WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM WORKPLACE WELLNESS INITIATIVE

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Working Towards Wellness Initiative recently held a private workshop entitled "An Ounce of Prevention" during their annual meeting in Davos. CEOs across different industries joined NGOs and public figures to better understand the impact of chronic disease on employers, review the effectiveness of existing programs and brainstorm fresh solutions.

In addition, the WEF and PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute launched a report on the impact of chronic diseases and current practices among multinational companies, "Working Towards Wellness: Accelerating the Prevention of Chronic Disease".

The report found evidence that companies whose CEOs make wellness a key part of their business strategy tend to be better business performers. The report highlights gold standards for structuring and measuring success in preventing chronic disease. Experts agree that the workplace is an essential place for effective prevention strategies, and highlighted the following call to action in the report:

• Take the Pulse: Assess the health risks of the company’s employee populations across the world.
• Imbed a Culture of Health into the Mission: To make a sustainable change, align health prevention principles within the long-term mission, business objectives and policies of the organization.
• Manage the Change: Commit appropriate resources and discipline to effect measurable improvement in the health of the working population.
• Collaborate and Consolidate: Enhance the focus, communication and effectiveness of wellness programmes by collaborating outside the organization and supporting and leveraging programmes in the community.
• Lead by Example: Executives—starting with the CEO and through to unit heads—can demonstrate their personal commitment to a healthy work environment by actively engaging with employees and their communities on health initiatives while walking the path of a healthy life.

An executive summary of the "Working Towards Wellness: Accelerating the Prevention of Chronic Disease” report is available at www.acfn.org. To view the full report visit http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/Wellness/index.htm.

A press release outlining the outcomes of the Davos workshop session is available here.

The goals of the Working Towards Wellness Initiative are to engage CEOs and business leaders in committing to measurably improve employee health and wellness; help companies take practical steps to improve general employee health; and facilitate collaboration between stakeholders in the battle against chronic disease.

The initiative’s Centre for Excellence will provide member companies with a synthesis of research, a network of experts, case studies and business cases for wellness as well as practical tools for businesses. Workshops held around the globe will allow stakeholders to share best practices and stay on top of new advances. For more information, visit workingtowardswellness@weforum.org.