Whole Health Approach

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Wellness Program

Wellness must consist of a whole health approach: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, interpersonal. Creating a culture of wellness within the organization is important to promote long-term healthy living. Communicating the goals of a health and wellness program to employees regularly and consistently, as well as providing incentives for healthier lifestyles, will ensure you are successful in the implementation and pursuit of any wellbeing initiative.

It is important to remember that as HR professionals, we will be serving a diverse demographic. There will be people of varying skill levels, abilities, competencies, and comfort-levels. It is of critical importance that a workplace wellness program be flexible to meet the diverse needs of the workforce, be inclusive in its philosophies and methods, and strive to dismantle barriers for those who face marginalities and inequities. When we are talking about health and wellness, special sensitivity is necessary, because we are speaking objectively and sometimes critically about subject matter that can be very personal and embarrassing for some people. When talking about bodies, fitness, athletics, abilities, exercise, mental health and the ways in which we can care for these things, it is important not to place our own biases and judgements in our programs, and allow each employee to construct their own vision of what health and wellness means to them.

Under the headings below are several components in a wellness plan I envision for my own future organization.

Mental Health
  • ·        Fully covered mental health services such as: therapy, psychological or psychiatric care, group sessions, emotional skill-building, stress management, mindfulness sessions, specific sessions as needed. Normalizing the need for therapy would be a huge benefit to society, and initiating that in workplaces is a great place to start. I believe everyone could benefit from therapy at some point in their lives, and if it was encouraged and supported in the workplace as a normal activity of wellness, others may even avail of it outside of work when they are distressed or going through a difficult time. Having employees that are mentally healthy, supported, understood and valued creates huge benefits for businesses. Organizational commitment increases, identification with one’s organization increased, productivity and job satisfaction are positively impacted, and absentee and turnover rates are lower.
  • ·        Mental health specific accommodations such as: flexible schedules, mental health days, quiet spaces, delayed start-times, easy transferability of shift to another employee, ability to choose which shifts you’d like to pick up (Skip the Dishes has this feature), selective commitment options. These are just some ideas for accommodations that can be made to support employees with mental health issues or other difficult life challenges.
  • ·        Promotion of mental health as an important factor in wellness.
  • ·        Mediation for conflict resolution.

Physical Health & Fitness
  • ·         Individual ergonomic assessments to maximize comfort and health of employees from the start, along with encouragement from management to bring forth any future accommodations necessary to each employee to be as comfortable as possible. This isn’t simply about satiating the employee’s comfort- it’s about preventing injuries, fatigue, or long-term damage.
  • ·         If the employee consents, collecting biometric data can aid in providing individualized wellness care.
  • ·         Physical wellness programs about topics such as diet and nutrition, healthy sleep habits, and exercise.
  • ·         Healthy lunch program.
  • ·         Organized group physical activities or sporting events such as: rowing, bowling, golf, axe throwing, paintball, mini putt, or hiking!
  • ·         Accessibility is very important. If there is anyone on the team who has a physical disability, it’s important to come up with an activity that everyone can participate in!

Culture of Wellness

  • ·         Community building activities.
  • ·         Relationship fostering programs such as: peer mentorship, team building activities, etc.
  • ·         Policy of mutual respect; flattened hierarchy.
  • ·         Inclusive; culture of caring.
  • ·         Feedback systems implemented, promoted and monitored to ensure programs are reaching     their targets and employees are benefitting.
  • ·         Open door policy and openness to change and adapt to the changing needs of the workforce. 

  • Factors That Would Affect Success of Wellness Program
  • ·         Upper management support
  • ·         Funding
  • ·         Communication between employees and management
  • ·         Existing cultures, attitudes and trust employees have for management
  • ·         Equitable implementation
  • ·         Consistency
  • ·         Feedback and evaluation
  • ·         Careful management

It should be noted that something that would negatively impact a wellness initiative are biases, stereotypes, and stigmatization. It is very difficult for an organization to support people in mental health while simultaneously contributing to the perpetuation of the stigmatization through ignorance and misinformation. One of the most important pieces of the wellness puzzle is that there are appointed advocates who are given respect, that the issues are taken seriously, that there is encouragement to communicate and practice self-care, and that the toxicities of the traditional work-horse-mentality are dismantled from the top down.

Through a whole health approach and development of a culture of wellness HR professionals can best serve employees so that employees can best serve the organization. It is a win, win, win. 

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