Rebranding Health as Wellbeing: A better "hook" for engagement, sustainability, and ROI

Did you know that “happiness” is becoming the new “health?” Encouraging lifestyle changes to improve employee health has been a common strategy among corporations. What most don’t know, however, is that the benefits organizations and health professionals feature as reasons for change actually brand lifestyle behaviors - they socialize individuals about how to perceive and approach these behaviors. In fact, research suggests that promoting logical reasons for making lifestyle changes, such as “better health,” “weight loss,” or “disease prevention” may brand lifestyles behaviors in non-optimal ways! While counterintuitive, the health-related outcomes that organizations want to achieve from their investment in health promotion may be incompatible with the specific goals that are most motivating and persuasive to employees. This session will present a new evidence-based but easy-to-understand framework, using exercise as a case study. In this session, Dr. Michelle Segar will introduce “rebranding health as well-being” as an organizational-level strategy that can foster the increased engagement, high quality motivation, and sustainable behaviors necessary to achieve decreases in health care costs and improvements in productivity. This discussion has broader implications about better ways we can market and brand health behaviors within organizations, health care, and society. Session participants will not only have “ah has” during this session, they will leave with key insights about how they can improve their health promotion and wellness solutions to more effectively engage employees, improve productivity and long-term outcomes, and increase ROI. Any HR professional will benefit from attending this session, but especially those interested in health promotion and wellness, EAP, productivity and retention.

Any HR professional will benefit from attending this session, but especially those interested in health promotion, EAP, productivity and retention.

1. The latest research about how motivation really works - it's not what you've been taught. 2. Two behavioral economics concepts that support rebranding health as well-being. 3. A simple, evidence-based motivation-behavior framework for promoting lifestyle changes that can be used in program development and marketing.

The Six Secrets to Lasting Change, http://michellesegar.com/ Segar, M. L., Eccles, J. S., & Richardson, C. (2011) Rebranding Exercise: Closing the gap between values and behavior, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8: 94. (Received recognition as “Highly Accessed Article.”) Segar, M. L., Eccles, J. S., & Richardson, C. (2008). Type of Physical Activity Goal Influences Participation in Health Midlife Women. Women’s Health Issues,18(4), 281-291. Segar, M. L., Eccles, J. S., Peck, S. C., & Richardson, C. (2007). Midlife Women’s Physical Activity Goals: Sociocultural influences and effects on behavioral regulation. Sex Roles, 57 (11/12), 837-850.

		Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH University Of Michigan View Profile