Health and fitness at work: a participants' perspective.
In the 1980s worksite health promotion or wellness programs have become more common in American corporations. Corporations see them as a way to control rising health care costs and to improve employee health. This paper examines participants' perspectives on participation in a health and fitness program, based on participant-observation and 35 in-depth interviews with members of one corporate program. Participants have a decided fitness-orientation (as opposed to a health-orientation), focusing on staying in shape and controlling weight. The consequences of this orientation for the promotion of health, the future of wellness programs, and the corporation are discussed.
Conrad
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Department of Sociology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02254.
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009511:New England; D009786:Occupational Health Services; D005082:Physical Exertion; D010809:Physical Fitness