LAUSR

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. 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 behavior and the need to focus on preventing the root causes of chronic disease, 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.