Worksite Wellness

The Cons of Traditional Worksite Wellness Interventions and a Proposed Model

Elizabeth Ablah, PhD, MPH

 

Keywords worksite wellness model, traditional, workplace, modifiable behaviors

With the intention of improving workers’ health and productivity and/or a worksite’s profit, worksites across the United States are offering traditional worksite wellness interventions, such as collecting biometric data or facilitating weight-loss competitions.¹ Although a growing body of research on worksite wellness can inform these interventions, a gap exists among practitioners and to some extent in the worksite wellness literature. Despite advances in research, such as the relevant influence of the built environment on one’s behavior²and the need to focus on preventing the root causes of chronic disease,^3-7 there appears to be little recognition of these advances among practitioners and researchers in the offered interventions. As such, it is important to differentiate between a traditional approach to worksite wellness and a more comprehensive approach to worksite wellness. This commentary provides a working definition of a traditional worksite wellness model and proposes a more comprehensive model.