For years wellness has primarily focused on physical health. More recently, the field has begun to also address mental and emotional health factors such as stress, but more recent research suggests that is not enough. Instead, total wellbeing should now be our focus. When addressing total wellbeing we need to take into consideration personal purpose, career, connection to community, emotional, financial, and physical factors. That is exactly what the “wellness” programs of the future will do, although accomplishing it will take time. This presentation will address the current state of wellbeing in America, the business value of taking a broader approach, and describe the types of initiatives likely to have the greatest impact.
John Harris is a partner in Performance pH, a company that leverages a variety strategies to allow people to do their best work, and employers to optimize business performance. Considered a wellness pioneer, John was the co-founder of Harris HealthTrends, an entrepreneurial corporation that became one of the top five and helped shape the prevention industry into what it is today. John received a Bachelor of Science degree from Grand Valley State University in 1977, and a Masters in Education degree from The University of Toledo, in 1982, and has over 35 years of experience in the employee health field. He presents internationally, is the author of many publications on employee health, and has received a number of prestigious industry awards. John has served as a consultant to many Fortune 500 companies and industry support organizations, and serves on multiple not-for-profit and for-profit boards.