Canadian HR Reporter Weekly

3 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 December 5, 2018 in the workplace, and also for their motivation and how they think about themselves." Employees with a higher BMI might actually self- stigmatize, leading to physical and mental health issues, found the study. "Morality is invoked when controllability is invoked," said Täuber. "By saying employees are responsible for their health, organizations also imply that employees (who are) overweight, or who smoke, are immoral. is, of course, leads to very unpleasant relationships between employees." Making it better To reduce weight-based stigmatization and discrimina- tion, WHPPs should be designed and communicated in ways that emphasize the responsibility of the organiza- tion rather than just the individual employee, said the researchers. is can be done, for instance, by offering healthy food at work, providing standing desks or encour- aging people to use the stairs. "If you're taking away individual responsibility, controllability, totally, then people of course have no incentive whatsoever to actually change their behaviour; so we're not saying you can take it away entirely, we're trying to say be careful with the way you phrase your workplace health promotion programs, and try to emphasize that you, as the employer, feel responsible for employees' health," she said. "Of course, it is important that employees have the feeling they have control about their health, because otherwise changing behaviour is really useless — so this is really about a balance." Employers should definitely take a more active role in providing spaces that are conducive to the messaging, said Tammy Brazier, senior director of corporate and business development at GoodLife in Toronto, citing as examples the provision of regular breaks, stretch-and- breathe programs or nutrition information. "It's not enough to provide lip service, so to speak… You can talk about it but if you're not actually taking actions to implement and support the messaging, then absolutely that can be conflicting for an employee." e most successful wellness programs are joint efforts, said Brazier. "All employee wellness programs should be employee-driven. And what I mean by that is… the employer has an obligation to be invested in how that employee is feeling, what the work environment is allowing them to do, be it from a productivity standpoint, from just an overall wellness position," she said. "e employee is absolutely responsible in driving that business, if you will, and organizations are really just providing tools and programs in response to what employees are asking for." Team events also help create more camaraderie and inclusion, said Brazier. "You don't have to stand out on your own and take this step towards something that, in many cases, you're unfamiliar with, you've got unknowns. Most people are intimidated, who are not proactively taking care of their health and wellness… by what they don't know, so sometimes that whole team inclusion and challenge type of environment is what allows them to take a step in without being in the spotlight." Ultimately, the focus on personal responsibility can have a very negative impact on people, said Flint, co- author of the study. "But also, from a structural perspective, it also reduces the incentive or the need for organizations or even government… who might be controlling a system to act themselves because it's reducing their responsibility or their accountability for the health within that system." Reinforcing the message that weight loss, for example, is simple and can be changed rapidly is not only incorrect, but can be demoralizing, he said. "(It) can reduce people's motivation to engage in health-related behaviours because, ultimately, we know that that's not going to happen," said Flint. ere needs to be a greater focus on behaviours rather than outcomes, he said. "A lot of the interventions currently are every much (about) reducing a health concern, whether that's cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, rather than actually the behaviours… because they're the things that people can have more control over... And, therefore, when you don't meet a target or an outcome that is supposedly your goal, it's less likely to demotivate." Wellness is not a destination, said Brazier. "It's not a number on a scale with respect to weight, it's not a place that you're actually getting to, it really is about the journey," she said. "Everybody is at a different point, and that's completely OK. e intention of wellness programs should not be to get an employee to a certain point but to have them feeling great about what they're doing on that journey — and that's different for everyone." The consequences of emphasizing employees' responsibility too much are quite negative." Credit: Sharomka (Shutterstock) Team events help create greater camaraderie and inclusion, especially for employees who are not proactively taking care of their health and wellness and may feel intimidated, says Tammy Brazier of GoodLife Fitness.

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