What’s Your Vision?
To celebrate our 30 year anniversary, we’re looking forward to the next 30 years.
Enter our competition to win 30 of our exclusive 30th Anniversary Wellness Packs to share with your colleagues!
How to enter
Answer the following question:
“What’s your vision? What will the corporate wellness industry be like in 30 years time?”
You can send us your entry any way you like:
1. Add a comment at the bottom of this page
3. Post on our Facebook page
4. Post a comment on our LinkedIn Competition post
There’s no word limit.
Entries close 31 August 2014.
So, show off your creativity and insight, and share your vision to win!
Here are some ideas from Healthworks staff:
Ken: In 30 years we’ll all know our DNA, and know what we’re most likely to die of. We’ll have a microchip inserted which tracks whether or not we do certain activities or eat right, and if we don’t then we’ll have to pay extra for insurance.
Sonja: In 30 years we will all wear devices that track our activity, food and alcohol consumption. We will be penalised financially for a sedentary/unhealthy lifestyle and rewarded for an active/healthy one. Employers will use this data to employ healthier employees. All food will be organic and cheap to buy. Trans fats will no longer exist other than on the black market.
Jill: In 30 years’ time corporate wellness policies will be compulsory for all business organisations (legislated along the same lines as Work Health and Safety is now); The government will be so worried about the cost to Medicare of obesity, diabetes, smoking & drinking addictions etc that they will insist on business organisations playing their part in educating people about their health;
Katherine: We will all be wearing activity trackers which will monitor not only our activity but our heart rates, stress levels, sleep patterns, blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol. Health insurance company premiums will vary based on your overall health score.
Kylie: In 30 years, knowledge workers won’t need to sit in cubicle offices, because we won’t need to type on a desk-based computer – our devices will be wireless and voice-activated. We will walk, stand and move naturally throughout the day, in meetings, informal discussions, and even our independent work.
There will be a backlash against the ultra-monitored, patriarchal mode of health management, and the new generation of employees will demand complete autonomy over how, when and where they manage their health at work.
For all types of employees, mindfulness, meditation, yoga and relaxation breaks will be the norm, interspersed throughout the day.
To accompany the competition, we asked industry leaders to share their vision by answering the same question: “What will the corporate wellness industry be like in 30 years time?”
Here’s a contribution from Chris Rabba, former president of HAPIA and now Managing Director of The Wellness Architects:
“In 30 years workplace health will be embedded within organisations, not only culturally but legislatively.
It will become apparent that addressing people’s health at work is the ideal setting. It will become a shared responsibility between government, employer & employee, each held accountable accordingly.
Government will support such initiatives via tax incentives both at an employer & employee level.”
– Chris Rabba
Toby Ford of HAPIA and Ford Health fame, has also contributed his vision for the future of corporate health:
“Personally as a man who will be in my mid 80s in 30 years time, I hope to be still competing in Masters Rowing. To achieve that I forecast I will belong to a group of like-minded men and women, cognisant of our holistic state of resilience and wellbeing.
Each day self managing diet, exercise, relaxation, sleep, passionate interests and hobbies whilst contributing and belonging to a strong social network of family and community.
Our genes will be interchangeable and some diseases may be extinct BUT only if you’re well, wealthy and literate and can pay for such things.
Alas those who think living in Australia, assuming that the government funding of health will support them to access such quality of life support and tools are foolishly misled.
User pay health care will be inevitable in 30.years. So the poor, with self-induced lifestyle disorders will slide hopelessly backwards creating a class of disaffected.
Wellbeing will be a privilege not a right, for you won’t have it if you don’t assume responsibility for your health.
So for corporate health providers, the landscape will be much the same, but our story for workers will remain strong as ever.
We will encourage workers to think of their health and well-being as an asset to doing business. To motivate them to take ownership of their health destiny so they can insure longevity of employment will drive our value to them.”
Toby Ford
Thanks to Brad McDougall, President Workplace Health Association of Australia (formerly HAPIA), for contributing his vision of the future of corporate health:
“In 30 years the landscape for health and wellbeing within the Corporate sector will be positively transformed. Whilst some employers intrinsically understand the relationship between an employee’s health status and their ability to productively contribute to the organisation’s success now, the extent of this understanding and acceptance will be ‘the norm’ rather than the exception in 30 years. This will be evidenced by:
As a result of the environmental scenarios above the Corporate Health industry will expand to encompass both preventative and health management capability including injury prevention and management and a strong inclusion of mental health intervention success. The industry will work collaboratively with Government in policy design and intervention delivery throughout workplaces nationally including the availability of subsidies and incentives for health promoting and health improving workplaces.
-Brad McDougall