Organizational health promotion: broadening the horizon of workplace health promotion

Abstract

This article argues that efforts to improve the health and well-being of the workforce should begin with the organization itself. The term organizational health promotion is introduced to expand the scope of worksite health promotion. Organizational health promotion delves into the basic structural and organizational fabric of the enterprise--to how work is organized. The core themes of healthy work organization are introduced, and the status of our ability to identify organizational risk factors is discussed. A conceptual model of healthy work organization is presented, along with a process for expanding the health promotive capacity of the organization. The final section addresses challenges related to adopting an organizational health promotion perspective.