Wellness —I’m Sick of It!

ver wonder why your New Year’s

resolutions, made with such earnestness

and intent on January 1, are but a

distant memory 30 days later, as you

idle at the drive-thru, your treadmill at home serving

as a towel rack? Did you know that 99% of people

who diet fail to maintain their weight loss one year

later? As Mark Twain famously quipped: “Quitting

smoking is easy. I’ve done it hundreds of times.”

And that is how I feel about wellness

programs — well-intentioned, breathlessly

optimistic, but hopelessly flawed in theory and

practice. One would expect that with more than 30

years of research and practice in the field, people

would experience higher levels of satisfaction and

well-being at work. Instead, both short- and long-

term disability claims for stress are up, absenteeism

and disengagement are at all-time highs, and people

are working harder and longer than ever. One in four

Canadians do not even take their yearly vacation

allotment. Anyone interested in a noon-hour

yoga class?

» B Y J A C K M U S K AT, P h D

EWhy Wellness Programs Fail

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Wellness programs fail at having any real impact in the workplace because of one or more of the following reasons:

1 Lack of organizational context and commitment to success

So many programs are generic and feel like quick-fix solutions — healthy menu choices, a tiny gym, stress workshops, etc. In the meantime, sales targets are raised, salaries are flattened, managers are more demanding, and the corporate vision and purpose are muddled. Unless there is institutional support and rewards for change, such as flex time and financial rewards — change will not happen. If the corporate host is “unhealthy”, you cannot expect the subculture to thrive. Ironically, it is the disconnect between the promise and the reality that dooms these programs from the start.

2 Lack of understanding of how people make and keep decisions

Ever wonder why fast food is so popular, why people drink, gamble, drive too fast and fool around? If Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former International Monetary Fund Chair, can throw away the future presidency of France on a moment with a hotel maid, then how am I expected to pass on Timbits? Recent and exciting psychological research by Roy Baumeister (Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength), Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational) and Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow) have consistently shown that people’s decisions are rarely rational or based on self-interest, but are emotional and largely driven by self-delusion. In fact, the more choices we have, the poorer our decision- making becomes.

The major objection I have to wellness programs is that they assume that people lack “information” or “knowledge” about their behaviour, and that once they have gained these new insights, they will spontaneously change for the better. “Oh, I see. If I ate and drank less, exercised and slept more, had better relationships, and learned to relax, I would be happier. . . you mean having another Twinkie or glass of single malt is not going to take off pounds?” Sarcasm aside, there is an insidious sense of being judged, that we are fat or unfit or unhappy because we are stupid.

A second objection to wellness programs is that they imply that change would be easy if we only tried harder. So we are assumed to be not only stupid, but lazy, too.

3 Wellness is not funEver notice the sallow complexions of health-food

store clerks? Why do they look so bad? Perhaps because they aren’t having fun. Wouldn’t that arugula salad go

down so much better topped with a 16-ounce rib-eye? The problem with a healthy lifestyle is that it is neither fun to attain nor maintain. Therein lies the rub. How do you motivate people to do things that don’t taste good, and aren’t fun or satisfying. All of those early-morning, trail-mix-eating runners would be getting up at dawn anyway, don’t you think?

4 We already know what to doEarly in my career as a psychologist I was asked to

conduct stress-management workshops, and I gave up as I found them too stressful. Everyone who attended my workshops was eager to show how “stressed out they were” by completing a stress questionnaire, gleefully recounting their personal woes and looking for suggestions for change. But no one did anything about it. I concluded that the stress management programs focused too much on the individual and not enough on the situation. How many of us were stuck in dead-end jobs, bad relationships, or had demanding parenting responsibilities? Change or respite was often impossible because of systemic barriers (lack of education, income, opportunity) rather than a failure to act. Few of us have real power to effect the kinds of changes necessary to make things less stressful. Like getting rid of a bad boss, for example.

So don’t feel bad if you are already off the wagon. You are not alone. Most of us intuitively know what ails us, and once we hit 40, it is mostly good genes that will get us into our 80s. And while many wellness programs mean well, it is difficult to see if they work. Perhaps eating spinach and tofu will make you live longer. It will certainly feel longer. YW

Jack Muskat, PhD, is a Toronto-based organizational psychologist, writer and lecturer with over 25 years consulting and business experience with individuals and organizations. He advises senior executives and managers on selection and developmental planning. Dr. Muskat is an acknowledged expert on issues relating to organizational culture and leadership, succession planning and strategic management. For the last two years he has provided executive career management services to the Rotman School of Business, and is currently an adjunct faculty at the Schulich School of Business where he teaches a course on leadership to second-year MBA students.

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