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1DESIGNING A CULTURE OF WELLNESS IN WORKSITE
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1Running Head: DESIGNING A CULTURE OF WELLNESS IN WORKSITE
DESIGNING A CULTURE OF WELLNESS IN WORKSITE
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10/16/2021
LITERATURE REVIEW
Employees Wellness Program
Worksite wellness initiatives are essential interventions designed to promote and protect workers’ health. The programs assist in reducing the direct and indirect health care expenditures, prevent injury or illness, presenteeism and absenteeism and raise the work-life morale and quality (Jauregui, 2018). The programs involve various strategic tips and concepts towards planning the workplace-based wellness initiatives instead of distinct health promotion activities. while also accenting the institutional changes and development theories critical towards introducing and executing efficient and practical worksite wellness initiatives. Employee wellness initiatives have garnered attention due to the several wellness and prevention provisions captured within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Williams, 2015). The act has indicated the greater potential for the efficiency and reach of worksite wellness initiatives.
Bhojwani (2016) carried out a study to assess the effectiveness of wellness and prevention initiatives. The study intended to evaluate a return on investment and institute recommendations aiding interventions for lifestyle changes and health advancements. The study adopted various methods in the assessment of health and wellness initiatives. The research adopted analysis and aggregation of health risk assessment (HRA), medical insurance claims, disability, absence, workers compensation, biometric and productivity data. (Bhojwani, 2016). It also applied quasi-experimental research designs for comparing program participants with the nonparticipants over time and various all-over productivity, health, and financial result measures. The study also adopted applied multivariate statistics and relevant econometric techniques to control the confounding variables and lower the self-selection bias. The final part of the study involved presenting the effects of workplace health and productivity management initiatives on risk reduction, behavior change, and cost savings.
Such research should be considered significant given it helps improve the effectiveness of the worksite wellness initiatives. By shaping wellness initiatives from outcomes and recommendations from research works like this, they help improve the effective use of human capital by raising the proportion of punctual and present employees to operate in optimal health. The study also presents several policy recommendations that help ensure wellness initiatives are highly efficient by enabling them to invest in greater yield initiatives that also maximize benefits. Workplace wellness programs are developed under the belief that healthier people tend to work harder, are much happy, assist their workmates and thus be more efficient. Unhealthy employees tend to be more sluggish, unhappy, and overtired. By investing in good employee health, the organization’s success will also be improved greatly (Graban & Toussaint, 2018).
Over the past few years, research has identified how organizations and employers are increasingly adopting worksite wellness initiatives (Cahalin et al., 2015). Many institutions now understand the benefits that developing worksite wellness brings to their operations. There is a need to equally involve all the employees in the worksite wellness programs, irrespective of their abilities. However, little information is known on the involvement of employees with disabilities. Available information state that they have often been sidelined in most activities or initiatives of the worksite wellness programs. In order to understand this emerging concern, Lawanda et al. (2016) carried out an exploratory research work of inclusive worksite wellness that largely focused on the employees with disabilities. The study aimed at determining the factors that promote or hinder involvement in worksite wellness initiatives by employees with disabilities. The study involved several participants who all went through the Access to Worksite Wellness Services to Employees with Disabilities (AWWSED).
The study determined that the option of taking part in worksite wellness initiatives is often promoted by different social, individual, and institutional factors (Lawanda et al., 2016). Common examples include the insights into the effect of an individual’s disability on health, the health behaviors of fellow employees, and an institutional obligation to the general workers’ well-being. Most of the research contributors also outlined the relevance of opportune times, affordability, and awareness in the wellness initiatives that impact participation decisions. The results show that institutional, social, and individual factors all equally impact choosing to participate in worksite wellness initiatives. It is important to ensure that social support from coworkers and that there are easily acquired and understandable program details from the organization leaders or employers. This will be greatly helpful in understanding and engaging employees with disabilities in wellness initiatives. Moreover, at different workplaces, employees often have different feelings that tend to impact their effectiveness and efficiency. For instance, poor employee health often results in reduced productivity and greater economic implications. The nonproductive or unwell human factor could drain out organizational success, the bottom line, and the competitive advantage. In other scenarios, an employee’s employability and the related well-being of the family could also be at risk.
Public Sectors
The public sector has often been criticized for its ineffectiveness and inefficiency (Arnaboldi et al., 2015). Several taxpayers are losing confidence and interest in investing in public service opportunities (Van de Walle, 2016). The situation can be resolved by focusing on productivity improvement that can help build back confidence. To develop a lasting change, organizations should capitalize on employee well-being. Humans are becoming anxious, stressed, and restless, resulting in declining productivity and health (Bakker et al., 2019). By investing in wellness programs, organizations intend to improve the employee’s well-being, improve productivity, and contain medical costs (Shanafelt et al., 2017). The implementation and success of the workplace wellness programs rely on managerial support to employees to ensure that they feel encouraged and supported to achieve optimum participation in such initiatives (McCleary et al., 2017). Given this information, most organizations would benefit by implementing workplace wellness programs.
Success of workplace wellness program
The overall success of the workplace wellness programs depends on the available managerial support. For this reason, before investing in customized workplace wellness initiatives, it is important to collect empirical evidence from various organizations, countries, cultures through various research methodologies. For example, Qaisar and colleagues (2018) focused on finding empirical evidence from the public sector management to help understand; (1) the existing state or workplace wellness measures, employees productivity, employees wellness, and organizational productivity, (2) the magnitude and nature of the association between the variables, and (3) the potential of workplace wellness actions, in case the organizations opt for this investment as a means of achieving wellness and productivity aims at their workplaces. The research is significant because it provides managerial support for understanding the long-run impacts of wellness initiatives on institutional outcomes. It also illustrates the efforts to understand the empirical association between productivity and wellness and the means of leveraging this association through workplace wellness actions. The results from this study can be used by wellness professionals, businesses, government institutions, students, academicians, and civil societies.
Adult Nutrition as global health concern
Adult nutrition is increasingly becoming a global public health concern (DeNicola et al., 2015). Considering many adults spend a large chunk of their time at workplaces, worksite wellness initiatives can help improve their overall body composition. The wellness programs can focus on sensitive topics such as physical activity and nutrition education. Adult obesity rates have continued to rise over the past few years. The rising rates can be attributed to adults eating less than the appropriate number of vegetables, fresh fruits, and whole grains while raising the intake of high saturated sodium and fatty foods and also not getting involved in enough physical activity. Employees are worthy candidates for experiencing adult obesity considering that they spend about eight hours daily at their respective workplaces. For this reason, implementing a worksite wellness program can be a better solution to dealing with this health menace.
Zeratsky et al. (2018) adopted a single cohort study methodology of individuals at a worksite wellness station that took part in the wellness program. The study focused on meal planning measures to lower the barriers and improve the diet quality for members attending the worksite wellness centers. Several participants illustrated greater improvement in lowering the perceived barriers of healthy eating, improving nutritional knowledge, raising the participants’ confidence, and raising the regularity of having healthy meals and the intake of vegetables and fruits (Zeratsky et al., 2018). Further, all these developments were upheld throughout a six-month follow-up. From the study outcomes, it can be suggested that taking part in the six-week nutrition education initiative at a worksite wellness station helps in lowering the barriers and challenges towards healthy eating. It also helps in improving an individual’s dietary intake.
The epidemic of lifestyle diseases has emerged as a greater health concern in several countries over the last few decades (Tanzil & Jamali, 2016). Unhealthy lifestyles like poor nutrition, inactivity, regular consumption of alcohol, and tobacco use are raising the occurrence of chronic diseases such as chronic pulmonary conditions, heart disease, and diabetes. Chronic diseases are increasingly becoming a burden to several individuals and households, considering that they result in reduced life quality, greater healthcare costs, reduced productivity at workplaces, disability, and premature deaths (Mattke et al., 2013). In organizations and workplaces, it raises the economic burden due to illness associated with productivity loss because of absenteeism (being absent from work) and presenteeism (low performance at workplaces). Employers are implementing disease prevention and health promotion initiatives, commonly known as workplace wellness programs, due to the effect of chronic conditions on the overall employee well-being and health, competitiveness, and healthcare coverage costs.
Therefore, the organizations implement worksite wellness programs to focus on their employee’s health ad are critical in combating the challenges of employees asking for several sick days and organization productivity caused by employees suffering from chronic diseases like obesity. Several organizations are now implementing worksite wellness programs aimed at improving their employee’s health and well-being (Jacobs et al., 2018). Some of the actions involved in the programs include fitness, nutrition education, weight management measures. To successfully reduce adult obesity at workplaces that hinder productivity, physical exercise and nutrition education must be encompassed in the initiatives. The research has indicated that constant physical activity and the consumption of a nutritious diet greatly help in weight reduction (Wiklund, 2016). Thus, essential components that can be included in the wellness programs include exercising, health or risk evaluations, and educational sessions aimed at overall wellness and nutrition.
A study conducted by Sandercock & Andrade (2018) found participants attained the program aims such as altering their body composition and structure, e.g., lowering body fat and mass index. Besides the inclusion of nutrition education and physical activity, other components involved in the program design that enabled the desired change in body structure and composition included the involvement of a motivational theory, intensity of interaction, and the length of the initiative. For example, wellness programs that lasted a year or longer led to decreased body weight, which is likely due to required time needed for behavioral change. One is less likely to proceed with a change in behavior if there are not enough opportunities over a longer period to reconstruct options regarding nutritious eating and physical activity throughout daily living. Moreover, if an individual is either motivated externally or internally, it could be critical to integrate the program objectives into daily training to change the body composition possibly. The evidence from this study illustrates that upcoming worksite wellness initiatives that are developed through a motivational theory together with contents that are designed pertinent to the participant’s requirements and that have consistent connections with participants could lead to an alteration in body structure (Sandercock & Andrade, 2018).
Several working adults are often faced with the challenge of eating healthfully. In fact, many organizations are faced with low productivity levels as a result of the poor eating habits of their employees, as most of them often call in sick or become too lazy to carry out some duties (Osabiya, 2015). In a bid to address the problem of unhealthy eating, physicians and dietitians have been involved in developing worksite wellness centers at respective organizations or workplaces. They have put a healthy eating program in place that helps recognize and lower the hindrances to healthy eating and promotes the employee’s nutrition information, eating habits, culture, and confidence.
The study pointed out that workplace wellness programs are used either used for primary intervention (avoid the onset of diseases) or for secondary prevention (diagnose and treat disease at its initial stages before the occurrence of complications). Primary intervention looks into the health-related risk factors and behaviors, whereas secondary preventions aim at improving disease control. Workplace wellness provides several benefits, from multi-component initiatives to single interventions. The advantages can be provided directly by the employers, using group health plans, a vendor, or a mixture of both. Workplace wellness initiatives take advantage of the employers’ ability to access the employees at a stage where various interventions can alter their long-term health trajectory. The trend is also supported by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, with numerous provisions relating to health promotion (Islam et al., 2015).
The research was primarily focused on determining the features and occurrence of existing workplace wellness initiatives, the indication for the program effect, the importance of incentives in the wellness initiatives, and the major promoters of effective wellness programs (Soldano, 2016). The research identified that the wellness initiatives always had wellness screening measures used to detect health risks and involvements to lower risks and ensure healthier lifestyles. The workers consider their wellness initiatives as a mixture of screening measures and interventions. Screening activities adopt health risk assessments (HRAs), risk factors such as body weights, and self-administered surveys on health-associated actions such as workout patterns. They could also include clinical screenings to aid the collection of biometric data such as blood pressure, weight, blood glucose, and height. Preventive interventions can be targeted at individuals with risk concerns for chronic diseases (i.e., lifestyle control) as well as secondary management by promoting disease control in individuals with chronic patent conditions (i.e., disease management).
Methodology
The purpose of this Quasi-Experimental research study is to take a place at work site and look at the impact of implementing wellness program at workplace. A descriptive study design will distribute a questionnaire survey to health workers in a working environment.
Sample
The survey will be carried out in working environments, and 30 workers will be investigated.
Sampling Method
A stratified random sampling technique will guarantee an unbiased view of various employers when generating national survey estimates of health assessment use. The company survey sample selection approach will develop a random sample of volunteer employees at the organization that provides valid, believable, and acceptable bounded forecasts for policy-relevant questionnaires, such as the development of numerous types of programs and the kinds of rewards used to inspire program use. Specific multinational organization will be chosen to select employees and a survey will be conducted to collect information.
Data Collection Instruments
A research questionnaire will be used for data collection. Most of the questionnaires include both options open-ended and close-ended questions. For example, the employees might provide their constructive advice, recommendations and remarks in the open-ended questions concerning well-being, wellness, and performance. For example, if the employees are asked, “What kind of fitness activities do you enjoy doing?” then the employees can provide their answer with explanation.
The purpose of including open-ended questionnaires is to convey whatever respondents feel will be missing and meet the commissioner’s request. The identities of the workforce who took part in the survey are kept private. The questionnaire survey will be categorized into four main sections: (1) work-related well-being, (2) occupational health advancement, (3) encourgement and value systems (4) perceived employee. The survey is present below in appendix 1. The questions in the questionnaire are taken from reliable sources.
Data Analysis Plan
The quantitative research survey will be used to obtain data in this study. The data gathered for this study will be acquired through the distribution of questionnaires to employees from diverse departments within the contracting company. Furthermore, the statistical technique allows a researcher better to understand the organizational goals for employee well-being activities. This study will be quantitative because survey will be collected from the employees and the data will be analyzed.
Results and Data Analysis (EDIT based on APA results table)
The survey was conducted from 30 employees from a multinational organization.
Are worksite wellness programs necessary at workplaces?
23 Yes
7 No
Do you have a personal training or exercise routine?
22 Yes
8 No
Do you have health insurance cover?
30 Yes
What kind of fitness activities do you enjoy doing?
Mostly employees preferred meditation activities.
A) Have you had any medical examinations in the last 4 months? If yes, what are they? Answer part B if the answer is YES.
B) Does your medical examination limit you from doing fitness activities?
A) No
Do workloads affect your personal life?
8 Yes
20 Sometimes
2 No
Would you participate in a wellness program organized by your company?
23 Yes
7 NO
How long would you prefer each session to last?
30 (15-30 min)
Do you think it is helpful to have such programs during work time?
23 Yes
7 No
What would you add to assist us in improving workers’ wellness in the company?
Mostly the employees preferred the gratitude practice and fitness challenges.
Discussion
After analyzing the data and results of the survey, mostly the employees preferred the addition of wellness programs in the organization. The employees prefer to introduce a wellness program to increase the productivity of employees. The employees considered the wellness programs for employees as important. Personal training and exercise routine are taken by the employees for their wellness and fitness. All the employees have health insurance which shows that they work in an organization where health is preferred but the employee wellness is also essential which includes more activities other than health insurance. Mostly employees preferred meditation activities. The employees did not experience any medical examination for the last 4 months. Mostly the personal life of employees is affected by workload and they want to participate in a wellness program organized by the company. Mostly the employees preferred the gratitude practice and fitness challenges. The employees think that these wellness programs are effective for employee health and performance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the study also identified major facilitators of successful wellness programs, including efficient communication strategies, engagement of leadership at all levels, the opportunity for employees to engage, continuous evaluation, and use of existing relationships and resources. I’m seeing very little research on the actual implementation of wellness programs and what those results are or what they mean and how they inform future studies. Human resource departments are well aware that human capital is always at the center of every fruitful business, especially during difficult economic times. Because humans provide creativity and innovation, they are often the key factor in driving each component of an institution’s procedures, from product development and technology to service delivery and distribution channels. With the vital role that human capital has in the success of an organization and its capacity to contest with other businesses equitably, employers should always identify new methods of tapping into this potential. One method of building a competitive lead for an institution is to promote the employees’ overall well-being and health status. It is evident that there is a close association between work behavior, health, and the worth of human capital. In simple terms, the health status of employees directly impacts their work behavior, on-the-job performance, and work attendance. For this reason, having healthier employees will lead to a highly productive workforce (Ammendolia et al., 2016).
Limitations and Future research
The research limitation is that the survey is conducted from a smaller number of employees that are only 30. In the future, more organizations with larger number of employees can be used to conduct research.
References
Bhojwani, R. EMPLOYEES WELLNESS PROGRAM. http://ijaur.com/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/96_IJAUR-RISHIKA-AUG-2016.PDF
Cook, L. H., Foley, J. T., & Semeah, L. M. (2016). An exploratory study of inclusive worksite wellness: Considering employees with disabilities. Disability and Health Journal, 9(1), 100-107. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1936657415001521
Qaisar, M. N., Mariam, S., & Ahmad, F. (2018). Employee wellness as a predictor of productivity from public sector management perspectives: Conditional process analysis. NUML International Journal of Business & Management, 13(2), 104-116. https://www.proquest.com/openview/e3404c49faac98a0d609086273e2456d/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2050138
Sandercock, V., & Andrade, J. (2018). Evaluation of worksite wellness nutrition and physical activity programs and their subsequent impact on participants’ body composition. Journal of obesity, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1035871
Zeratsky, K. A., McMahon, M. M., Jenkins, S. M., & Clark, M. M. (2018). Meal planning program to reduce barriers and improve diet quality in worksite wellness center members. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 60(11), 998-1004. https://journals.lww.com/joem/Abstract/2018/11000/Meal_Planning_Program_to_Reduce_Barriers_and.6.aspx
Mattke, S., Liu, H., Caloyeras, J., Huang, C. Y., Van Busum, K. R., Khodyakov, D., & Shier, V. (2013). Workplace wellness programs study. Rand health quarterly, 3(2). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4945172/
Chenoweth, D. (2015). Wellness strategies to improve health, performance, and the bottom line. Retrieved on July 20, 6-11. https://www.shrm.org/foundation/ourwork/initiatives/the-aging-workforce/Documents/PromotingEmployeeWell-Being.pdf
Jauregui, M. (2018). Work, psychosocial stressors, and the bottom line. In Unhealthy Work (pp. 153-167). Routledge.
Williams, J. C. (2015). A systems thinking approach to analysis of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 21(1), 6-11.
Cahalin, L. P., Kaminsky, L., Lavie, C. J., Briggs, P., Cahalin, B. L., Myers, J., … & Arena, R. (2015). Development and implementation of worksite health and wellness programs: a focus on non-communicable disease. Progress in cardiovascular diseases, 58(1), 94-101.
Graban, M., & Toussaint, J. (2018). Lean hospitals: improving quality, patient safety, and employee engagement. Productivity Press.
Arnaboldi, M., Lapsley, I., & Steccolini, I. (2015). Performance management in the public sector: The ultimate challenge. Financial Accountability & Management, 31(1), 1-22.
Bakker, A. B., Hetland, J., Olsen, O. K., & Espevik, R. (2019). Daily strengths use and employee well‐being: The moderating role of personality. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 92(1), 144-168.
Van de Walle, S. (2016). When public services fail: a research agenda on public service failure. Journal of Service Management.
Shanafelt, T., Goh, J., & Sinsky, C. (2017). The business case for investing in physician well-being. JAMA internal medicine, 177(12), 1826-1832.
McCleary, K., Goetzel, R. Z., Roemer, E. C., Berko, J., Kent, K., & De La Torre, H. (2017). Employer and employee opinions about workplace health promotion (wellness) programs: results of the 2015 Harris Poll Nielsen Survey. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 59(3), 256-263.
DeNicola, E., Aburizaiza, O. S., Siddique, A., Khwaja, H., & Carpenter, D. O. (2015). Obesity and public health in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Reviews on environmental health, 30(3), 191-205.
Jacobs, B., McGovern, J., Heinmiller, J., & Drenkard, K. (2018). Engaging employees in well-being: moving from the triple aim to the quadruple aim. Nursing administration quarterly, 42(3), 231-245.
Wiklund, P. (2016). The role of physical activity and exercise in obesity and weight management: Time for critical appraisal. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 5(2), 151-154.
Osabiya, B. J. (2015). The effect of employees motivation on organizational performance. Journal of public administration and policy research, 7(4), 62-75.
Tanzil, S., & Jamali, T. (2016). Obesity, an emerging epidemic in Pakistan-a review of evidence. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad, 28(3), 597.
Islam, N., Nadkarni, S. K., Zahn, D., Skillman, M., Kwon, S. C., & Trinh-Shevrin, C. (2015). Integrating community health workers within Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act implementation. Journal of public health management and practice: JPHMP, 21(1), 42.
Soldano, S. K. (2016, August). Workplace wellness programs to promote cancer prevention. In Seminars in oncology nursing (Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 281-290). WB Saunders.
Ammendolia, C., Côté, P., Cancelliere, C., Cassidy, J. D., Hartvigsen, J., Boyle, E., … & Amick, B. (2016). Healthy and productive workers: using intervention mapping to design a workplace health promotion and wellness program to improve presenteeism. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 1-18.
Appendix 1
Name ______________ Organization _____________ ID number ______________
Please answer the following questions briefly:
Are worksite wellness programs necessary at workplaces?
Yes
No
Do you have a personal training or exercise routine?
Yes
No
Do you have health insurance cover?
Yes
No
What kind of fitness activities do you enjoy doing?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
A) Have you had any medical examinations in the last 4 months? If yes, what are they? Answer part B if the answer is YES.
__________________________________________________________________
B) Does your medical examination limit you from doing fitness activities?
__________________________________________________________________
Do workloads affect your personal life?
Yes
No
Sometimes
Would you participate in a wellness program organized by your company?
Yes
No
How long would you prefer each session to last?
15-30 minutes
30-45 minutes
45-60 minutes
Do you think it is helpful to have such programs during work time?
Yes
No
What would you add to assist us in improving workers’ wellness in the company?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
How comfortable were you answering the questions?
“Circle the number as 1 being not comfortable and 10 being very comfortable”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10