Health and Wellness Promotion in the Workplace

Abstract

Worksite wellness is a relative newcomer to the professional field of occupational health and safety, and there is tremendous variability in employer programs and initiatives intended to support health and wellness across occupational settings and around the world. Worksite health and wellness promotion can be comprised of specific programs and services, employer policies and procedures, financial benefits and incentives, and changes in workplace culture or environment. Specific programs focusing on smoking cessation, weight reduction, or health risk appraisal have shown a moderate level of success and economic benefit, but the greatest impact has been for comprehensive wellness programs that include multiple initiatives, involve environmental and cultural changes in the workplace, and are tailored to meet the unique circumstances of organizations, employee health concerns, and work settings. Researchers of worksite wellness programs have emphasized the importance of environmental changes to support healthy lifestyles, the need to integrate wellness activities across organizational divisions, and attention to primary, secondary, and tertiary disease and injury prevention opportunities. For countries with an aging workforce and a growing number of chronic health conditions (e.g., USA), health and wellness promotion efforts within the workplace are likely to become more commonplace and more expansive in the coming years.