Abstract
Whenever a news story breaks about the latest research in workplace wellness, I am often called by reporters unfamiliar with our work who then ask me to comment on the findings. The first thing I do is broaden their understanding of what it means to have a workplace health promotion program and what evidence-based HWB programs look like.
The conversation involves explaining that successful programs are not merely extensions of medical services whereby a provider (coach, clinician, or other health professional) attempts to change an employee’s behavior by having that employee start to eat right, exercise more, stop smoking, begin relaxation exercises, or go to the doctor to have a preventive examination. No, I continue, a successful program is one that is embedded in and supported by what is often referred to as a “culture of health.” 1
To make it personal, I illustrate some of the barriers to employee HWB. I note that an employer can’t expect you to adopt a healthy lifestyle if there are no healthy food options available, if you’re tied to your desk for 8 hours a day, if there is no opportunity to take physical activity breaks, if your supervisor is imposing unrealistic deadlines with no support to meet those deadlines, and because of long work hours and high demands you have little time for family, friends, or even sleep. We end our conversation by agreeing that the above scenario is not conducive to improving one’s individual health, never mind an entire workplace population’s health. No wonder health-care costs are rising, workers are being injured, absenteeism is up, morale is down, and finding qualified talent has become more difficult.
The reporter then often tells me about his or her work experience—woke up early, working late tonight, eating junk food, sitting all day, gaining weight, feeling stressed out—and that’s just today’s schedule. The final question from the reporter is usually as follows: “Can you point me to companies that have figured out how to build and sustain a healthy workforce built on a culture of health? And, by the way, are there any data showing that these companies are successful in their efforts to improve health and have a bottom-line impact?”
That’s my opportunity to point the reporter to our website (www.thehealthproject.com). Since 1994, The Health Project has sought out organizations’ exemplary HWB programs with documentary evidence that their programs have enhanced workers’ health and delivered positive business results for the enterprise. Over 75 companies have been recognized and received the C. Everett Koop prize for outstanding workplace health promotion and disease prevention programs. These organizations have judiciously adopted evidence-based practices, which has allowed them to not only design and implement exemplary programs but also collect credible data showing the programs work. Their results are impressive on all fronts including outperforming the Standard & Poor’s average stock performance from 2001 to 2014. 2
In the remainder of this issue of TAHP, we feature 4 companies that have been recognized by The Health Project for their award-winning programs. They are American-USA, Delta Air Lines, Kaiser Permanente, and LGE-KU. We’ve asked program champions from each of these companies to reflect upon the factors that inspired them to design and build exceptional programs and how they went about gathering evidence of the program’s success. Specifically, we asked each of the company’s representatives to address the following topics: How did they go about designing an HWB initiative that is specific to your organization? What are the most critical aspects (success factors) of your program, and how have these contributed to your success? How did you gather data and present results to your key stakeholders to gain their buy-in and sustain ongoing support for your efforts?
The following short essays are mini case studies of successful programs—the what, why, and how these programs thrive—especially useful for the next time a reporter calls you.