFit as a new corporate wellness initiative. Based on interviews and participant observations, we used a critical-interpretive lens to understand employee reactions to the extreme wellness initiative. The evangelical introduction of this program by management led to high rates of participation, influencing employee perceptions of health, fitness, and identity. Yet, we also found that employee resistance emerged, which helped to mark the limits of this managerial intervention in workplace fitness. Ultimately, the study advocates for more co-construction of workplace wellness initiatives.

scholarly journals Be well: A systems-based wellness intervention using mindfulness in the workplace – A case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 613-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate M Levett ◽  
Sharyn Coughlan ◽  
Sharon Longridge ◽  
Violet Roumeliotis ◽  
Jon Adams
Keyword(s):  
Sick Leave ◽  
Workplace Health Promotion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Workplace Stress ◽  
Workplace Wellness ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Healthy Work ◽  
Wellness Intervention ◽  
Healthy Work Environments

AbstractIntroduction: Healthy work environments are essential in determining improved well-being of Australians. Job stress has been identified as a significant factor in psychological distress. This study evaluated the effect of introducing a systems-based workplace wellness programme using mindfulness in the workplace. Methods: The programme ‘Be Well’ was introduced as part of a systems-based approach to workplace health promotion, and evaluated using sick leave as a proxy for workplace stress, and the stress satisfaction offset score to determine the degree of change in stress and satisfaction. Results: There was significant reduction in sick leave (2014 vs. 2012) (p<.001), and significant improvement in stress satisfaction offset score (p<.05). Logistic regression analysis identified the programme components most predictive of reduced stress and higher job satisfaction. Conclusion: The impacts of a systems-based mindfulness workplace wellness intervention, show significant improvements in workers’ sick leave and changes to stress and satisfaction scores. This study has implications for sector-wide policy change in the workplace.

Compensatory Coping Through the Extension of Working Hours

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maie Stein ◽  
Sylvie Vincent-Höper ◽  
Nicole Deci ◽  
Sabine Gregersen ◽  
Albert Nienhaus
Keyword(s):  
Job Demands ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Leader Member Exchange ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Data Analyses ◽  
Member Exchange ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Advance Knowledge

Abstract. To advance knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between leadership and employees’ well-being, this study examines leaders’ effects on their employees’ compensatory coping efforts. Using an extension of the job demands–resources model, we propose that high-quality leader–member exchange (LMX) allows employees to cope with high job demands without increasing their effort expenditure through the extension of working hours. Data analyses ( N = 356) revealed that LMX buffers the effect of quantitative demands on the extension of working hours such that the indirect effect of quantitative demands on emotional exhaustion is only significant at low and average levels of LMX. This study indicates that integrating leadership with employees’ coping efforts into a unifying model contributes to understanding how leadership is related to employees’ well-being. The notion that leaders can affect their employees’ use of compensatory coping efforts that detract from well-being offers promising approaches to the promotion of workplace health.

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