Making a Culture of Health Actionable for Employers

Efforts to improve workforce health and productivity by emphasizing a corporate “culture of health” may bolster efforts to improve participation in workplace health and wellbeing programs. IBI reviewed the existing peer-reviewed research literature on the topic of organizational culture and program participation – giving additional attention to studies that provide insights into the impact on productivity, which is critical to the value proposition for a strong culture of health. The literature review set out to address how organizational culture is defined and measured, what types of programs are assessed and measured, and the findings on the link between organizational culture and program participation. Seventeen studies published in the last ten years met the criteria for the review. Based on those studies, a panel of 14 experts was convened to provide guidance to employers and is outlined in this report.