The implementation of a workplace wellness program may be either a success or a failure. It depends on the involvement of the staff covered by the program. The program under consideration focuses on weight loss because of the high incidence of obesity at a local health agency. Just like any other intervention in the workplace, the initiative may be of significant interest to staff or remain ignored. Therefore, the objective of the paper at hand is to review the main factors that lead to interest and ignorance.
Significant interest in losing weight and participation in the initiative is inseparable from several factors. First and foremost, it depends on the level of awareness among staff. It stands for the criticality of the problem as well as the frameworks of the program. Moreover, it may be related to the details of a proposed action plan. It means that people are likely to become engaged in the initiative if they are familiar with expected outcomes and objectives. Also, senior management involvement plays a critical role in enhancing staff participation because employees commonly need an outstanding example to follow (Duncan, 2014).
On the other hand, the staff is unlikely to demonstrate a desired interest in the workplace wellness program if the administration and senior management fail to succeed in the factors mentioned above. In this way, the absence of vision, vague objectives, poorly developed plan of action, and knowledge regarding the program are those risk factors that commonly lead to failure (Nash, Fabius, Skoufalos, Clarke, & Horowitz, 2016). All in all, it is the unwillingness to embrace change that entails weak interest in the program. That being said, attributes of success and failure are always the same with the only difference – mastering to articulate them.
References
Duncan, I. (2014). Managing and evaluating healthcare intervention programs (2nd ed.). Winsted, CT: ACTEX Publications.
Nash, D. B., Fabius, R. J., Skoufalos, A., Clarke, J. L., & Horowitz, M. R. (2016). Population health: Creating a culture of wellness (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.