title: Tensions of Health: Narratives of Employee Wellness Program Participants.
abstract: This article examines dialectical tensions in the health narratives of participants of the Employee Wellness Program (EWP) of a large public university in the southeastern United States. Semi-structured interviews (n = 12) with team leaders in the program indicated that health is a multifaceted concept characterized by three pairs of dialectical tensions: autonomy versus connection, private versus public, and control versus lack of control. These findings suggest that to better promote health and wellness in the workplace, EWP staff should consider employees' unique experiences and beliefs about health when designing organization-wide programs and campaigns.
authors.affiliation: The University of Alabama ltang1@ua.edu.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: The University of Alabama.
authors.forename: Jane S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: East Carolina University.
authors.forename: Cui Zhang
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: Meadows
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D015279:Organizational Culture; D015397:Program Evaluation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D015144:Southeastern United States; D014495:Universities; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: dialectical tensions; employee wellness program; grounded theory; health narratives; interview