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.

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.

scholarly journals Truckies and the Australian transport industry: Managers’ perspectives about enablers and inhibitors to workplace health promotion

Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Marguerite C. Sendall ◽  
Alison Brodie ◽  
Laura K. McCosker ◽  
Phil Crane ◽  
Marylou Fleming ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Workplace Health Promotion ◽  
Road Transport ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Transport Industry ◽  
Health Promotion Interventions

BACKGROUND: There is little published research about managers’ views on implementing and embedding workplace health promotion interventions. OBJECTIVE: To shed light on research-to-practice challenges in implementing workplace health promotion interventions in the Australian road transport industry. METHODS: In this Participatory Action Research project, managers from small-to-midsized companies in the Australian road transport industry were asked their views about enablers and barriers to implementing nutrition and physical activity interventions in their workplace. RESULTS: Managers identified practical assistance with resources, ideas, and staffing as being key enablers to implementation. Barriers included time restraints, worker age and lack of interest, and workplace issues relating to costs and resources. CONCLUSION: Manager perspectives add new insights about successful implementation of workplace health promotion. A Participatory Action Research approach allows managers to develop their own ideas for adapting interventions to suit their workplace. These findings add to a small body of knowledge of managers’ views about implementing workplace health promotion in small-to-midsized road transport companies - a relatively unexplored group. Managers highlight the importance of time constraints and worker availability when designing interventions for the road transport industry. Managers require a good understanding of the workplaces’ socio-cultural context for successful health promotion and health behaviour change.

scholarly journals Workplace Health in Kentucky: A Statewide Comparison

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5473
Author(s):  
Gretchen Macy ◽  
Jacqueline Basham ◽  
Cecilia Watkins ◽  
Vijay Golla
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Workplace Health Promotion ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Positive Direction ◽  
Research Software ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Statewide Assessment

The objectives of this study were to assess the state of Kentucky’s workplace health promotion and occupational safety and health programs, to ensure the ability to comprehend any possible trends over the past six years in the state’s progress in offering workplace health promotion and health protection programs, to compare the results of this survey with the 2013 Kentucky state-wide assessment, and to identify gaps in Kentucky’s workplace health promotion and occupational safety and health based on Total Worker Health® (TWH) concepts. Using Qualtrics research software, the Workplace Health in America assessment was sent to companies located in Kentucky and having 10 or more employees. Participants were identified using Dun and Bradstreet’s Hoover’s database. The results showed that, as with the 2013 survey, larger workplaces significantly were more likely to offer workplace health promotion programs than smaller companies (X2 = 24.30; p < 0.001). However, more companies (78%) reported offering programs compared to the 2013 assessment (49%). Given the results of the current study as compared to the statewide assessment conducted in 2013, Kentucky’s WHP is moving in a positive direction; yet, there is still much to be done. There remains a strong need to provide cost-effective and accessible resources for all elements of TWH to small workplaces.

Identifying Health and Safety Risks for Childcare Workers

AAOHN Journal ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 321-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda J. McGrath
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Workplace Health Promotion ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Health Promotion Programs ◽  
Childcare Workers ◽  
Health And Safety Risks

Childcare workers are exposed to several health and safety risks in their work environment, the most common being infectious diseases, musculoskeletal injuries, accidents, and occupational stress. Pregnant childcare workers have an additional risk of potential harm to the fetus. Occupational health nurses can work collaboratively with childcare workers to reduce these risks and provide workplace health promotion programs. This article explores the occupational health and safety issues for childcare workers and suggests health promotion strategies that could be implemented by occupational health nurses working in this arena.

scholarly journals Feasibility of Workplace Health Promotion for Restaurant Workers, Seattle, 2012

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire L. Allen ◽  
Kristen Hammerback ◽  
Jeffrey R. Harris ◽  
Peggy A. Hannon ◽  
Amanda T. Parrish
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Workplace Health Promotion ◽  
Workplace Health
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