In an ever-modernizing world, employee satisfaction is crucial for developing productive practices and furthering business growth.
What’s in store for the future? The Merrimack College Center for Business Impact (MCCBI) sought to answer this with a brand-new conference held on Merrimack’s campus.
“The Future of Workplace Wellness: Innovation, Performance & Longevity,” on Wednesday, Sept. 17, brought together more than 150 professionals from business, human resources, healthcare and wellness at the Collegiate Church of Christ the Teacher for a full day of discussions, presentations and networking.
Keynote speaker Laura Putnam was the first to take the stage at the event. A workplace well-being expert and author of “Workplace Wellness That Works.” During her talk, Putnam brought up the “knowing versus doing gap.” If she explained, we know what’s best for us, either at work or in life, why is it so hard to meet those goals?
As managers, Putnam advised the crowd to take initiative in “changing the water” at the workplace. Some suggestions she gave include implementing more natural light, healthy food options and designating time for light group exercises.
“Culture largely happens within the team,” Putnam said. “The manager is not only the permission-giver with whether or not it’s ok to engage with wellbeing – they are essentially the cultural architect for their team…If there is any silver bullet when it comes to getting workplace wellness to work, it’s the manager.”
A panel discussion on the science of workplace wellness was held later in the afternoon featuring Merrimack’s own Warren Bodine, Athletics’ head team physician, Leena Bharath, associate professor of nutrition and public health and Melissa St. Hilaire, assistant professor of data science. Zi Yan, academic dean of health sciences, served as moderator.
“Everything starts with education – nutrition education is the key for any organization,” said Bharath. Consistency is important. You have to have somebody who’s going to keep track of outcomes. Behavioral support can also be provided by these educators or a hired practitioner.”
The final keynote of the event was delivered by Amy McDonough ’97. During her talk, she discussed her role as managing director of strategic health solutions at Google Health and the company’s advancements in health tracking through smart watches. Previously, she served as senior vice president and general manager of Fitbit Health Solutions before the company was acquired by Google.
“I moved into my new role thinking about Google’s forecast and how we can make the best use of their tools and technologies to improve the health of billions around the world,” she explained. “My path as an English major here at Merrimack to a leader of digital health is a testament to the power of education, of learning new things, of how to communicate and how to find a human story within the most complex technologies.”
Returning to her alma mater to speak about her career, McDonough said, was an incredible honor.
“It’s wonderful to see the incredible work being done here,” she continued. “I still remain a part of the College even from afar, and technology makes that easy. It’s a testament to the school’s commitment to prepare its students for the future and be able to anticipate what’s next (in regards to technology).”
