Health and wellness are big buzzwords, ones that are perhaps preferable to illness. Have you noticed the transition from discussions around "mental illness" to discussions around "mental health," for instance? This renewed emphasis on health may seem like a good thing, but I tend to be skeptical.

For all this talk about wellness, we live in an increasingly unwell society. According to a report conducted by The Lancet in June 2020, "obesity has tripled since 1975, and around 2 billion people are overweight worldwide". This, coupled with tobacco and alcohol use (or abuse), air pollution, insufficient physical activity, and unhealthy eating habits contribute to most non-communicable diseases (NCDs), that account for 72% of deaths worldwide. The Lancet report argues that governments are not doing enough to improve issues surrounding inequality, economic crises, or continuing environmental damage, which cumulatively impact upon health.

Approximately 2.2 billion people do not have access to safely managed drinking water, while 4.2 billion people do not have access to decent sanitation. This is a far cry from our hopes and dreams for the 21st century, and a far cry from the hygiene protocols necessitated by COVID-19.

Air pollution accounts for approximately 7 million deaths a year, while 5 million people die from preventable injuries or violence each year. In South Africa, an alcohol ban was announced alongside hard lockdown in March 2020 (and repeatedly throughout the year) to decrease preventable trauma resulting from its overconsumption and free up hospital beds for COVID-19 patients. Needless to say, this was treating the symptom rather than the cause of the issue, but let's put a pin in that for today. Despite the trendiness of health and wellness culture, the world is still far away from a healthy society. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 - ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all ages - we need to address 3 key issues:

The first of these three issues, in itself, requires drastic changes at a societal level. But perhaps we might think of this at the micro-level of the organization. How might employers find a way to promote health in the work environment?

In 2015, Melanie Pescud et al published a qualitative study on employers' views on the promotion of workplace health and wellbeing which examined the evidence surrounding the value of workplace health promotion in positively influencing employees' wellbeing. The study looked at 10 focus groups from a range of industries across Western Australia, and identified three key factors that influenced employees' health:

According to the study:

"When it comes to influencing employees’ health and wellbeing beyond the scope of occupational health and safety, a multi-faceted approach involving education about what workplace health and wellbeing encapsulates is warranted."

So, the first step to promoting health at work is to understand what constitutes healthy and unhealthy behavior. This sounds simple, but some aspects of normal workday behavior, while seeming benign, actually damage employees' overall health and productivity. One of these is the phenomenon known as "presenteeism."

As technological changes and new forms of workplace organization have led to different ways of working, overall productivity has increased. However, according to a report based on data from the Britain's Healthiest Company (BHC) Competition, flexible modern working practices have increased daily job demands, required increased levels of multitasking, and consequently increased stress and time pressure. Such developments have led to a deteriorization in many employees' health, alongside a new phenomenon that the report calls "presenteism."

Presenteeism is the opposite of absenteeism, meaning that employees are increasingly attending work in "suboptimal health". While this report was written in 2014, the levels of presenteeism have only increased since - if not necessarily in the physical sense. Many white-collar employees today may choose to work remotely when they are ill, rather than simply taking the day off. This way they avoid spreading disease to others, but also, don't miss out on important work. However, this push to always be present, always be productive and working, is, itself, detrimental to employees' health in the long-term. Moreover, being present doesn't mean you are automatically productive. Presenteeism is typically associated with decreased productivity.

A study conducted by the journal Population health management found that:

So, what can you do to tackle presenteeism at work? Here are a few practical suggestions:

This is easier said than done, but ultimately, you want your employees to be as well-rested and healthy as possible, not only for their sake but for the sake of your organization.

Aside from presenteeism, there are various lifestyle choices that can lead to bad health and, in turn, a loss of productivity. While you are an employer, not a parent, you can find ways of incorporating promotion of healthier habits in favor of sedentary behavior, smoking, sleep deprivation, and bad nutritional patterns. For instance, you might consider:

Encouraging better habits when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle can be very beneficial both on the individual level and the level of your organization. However, health goes beyond the physical level of good nutrition, exercise, and sleep. As we know today, health includes your mind as well.

Mental health in the workplace has become a growing concern in recent years, and especially as a consequence of the pandemic. Pandemic aside, many employees struggle with their mental health at work as a result of:

Ensuring that employees have adequate time off and adequate time to complete the tasks that they need to complete is vital when it comes to preventing burnout. Moreover, keeping relationships collegial and respectful is crucial to maintaining a comfortable and productive working environment. Having a clear protocol to follow in the case of bullying or office disputes can be very helpful.

You might consider providing counseling services at your workplace or incorporating mindful practices such as meditation or yoga into your wellness program.

Which raises the question... Should all workplaces offer some kind of wellness program? Is it enough to merely encourage healthy behavior or should you be more hands on in your approach and add on a gym, yoga studio, pharmacy, etc. to your workplace?

Studies have found that workplace wellbeing programs can help to reduce elevated health risks, reduce health care costs, improve productivity, decrease absenteeism, and improve employee recruitment and retention. Moreover, wellbeing programs have been associated with increased employee morale, reduced injuries, and a consequent decrease in workers' compensation and disability-related costs.

However, a frequently sited problem with such programs is an over-emphasis on weight loss which can lead to stress, discomfort, and, notably, not much of a budge on numbers on the scale. While weight-loss diets may produce impressive results initially, an international study found that while most diets lead to weight loss and lower blood pressure initially, they do not maintain these feats a year down the line. An over-emphasis on weight loss can be distressing to many when maintaining weight loss is so difficult. A more holistic approach to health needs to incorporate other vital ingredients, such as:

Moreover, workplace wellness programs have been found to effective at reducing health risks such as high blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol, without necessarily being very good at helping people lose weight.

Ultimately, the choice to have a dedicated wellness program or center at your workplace is up to you to decide. Promoting healthy behavior is never a bad idea, although promoting weight loss by itself may be. A healthy workforce is a happy workforce if you consider just how much health really does encompass, from the mind to rest, fitness, and decreased risks of disease.

So, promoting health in the workplace may sound absurd, given that so many people are currently working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Is it still possible to help out with your employees' health needs during a pandemic? What might this look like?

Well, health doesn't suddenly get reduced to just COVID-19, even if that is the biggest health concern of the day. However, having policies or protocols in place for when someone gets the virus is probably a good idea. However, it's worth noting that other health concerns, such as those listed above, still remain important, even during a pandemic.

Even if you are not seeing colleagues in person every day, it can be good to check in on how they are doing via virtual forms of communication. This is a good idea for continued mental health support. Overall, your workplace is not your doctor's office or your gym. It can be great to offer extra facilities and support, but the most important thing when it comes to taking care of employees' health is ensuring that you are not overworking them, burning them out, or harming their health in any way.

While the term "wellness" is bandied about like some cure-all, often used as a label for the latest celery juice or bone broth that purports to help with everything, the basic principle behind it has some merit. If you genuinely care about the well-being of your employees and the well-being of your company, you may want to think about ways in which you can promote healthy behavior—including taking time off.