The Value of Organizational Wellness/Culture
There are many metrics that can be used to fully understand and measure an organization’s potential for success. Additionally, there are many ways to measure excellence within an organization. This includes generating a profile of the leadership of the organization, understanding organizational capacity, and applying Peak Performance Theory (Gilson et al., 2000). Organizational culture offers a formative metric to gauge organizational performance.
Organizational wellness and culture are vital to the success of any size and type of organization. Therefore, employee well-being is a clear area of opportunity for most organizations, and curating an organizational culture that values the 8 dimensions of wellness is an excellent starting point (see Blog Post Four). Researchers Dale and Burrell (2014) characterize workplace “wellness” or “well-being” initiatives as a “movement,” which has mostly arisen as a result of “economic, ideological, and organizational interests” (p. 1). In other words, on the one hand, promoting health and wellness in an organization not only benefits the individual employees but also plays significantly into organizational interests as they relate to productivity and profitability. In essence, there can be a hard return on organizational wellness programming. According to Berry and colleagues (2010), the return on investment (ROI) of a “comprehensive, well-run employee wellness program is impressive, sometimes as high as six to one” (para 1). These well-run programs are designed to support employees and their families “as they adopt and sustain behaviors that reduce health risks, improve quality of life, enhance personal effectiveness, and benefit the organization’s bottom line” (Berry et al., 2010, para 6). The researchers go on to explain that healthy employees cost less, citing the example that in 2001, MD Anderson Cancer Center created a workers’ compensation and injury care unit in its health and well-being department. Within six years, workers’ comp premiums declined by 50%, and lost work days declined by 80%.
In order to achieve such impressive results like MD Anderson Cancer Center, wellness programming must be greater than simply offering a pass to a fitness center or infographics in the cafeteria. Effective workplace wellness programs have six pillars that support the success of the program (Berry et al., 2010). These pillars include:
(1) multilevel leadership
(2) alignment:
(3) scope, relevance, and quality
(4) accessibility
(5) partnerships
(6) communications.
Multilevel leadership means there is buy-in from all levels of leadership within the organization to create a culture of health. The wellness program, then, should align with the organization and naturally fit within the organization’s identity. Additionally, the program should be comprehensive, engaging, and excellent. This means the wellness program should have scope, relevance, and quality. In other words, the program should address an employee’s many facets of their health and provide programming that meets their specific needs. For example, rather than just focusing on physical health, incorporate mental health resources, financial health resources, etc., which can be individualized to meet each employee’s needs. The wellness programming needs to be accessible. This includes programs that are low or no cost, as well as on-site integration. Additionally, collaboration with internal and external partners is essential in delivering quality programming. Finally, appropriate and creative messaging and communication surrounding wellness are important to successful programming.
Intentional wellness programming may not be easy to develop within one’s organization; however, the rewards for both individual employees as well as the greater organization have the potential to be significant.
References
Allamano, C. B. (2023, Apr 24). What the workplace needs right now: A paradigm shift in thinking around wellbeing and sustainability. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carabrennanallamano/2023/04/24/what-the-workplace-needs-right-now-a-paradigm-shift-in-thinking-about-wellbeing-and-sustainability/?sh=377326f213b5
Berry, L. L., Mirabito, A. M., & Baun, W. B., (2010). What’s the hard return on employee wellness programs? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2010/12/whats-the-hard-return-on-employee-wellness-programs
Dale, K., & Burrell, G. (2014). Being occupied: An embodied re-reading of organizational “wellness.” Organization, 21(2). 159-177. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508412473865
Gilson, C., Pratt, M., Roberts, K., & Weymes, E. (2002). Peak performance: Inspirational business less from the world’s top sports organizations. London, UK: Texere.
Pendell, R. (2022, July 20). Employee wellbeing starts at work. Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/394871/employee-wellbeing-starts-work.aspx
