In Support of a Code of Conduct

Recently several innovative thought leaders in the wellness arena put together an industry Code of Conduct template. First and foremost, Hooray! I think this is an excellent start to a new generation of wellness programs and leadership thinking.

The main thrust being “Do No Harm.”

“Our organization resolves that its program should do no harm to employee health, corporate integrity or employee/employer finances. Instead we will endeavor to support employee well-being for our customers, their employees and all program constituents.”

• Employee Benefits and Harm Avoidance
• Respect for Corporate Integrity and Employee Privacy
• Commitment to Valid Outcomes Measurement

The authors are Rosie Ward and Jon Robison, Salveo Partners, Al Lewis, Quizzify and Ryan Picarella, Welcoa. I encourage you to read and distribute the code.

Worksite wellness operates in an industry that could be labeled the Wild West. There are a host of various certification programs, from health coaching to worksite wellness management to lifestyle guru. All of these certifying bodies operate with different criteria, curriculum and varying levels of training requirements.

Besides the variance in training programs every vendor, wellness provider, HR director and or worksite wellness manager operates under their own interpretations of what a wellness program should include. This discrepancy in certification and training of wellness leaders means there is no unified standard within the industry, thus a sector with little quality control. In political speak, the industry regulates itself.

I’m reminded here by the quote from Denise Minger, author of Death By Food Pyramid: How Shoddy Science, Sketchy Politics and Shady Special Interests Have Ruined Our Health. While Minger is speaking here on nutrition, it could be wellness.

“No matter how far science advances, nutrition is still a field booby-trapped with hucksters, charlatans, and diet gurus hopping you’ll blow half your paycheck on their life-extending line of goji berries and deer antler velvet. Amidst a sea of voices offering health advice, how do you figure out whom or what to trust?”

What in essence has transpired is much of wellness in the workplace is done to employees not for them. This simple code of conduct initiates the thinking that wellness should respect individual’s privacy and not subject them to unnecessary testing and punishment for non-participation in offerings.

The code of conduct says you will commit to valid outcomes. In a nutshell, you won’t lie about the data. You will refrain from tactics like measuring participants to non-participants, or at least you will state that this is so.

I admit early on in the wellness work I believed that often quoted line wellness offers a 6 to 1 return. But you know what, it’s not there, we bought it hook, line and sinker because it was published by academics and vendors in the field determined to demonstrate ROI.

Much of the detective work done on wellness data available is thanks to individuals like Al Lewis, Vik Khanna and Tom Emmerick. Check out anything and everything they have written on how to read and interpret health and wellness data.

While a code of conduct is not the end all be all it’s a fantastic start. If our goal is to truly advance worker wellbeing a simple agreement to do no harm just makes good common sense.

Final Note

Three years ago almost to the date, I wrote a blog piece calling for a Slow Wellness Movement, in which I offered six ideas to encourage new thinking in wellness. I still feel the suggestions are relevant, check them out.

Bottom line is wellness should promote, inspire and encourage vibrant lifestyles. Building skills for vibrant lifestyles requires time, energy and patience. It also needs a code of conduct to ensure integrity, privacy and validity are priorities.

“The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.”

Bob Marley