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EXPLORING WELLNESS AND EMPLOYEE WELLNESS
My observation leading to this research (see 1.10) is borne from the concern in which many employees find themselves in being unwell. The desperate need for wellness is echoed in the co-researcher stories and the interdisciplinary team’s feedback. The respondent, Patrick (interview, 1 November 2016), a business leader, reflects on the concern for unwell employees: … we recognise that people are increasingly taking strain. Financially, I think that they’re concerned from a world perspective what’s going on, they’re concerned from our country perspective what’s going, people are feeling marginalised. Financially, pressures are huge on people. So, there’s massive struggles. And I know people are coming to work with a burden that is so huge it definitely is having an impact on their work. Productivity is nowhere near where it could be.
Marion’s story (interview, 14 January 2016) is a personal account of being unwell in the workplace and the struggle for wellness (see 3.2). Carl, a psychiatrist (written response, 11 December 2016), reports that Marion’s story of distress is a « common scenario » for many employees. Kate (interview, 25 November 2016), a clinical psychologist, shares the same concern and adds that with appropriate intervention, Marion’s medical boarding may have been prevented. Wendy, a medical practitioner, (interview, 14 November 2016) takes this concern a step further and indicates that unwell employees are at times seen as workplace « problems », the remedy of which could be to remove the « problem » employee from the workplace. Sylvia (interview, 14 November 2016), a human resource manager, speaks into this context of this research and highlights the desperate place that employees find themselves in and notes an increase in the number of employees being prescribed anti-depressants. Sylvia further refers to the harsh corporate environment of « do more with less people » that leads to the further breakdown of employees. Substantial literature exists to demonstrate the value, for employee and employer, of wellness in the workplace. The term « wellness » was coined by Halbert Dunn in the 1950s referring to « an integrated method of functioning which is oriented toward maximizing the potential of which the individual is capable » (Dunn 1959:447). Although the term wellness is only decades old, its roots within the Christian and Judaic context are ancient and may be linked to the biblical shalom ( שָׁלוֹם ) which comprehensibly describes the concept of wellness as « well-being » (Kittel, Friedrich & Bromiley 1985:207). Smith-Christopher (2009:212) writes that the: … root shlm ( שלם ) has many meanings ranging from the basic conceptual notion of well-being, safety, and contentment to the more traditional understanding of shlm as a status absent of warfare and violence. In this regard, Theron (2008:24) indicates that the modern concept of wellness may be « applied to life in general, to economic situations, to health, to societal issues and to almost every area of life ». Theron (2008) offers an overview of humanity’s response in the pursuit of wellness. From a Western perspective he refers to (1) the « medical model » in which health is measured by « the absence of disease and the presence of high levels of function » (Theron 2008:27); (2) the « holistic model » with its reference to « health as the presence of well-being in all the departments of human life » (Theron 2008:29); and (3) the « wellness model » in which health is not a state but « a process or force » (Theron 2008:29). This wellness model is captured in the « Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion »: Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. To reach a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. Health is, therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. Therefore, health promotion is not just the responsibility of the health sector, but goes beyond healthy life-styles to well-being. (World Health Organization 1986) From an alternative therapies perspective, Theron (2008:29–30) refers to the methods often frowned upon by the proponents of the Western medical model which may be described as: … a variety of therapeutic or preventive health care practices, such as homeopathy, naturopathy, and herbal medicine that are not typically taught or practiced in traditional medical communities and offer treatments that differ from standard medical practice.
Employee wellness programmes
In the inaugural issue of Journal of Workplace Behavioural Health (2005), and later published in the book « The integration of employee assistance, work/life, and wellness services » (eds. Attridge, Herlihy & Maiden 2013), several important topics on employee wellness and related programmes are discussed tracing the roots of EAPs to the industrial social services that first emerged in the late 1800s. This initiative began with the introduction of social service works and: … »welfare secretaries » who were employed to oversee the development and management of medical care, washing and bathing facilities, lunchrooms, loans, insurance, savings plans, job training, citizenship training for immigrants, housing, recreation, and family care (Maiden 2005:xxxv). In the 1900s many of these initiatives gave way to « to union-sponsored assistance and counselling programs » (Maiden 2005:xxxvi). In the 1940s, the « occupational alcoholism programs » emerged to address alcohol related concerns within the workplace (Maiden 2005:xxxvi). Only in the 1970s did a « broader range of services » develop into the employee assistance programmes (Maiden 2005:xxxvi). Maiden (2005:xxxvi) offers an overview of the further development of these EAPs: In the late 1980s and early 1990s the continuum of work-based human services continued its evolution from an intervention model focusing on the « troubled employee » to incorporation of health and wellness programs aimed at prevention and health promotion. This era also saw a major shift in outsourcing what traditionally had been internal, employer staffed EAPs, to external contracted specialty vendors. Richard, Emener and Hutchison (2009) explore in depth the development of the EAP and what they refer to as the Employee Enhancement Programmes of « Holistic Health » out of the alcohol-related programmes between 1900 and 1955. They (Richard et al. 2009:34) further explore the « need and rationale » for EAPs and the structure, organisation and programme planning of EAPs. Similar programmes were instituted in South Africa by The Chamber of Mines in the mining industry in 1983 (Sieberhagen et al. 2011:2). The interdisciplinary team respondent Lennart (interview, 7 March 2017), a consultant psychiatrist, was a member of the team who introduced EAP to South Africa and shares one of the main reasons for adopting the wellness model: You know I brought EAP to South Africa. … When I worked with the chamber of mines, that was one of the things that we looked at, we looked at workplace function and we sold the whole concept to management by saying that, « It is cheaper to rehabilitate a person than to employ a new person and retrain them ». And with that sales gimmick we got them to buy into EAP. So, we started with EAP on the mines, and then, of course, EAP spread into a whole lot of things.
While wellness programmes were soon adopted by other industries it was with resistance to the point that in a 2003 report less than half of the top 100 South African organisations had established EWPs (Sieberhagen et al. 2011:2). However, as a result of the extensive study and related benefits, throughout the world, and more recently in South Africa (Harper 1999:1), wellness programmes are given a prominent place in organisations (Kumar 2014; Patel et al. 2013:172).
Chapter 1: Introduction to this research
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Positioning of the research: an overview
1.3 Ontology and Epistemology
1.4 Theology and the discipline of practical theology
1.5 Modernism, postmodernism and postfoundationalism
1.6 Social constructionism and the narrative metaphor
1.7 Social constructionism, narrative, religion, and theology
1.8 The development of van Huyssteen’s postfoundationalist notion of rationality
1.9 A postfoundational notion of practical theology
1.10 Context of the research
1.11 Research Gap, problem, and questions
1.12 Title of the study
Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework of the research study
2.1 Research methodology
2.2 Discussion on the Research methodology and methods
2.3 Outline of the methodology and the three stages of this research
Chapter 3: Acknowledgement of the co-researcher stories
3.1 Preliminary Interview
3.2 Interview: Employee
3.3 Emerging themes from the interviews
3.4 Summary list of emerging themes
3.5 Acknowledgement of emerging themes
Chapter 4: Discussion of the interdisciplinary process
4.1 Feedback on themes
4.2 Feedback on co-researcher stories
4.3 Reflection on the transversal process
Chapter 5: Discussion of wellness, spirituality, and chaplaincy
5.1 Exploring wellness and employee wellness
5.2 Exploring Spirituality and workplace spirituality
5.3 Exploring corporate chaplaincy
5.4 Obstacles in developing workplace spirituality and the placement of a corporate chaplain
5.5 Looking forward
Chapter 6: A response for the development of workplace spirituality for workplace wellness
6.1 Research assumptions
6.2 Defining workplace spirituality
6.3 Developing workplace spirituality
6.4 Outcomes achieved
6.5 Further opportunities for study
6.6 A final response: a fictional story
Epilogue: A short fictional story
