It’s Time to Discontinue Your Well-being Program and Get to What Really Matters: Culture and Climate
Dear Employee:
We are excited to offer you a reduced fee for the monthly medical premium you are paying today. However, for this to happen, there are three activities you’ll need to participate in by October: a health assessment, biometric screening and either one phone call with a health coach or participate in a health challenge of your choice (e.g. drink more water, eat more vegetables, walk 10k steps a day, attend mindful Monday or Wellness Wednesday, etc.).” As a reminder, this is voluntary and if you decide not to participate, you’ll pay the non-reduced fee. Refer to your benefits guide for details.
What’s described above is how workplaces have been addressing well-being since the early 2000’s. In summary, here’s what’s happening:
- Businesses pay for health insurance.
- Health insurance in the US is designed for “sick care” not preventive care. Therefore, year over year the cost of health insurance goes up A LOT, making it a significant line item to the budget.
- To help businesses combat rising health care costs, and put the onus on the individual, they’re investing thousands (sometimes millions) of dollars on transactional physical health activities (e.g. biometric screening, walking challenge, etc.) because there is a belief that these activities will change behavior, therefore lower healthcare costs.
What’s unfortunate about this direction is that businesses continue to disregard that:
- The return on these transactional “activities” are minimal which means minimal impact on the cost of health insurance.
- If there is a real drive and/or desire to impact the health of an employee, which will in turn impact the cost of the medical plan, absenteeism, productivity and engagement, customer retention, on the job safety and a multitude of additional business metrics, we must acknowledge that the successful way to do this is to focus on the workplace environment because it is a determinant (cause or factor) of a person’s health.
Work as a Social Determinant of Health
It’s worth the reminder that the workplace has always been a determinant of a person’s health. In other words, it’s not a new concept.
For example, we learned about asbestos as a workplace determinant given it causes cancer. As a result, there are regulations on how and where it’s utilized and/or demolished. The same holds true for safety standards and gear for those working with machinery or at high heights. Safety monitors, stands, gloves, harnesses, hard hats, eyewear and ear plugs came about due to some form of on-the-job injury, albeit acute or chronic. Goodness, even the 8-hour workday was meant to protect the well-being of people, ensuring there was time for rest and recreation, because of the positive impact both have on a person’s health.
However, what’s been ignored for years, and instead “solved for” with the band-aid that is transactional activities for people to participate in exchange for lower medical premium’s, are the multitude of determinants within the workplace that create toxicity, therefore negatively impact organizational and individual health:
- Ill-equipped employees promoted to leaders and managers
- Micro and/or hostile management
- Minimal to no workplace “rule of engagements” which leaves employees guessing and/or blaming
- Team hierarchy which leave employees afraid to speak up
- Praise for poor behavior
- Backstabbing to get ahead
- Minimal to no employee feedback loops
- Minimal to no clear direction on professional pathways
- Low wages
- Poor time off policies
- Unpredictable work schedules
- Little to no diversity
- Non-existent inclusive practices
- Catered food that doesn’t take into account diet restrictions, allergies, religious beliefs, etc.
- Exempt employees penalized their hourly pay for taking time off for preventive care
- Personal boundaries outside of work hours are disregarded
- Poor staffing which means employees are taking on unsustainable workloads
It’s an endless list, to get to the point reiterated in the U.S Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health & Well-being, released in 2022: Toxic workplaces cause stress, and stress increase one’s vulnerability to infection, the risk for diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and autoimmune disorders. It can also contribute to smoking, unhealthy dietary habits, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, substance misuse, and can have negative impacts on the mental health of the children and families of workers.
Where to Go from Here
Let’s start by ditching the standardized, transactional well-being programs in place today and start focusing on what research tells us will impact the health of an organization, therefore it’s people: culture and climate.
Culture and Climate
Although these two words are often used interchangeably, they have very different meanings. From a simplicity standpoint, culture is when a company says one thing, but the climate says something different. In the workplace, they are often in disagreement with one another and negatively impact the health of the organization and the individual. For example:
The Levers to Pull
Not only do we have research to inform us of the business impact culture and climate have on organizational and employee health when it’s a business priority, it’s also available to inform us on the key levers to pull to drive impact, with the most critical being leadership support and interdepartmental collaboration:
What’s important to stress however, is that given all workplaces have some form of turnover and/or growth, the culture and climate work must be ongoing. In other words, it’s not a cruise control effort. Will the work itself take time and effort? Absolutely. I’d argue just as much as it is to run and grow a business. Which is why it’s imperative a dedicated person, even if on a part-time and/or contract basis, is at the table to lead the work.
The So What
After running countless employee feedback sessions over my tenured career, the message that remains consistent it this: employees don’t want, or need, another thing to do. What they do want is to feel valued, trusted, seen and heard. By ditching the nonsense “workplace well-being” in place today, and instead focusing on workplace culture and climate, everyone wins, including the bottom line.
Who Am I?
Dr. Colleen helps small business owners increase profit by decreasing employee turnover. She is a Contract for Hire Culture Leader focused on canceling standardized workplace well-being in order to get at what matters to employees: trust and respect. Her 360 Workplace Advocacy Framework is built on the foundation of Mental Health.
Resources
Healthy People 2030: Social Determinants of Health
U.S Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health & Well-being
The Link Between Workforce Health and Safety and the Health of the Bottom Line
Linking Workplace Health Promotion Best Practices and Organizational Financial Performance
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