Redesigning Wellness Podcast

The Illinois Workplace Wellness Study was published about a year ago. A member of our Redesigning Wellness Facebook Community. I read the study, commented, then moved on with my life. Then the study started grabbing headlines like “wellness doesn’t work” and gaining attention.

Even a year later, it’s vital to understand the year one results of this study. This study is a randomized controlled trial, considered to be the gold standard of research. And we don’t have a lot of rigorous evidence available on the effectiveness of workplace wellness, so this study matters.

This interview is with David Molitor and Julian Reif, both Assistant Professors at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois, are two out of the three researchers of the study who are my guests today (full bios below).

In this interview, David and Julian tell us what got them interested in studying workplace wellness they break down the findings very clearly and I ask them about that wellness vendor webinar where a wellness industry expert drew different conclusions than I understood them to be.

We talk about the future of the study because it’s still going on, when new results will be available and they’ll tell us what they recommend we as wellness pros take should away from the results.

You’re Invited to our Encore Webinar: If you’re still on the fence about joining our training, Rebecca and I are hosting an Encore Webinar, “The Critical Steps to Increase Your Impact and Influence as a Wellness Professional” on January 17th at 2 pm EST. Register HERE.

Many health promotion efforts are stuck in an old paradigm, operating on outdated thinking or flawed assumptions.

This webinar will separate myth from reality – and jump start your path to confidently bringing your organization into the next generation of worksite wellness. You’ll leave with valuable insights and practical takeaways on how to increase your influence in your organization

You can register for the webinar HERE.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

We’re all looking to work for or with culture first companies. You know the type of company where leadership intentionally works toward building a strong (and positive) culture. Although this seems rare, ADURO is one of those companies. 

Today’s guest, Dr. Toni Best, Chief Human Performance Officer and co-founder at ADURO, aims to bring out the best in their people. But getting to where they are today didn’t come without some challenges! 

In this interview, Toni explains what ADURO does, how they approach wellness a bit differently than other wellness vendors and how their company got started. We then switch to discussing their employee growth, the internal pain points of silos forming and what they did about it. Lastly, Toni leaves us with their lessons learned and a tangible tip. 

I hope you enjoy this refreshing peak into ADURO’s journey!

You’re Invited to our Encore Webinar: “The Critical Steps to Increase Your Impact and Influence as a Wellness Professional” on January 17th at 2 pm EST. Register HERE.

Many health promotion efforts are stuck in an old paradigm, operating on outdated thinking or flawed assumptions. 

This webinar will separate myth from reality – and jump start your path to confidently bringing your organization into the next generation of worksite wellness. You’ll leave with valuable insights and practical takeaways on how to increase your influence in your organization

You can register for the webinar HERE.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

WELCOA is often the first stop when organizations are looking for wellness resources. Their name carries a lot of weight in our industry and I’m thrilled that they are doing some exciting things to evolve the wellness industry.

A critical part of that team is Sara Rauch, Director of Strategy and Planning at WELCOA. I wanted to rerun this episode with Sara for two reasons. One is that she alludes to the changes they are making at WELCOA around the benchmarks and checklist which are now out and being used. It’s kind of fun to see progress.

Also, Sara is just a wonderful person. She’s the most put together person I know, handling things with a calm demeanor when I would be freaking out. Plus, she’s got some mean dance moves!

In this interview, Sara tells us a bit about the inner workings of WELCOA, some upcoming updates to the Well Workplace Checklist and Award, why WELCOA’s a neutral force in the market and she shares a deeply personal story that led her into the field of organizational/industrial psych and wellness.

If you haven’t already joined us on Facebook, please join us there.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/2017/06/055-dream-bigger-sara-rauch-director-strategy-planning-welcoa/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

With 45% of households not being able to cover a $400 emergency and 30% of households having no savings, it’s no surprise that financial wellness continues to be a hot topic as we move into 2019. Since this is still relatively new territory for wellness professionals, I brought on today’s guest, Shane Robson-Smith, to help us navigate this area of wellbeing.

Shane and his wife had big ideas about the abundant life they wanted to lead but found themselves buried under a new mortgage payment, $20,000 in consumer debt and over $100,000 in student loans leaving them broke and living paycheck-to-paycheck.

Together, they used the vision they had for their married life to start living below their means, stuck to a budget, paid off their debt, and started saving and investing for future goals.

Today, Shane enjoys an active lifestyle, building his dream business, traveling internationally with his wife and three kids and is on course to retire more than 10 years earlier than most working folks these days.  

In this interview, Shane tells his story of getting out of debt, financial stressors he often sees, the personal and professional impact of financial stress, and some common mistakes employers make when addressing financial wellness. Shane jam packs some helpful stats in this interview and leaves us with some really good tangible tips.

If you haven’t already joined the Redesigning Wellness Community on Facebook, we’d love to have you join us! You can join HERE.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

Welcome to the RD podcast! It’s that time of year where I like to reflect on what happened over the course of the year and I thought who better to do this with than Bob Merberg. We did this last year and selfishly it was fun. 

When Bob and I get together to talk. We talk. A lot. This is a long interview but it didn’t feel that way to me, so hopefully it doesn’t to you. Bob Merberg, Principal Consultant at Jozito LLC has led the way in sustainable, healthy workplaces for more than 20 years. 

The Institute for Healthcare Consumerism in 2014 named Bob an IHC Superstar for Employee Empowerment, and in 2017 a team of industry experts convened by the Rochester Business Journal recognized him for creativity and ability to effect measurable improvements, sustainability, and program outcomes. Check out Bob’s full bio below.

In this interview, Bob and I discuss our reflections on wellness over the past year, what we’ve learned, anything we have changed our minds about (this is interesting because we slightly disagree on this one) and the directions were headed in 2019.

You’re Invited! I want to invite you to a free webinar, “7 Critical Steps to Increase Your Impact and Influence as a Wellness Professional” on December 13 at 2 pm EST. Register HERE.

Many health promotion efforts are stuck in an old paradigm, operating on outdated thinking or flawed assumptions.

This webinar will separate myth from reality – and jump start your path to confidently bringing your organization into the next generation of worksite wellness. You’ll leave with valuable insights and practical takeaways on the following four topics: 

• What it means to move from a biomedical approach to an integrated one
• Shifting the focus of wellness away from healthcare costs and towards its real value
• The truth about financial incentives
• How to increase your influence in your organization

You can register for the webinar HERE.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

A person in the c-suite to oversee the wellbeing of employees…sounds awesome right? The concept of a Chief Wellness Officer is a relatively new concept gaining traction at places like the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford. It’s a promising concept but what does a person in this role actually do? Today guest, Dr. Bill Satterwhite, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s first Chief Wellness Officer, breaks it down for us. 

Dr. Satterwhite is one of its leaders in redesigning health care to be more proactive about health and wellness rather than reactive about sickness and disease.

He develops value-based, customized integrated solutions for self-funded employers -- including Wake Forest Baptist Health’s employees -- designed to improve their overall wellbeing in convenient, cost-effective and health-effective ways.

In this interview, we discuss his role as the Chief Wellness Officer, his approach to both employee wellness and the wellness services his team brings to clients, how they address physician burnout (including the violence they face) and of course leaves us with two tangible tips…plus a bonus tip. 

You’re Invited! I want to invite you to a free webinar, “7 Critical Steps to Increase Your Impact and Influence as a Wellness Professional” on December 13 at 2 pm EST. Register HERE.

Many health promotion efforts are stuck in an old paradigm, operating on outdated thinking or flawed assumptions.

This webinar will separate myth from reality – and jump start your path to confidently bringing your organization into the next generation of worksite wellness. You’ll leave with valuable insights and practical takeaways on the following four topics:

• What it means to move from a biomedical approach to an integrated one
• Shifting the focus of wellness away from healthcare costs and towards its real value
• The truth about financial incentives
• How to increase your influence in your organization

You can register for the webinar HERE.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

It seems as though our industry is transitioning from the word wellness to wellbeing at a rapid pace. Wellbeing is often used to separate from the traditional physical health wellness programs (although many times they are the exact same programs).

Now that the word wellbeing is thrown around by every wellness vendor and insurance plan who wants to be part of the “in  crowd”, we should explore not only what it means but the various models associated with it. 

Using a psychological approach and expertise, today’s guest, Dr. Gregg Henriques, created a nested model of wellbeing. Dr. Henriques is Professor of Graduate Psychology at James Madison University, teaching courses in personality theory, personality assessment, social psychology, and integrative adult psychotherapy.

In this interview, we discuss why he created a model of wellbeing and we spend most of the time diving into the model. I also fit in a question about how distressed is caused when people have negative reactions to their negative feelings.

Gregg walks us through his anacronym CALM MO, which I think we can all benefit from following. Finally, he leaves us with his tip…which is tangible but requires some thought.

If you’re ready for some deep thinking, then this interview is for you.

Have a sec for a favor? I’d greatly appreciate if you would vote me in to next year’s WELCOA Summit Intensive session! Until November 30th, you can vote for the Intensive sessions you want to see at WELCOA’s 2019 Summit. My session is titled “Next Generation Wellness: From Theory to Practice” can be found HERE.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

Have you ever wondered why a professional in the corporate world would branch out on their own and proceed to build out wellness training to professionals in 8 countries? Today’s guest, Lisa Kelly, will answer both of these questions (and more).

Lisa Kelly of Kelly Wellness Consulting Inc., offers global, online-delivered programs featuring dynamic, experiential training in workplace wellness program design and delivery. Her mission is to create an innovative and collaborative landscape for global workplace wellness that fosters employee-driven, results-oriented wellness solutions benefiting employers, employees, and communities at large.

Lisa and I discuss her experience in toxic workplaces, the #1 challenge her Ambassadors face, the Kelly Wellness approach and if she’s changing anything now that the WELCOA benchmarks have evolved.

Have a sec for a favor? I’d greatly appreciate if you would vote me in to next year’s WELCOA Summit Intensive session! Until November 30th, you can vote for the Intensive sessions you want to see at WELCOA’s 2019 Summit. My session is titled “Next Generation Wellness: From Theory to Practice” can be found HERE.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

Today’s repeat guest, Barbara Zabawa, owns the Center for Health and Wellness Law, LLC a law firm dedicated to improving legal access and compliance for the health and wellness industries. She is lead author of the book Rule the Rules on Workplace Wellness Programs, published by the American Bar Association. 

In today’s interview we address two things. One is her advice for what employers should do now that as of January 2019 there will be no guidance as to what amount of incentive (if any) will meet the ADA’s requirement of being voluntary.

The second topic we cover is an opinion letter issued by the Department of Labor about whether the Fair Labor Standards Act requires an employer to pay employees for their time spent participating in wellness activities.

Vote me in to next year’s WELCOA Summit Intensive session! Until November 30th, you can vote for the Intensive sessions you want to see at WELCOA’s 2019 Summit. My session is titled “Next Generation Wellness: From Theory to Practice” can be found HERE.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

If you don’t already know Al Lewis, then I’m not sure where you’ve been hiding. He is quite an antagonizer in the wellness world but we’re not talking about wellness today.

Al is the founder of Quizzify, whose mission is to help companies teach their employees to utilize healthcare services appropriately.

Al and I talk about why health info (benefits, procedures, Rx) is so hard to understand, where employers are missing the mark in terms of benefit design and why they aren’t teaching their employees to become better healthcare consumers.

He also tells us the #1 question/recommendation employers and employees push back on. Finally, he provides advice on what employers can do to increase literacy and what wellness pros can do to stay in the know.

Vote me in to next year’s WELCOA Summit Intensive session! Until November 30th, you can vote for the Intensive sessions you want to see at WELCOA’s 2019 Summit. My session is titled “Next Generation Wellness: From Theory to Practice” can be found HERE.

For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/

To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/