Introducing the Workplace Well-Being Program Implementation Model: A Model to Inform the Establishment of Organizational Well-Being Programs

Employee stress and disengagement are of increasing concern in workplaces due to the adverse consequences of such employee states on business performance and employee quality of life. Conventional wellness strategies in organizations may help alleviate some work-related distress, but do little to enhance employee well-being towards flourishing. Workplaces have a unique opportunity to improve the well-being of their employees and can, as a result, reap benefits beyond health care cost avoidance. Positive psychology and affiliated disciplines (e.g. positive organizational behavior and positive organizational scholarship) can offer research-backed strategies to enhance well-being by ‘growing the good’ and capitalizing on strengths versus mitigating risk or deficit alone. This paper examines these fields and the general program implementation literature to synthesize a model of workplace well-being program design and implementation. This model can be leveraged by organizations and practitioners looking to establish workplace well-being programs rooted in science to enhance employee well-being and ultimately to drive positive business outcomes for the organization as a whole.