The art and science of creating a climate for well-being Psychologists view well-being on a continuum, where a low state of well-being is ‘languishing’ and a high state of well-being is ‘flourishing’ By Richard Smith, PhD.
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The well-being concept can be traced in psychol-
Professor Keyes at Emory University introduced the notion that an individual has both positive and negative feelings as well as positive and negative functioning, which created a new perspective on individual wellbeing
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Patient health
ogy research to better define the state of mental health (i.e. the absence of mental illness, the impact of physical discomfort, degree of depression, etc.). The early application of well-being was in clinical and healthcare settings over the past several decades. One of the most widely accepted medical wellbeing measures is known as the WHO-5. This measure adopted by the World Health Organisation in 1998 consists of five factors and is often used in medical settings to gauge patient recovery and status. For example, if a person is recovering from a serious accident or surgery, a medical professional may gauge the person’s well-being by asking about feelings in daily life such as being cheerful, calm, vigorous, interested, and rested during the past two weeks. This subjective measure of well-being provides medical professionals with a common way to screen signs of depression and measure medical outcomes.
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s people have been locked down in isolation and kept from normal social interactions, cases and issues associated with stress, depression, and anxiety have been on the rise. Many leaders and employers have recognised this challenge and are concerned with employee well-being. While there has long been a focus by progressive HR leaders on the topic of wellness, the topic of well-being has traditionally been used in the fields of medicine and psychology. I have observed many organisations using the term loosely; so it seems beneficial to step back and reflect on both the science as well as the art associated with employee well-being. Let me highlight well-being in terms of patient, public, individual, and employee health before addressing well-being in the workplace.
Public health
Well-being can be a concern in society as public health leaders work to address factors that lead to depression with ageing populations, incidents of teen suicide, and general longevity and vitality in geographic communities. Boston University has developed a community wellbeing index to measure well-being by location in the november 2021 |
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