The Origins of Incorporating Health and Wellness into Your Corporate Routine by Jeremy Schulman

 

It's no secret that the corporate world can be a stressful place. With long hours, demanding deadlines, and high-pressure situations, it's easy to see how our mental and physical health can suffer as a result. That's why more and more companies realize the importance of incorporating health and wellness into the workplace. JeremySchulman states that by creating an environment that supports and encourages employee well-being, businesses can reap the benefits of a happier, more productive workforce.

 

But where did this trend towards workplace wellness begin? Let's take a look at the origins of incorporating health and wellness into your corporate routine.

The Early Days of Workplace Wellness

The origins of workplace wellness can be traced back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution. As factories began popping up all over Europe and North America, workers were required to spend long hours performing repetitive tasks in often unsafe conditions. Unsurprisingly, this led to a rise in workplace injuries and illnesses. In response, companies began to implement safety measures such as ergonomic furniture and better ventilation in an effort to improve working conditions. While these changes did help to reduce the number of accidents and illnesses, they did little to address the root cause of the problem: stress.

The historical perspective of Workplace Wellness

The origins of corporate wellness can be traced back to the early 20th century when concerned industrial leaders began to speak out about the need for improved safety conditions in factories. In 1911, after witnessing a devastating fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, garment industry leader Maximpact urged businesses to adopt better safety standards to protect workers. This marked the beginning of a movement that would eventually lead to the creation of OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) in 1970.

 

It wasn't until the early twentieth century that stress began to be recognized as a serious issue in the workplace. In 1911, Dr. Hans Selye published his groundbreaking book The Stress of Life, in which he identified stress as "the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it." This was a radical new way of thinking about stress, and it quickly caught on with both the medical community and the general public. Suddenly, people were beginning to understand that stress was not just an emotional reaction but a physical one as well.

 

This new understanding of stress led to a shift in how businesses approached employee wellbeing. In the 1950s, companies began to implement "stress management" programs aimed at helping workers identify and cope with sources of stress in their lives. These early programs laid the foundation for modern workplace wellness programs by recognizing that employees' physical and mental health are interconnected.

 

The last approach

The trend toward workplace wellness is only going to continue to grow in popularity in the years to come. By taking steps to create a healthy work environment, companies can reap the benefits of a happier, more productive workforce. And it all started with recognizing that employees' physical and mental health are interconnected.