Health promotion at the workplace - whose job is it?

You don't have to go back in time that much to realize that health promotion wasn't even an issue that was discussed at the workplace. Today all up to date organizations believe that employee wellbeing is important and some already acknowledge that it's a priority. At the end of the day how companies support wellbeing and integrate it into their larger organizational strategy and culture shows their commitment.

In global surveys, asking HR leaders how they plan to prioritize their efforts for 2024 employee engagement and satisfaction, work/life flexibility, and employee health and wellbeing are top of the list to retain and recruit talent. Similarly studies find that people want their employers to recognise and bring forward health and wellbeing as a top priority.

How to improve workforce well-being? Well, it should start with a mindset shift. In Deloitte's article "The workforce wellbeing imperative", they categorize organizational mind shifts into two: the first a legacy thinking about well-being and the latter a forward-thinking mindset with an ambition for human sustainability.

Legacy thinking about well-being focuses on viewing work and life separately and believe that individuals have primary agency over their well-being. In the past it was believed that the best solution is to offer perks and benefits and that is where workplace well-being stops.

Forward thinking companies with an ambition for human sustainability acknowledge that work is a determinant of well-being. They understand that an individual's well-being is directly shaped by their work. Thus, it is understood that well-being is a shared responsibility. Companies take accountability for designing work that enables individuals to use their agency to maintain well-being. Deloitte's findings underline that creating an environment conducive to well-being is a responsibility of leader and even a core component of their skill set. Offering perks and benefits isn't enough, rather well-being is a measurable outcome of the way organizations are designed and the norms that determine how work is done.

It’s all about life-balance.

A healthy and physically active workforce results in a mutually aligned benefit for both employer and employee.

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