Wearing Too Many Hats

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Healthy Workplaces
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Maggie Gough
March 15, 2023

If you’ve been involved in human resources, employment, or wellness professions for long, you’ve been along for the ride of evolving focuses and terminology. At times you may have even been left asking yourself, “what really is workplace wellness?” It’s been quite the ride, hasn’t it?

An Ode to Corporate Wellness

First it was programs. Then it was environment.
Then it was culture.
Then it was systems change.
Then it was strategy.
 

First it was wellness. Then it was well-being. 

First it was healthy living. Then it was disease management.
Then it was medical consumerism.
Then it was financial health.
Then mindfulness.
Then stress.
Then mental health.

Then psychological safety.

Predictions for what’s next include the following terms:

  • Harm Reduction
  • Unlearning

  • Systems Change

Workplace Wellness is What You Make It

In the words of Taylor Swift, "call it what you want."

Getting caught up in the hype of the next big idea in any industry is easy. While it can seem like the workplace wellness industry can be a bit flakey, in truth, we’ve been engaged professionals doing our best to solve for a multitude of dynamics that impact human well-being.
 
The larger question remains. How do we create positive change with such a complex and dynamic problem? It can be overwhelming, and the data shows that this is where most business leaders get stuck. 

"We’ve been engaged professionals doing our best to solve for a multitude of dynamics that impact human well-being."

How to Impact Workplace Wellness

This is where the Well Workplace Process comes in. Many models attempt to wrangle this body of work, but the Wellness Alliance has the only model that addresses the health of the organization and encompasses all of those terms listed above. It is also the only model that has an analytical tool to assess the organization on that process. That data allows leaders to create a clear pathway to solving systemic barriers and impacting culture.

In the words of Levar Burton, “You don’t have to take my word for it.” Check out the Well Workplace Process for yourself.

About the Contributor

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    Maggie Gough

    Serving a variety of populations in a multitude of industries, Maggie understands the complexity and depth of the corporate wellness industry and the needs of the professionals and employees they support.

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