Kate CrawfordVerified account

As someone with a long term health condition company 'wellness' initiatives have been really unhelpful, incredibly intrusive & a stressful overhead. /1

And since the people who run these programs are not doctors, and certainly not specialists in my condition, they frequently recommend things that are counter-productive. /2

I had one bizarre conversation where I had to reject multiple interventions to the point where the wellness person said: but we just want you to be well again! /3

They seemed to be unable to understand that my condition is permanent. I would *love* to be 'well again', but it's just not possible. /4

In another company I had to have regular phone calls with the wellness team, discussing my 'progress', which meant repeated discussions about my medical condition with unqualified people who were not part of my medical team /5

Something I found very stressful and a huge breach of my privacy. /6

One project issued everyone with Fitbits, and we were all expected to sign up to a team page where we could all see each others' stats. /7

Since my condition includes fatigue attacks there are days when I barely move. I do not want that broadcast to the dozens of people that I worked with. It's none of their business! /8

Let me 1st preface w/ forgive my naivety, but I’m very curious about this topic & this tweet. Is the consensus here to 86 these programs all together or are you a proponent of specific changes? I can see the benefits of a well workforce - how can we best elicit +behavior changes?

The main problem with these programs is that they focus on individuals needing to change behavior when it is arguably working conditions that are making people sick. So these programs become really coercive and gaslighting by putting blame on individuals

1/ Appreciate the response. As an ergonomist I can definitely attest to working conditions being a main factor, but I can also attest to the correlation of a person’s wellbeing being a significant contributor to a person’s severity risk. Reality is even with a focus on working...

2/ condition improvements, a person’s physical condition still has an impact (even with “no/low” risk tasks). My question was what can we do to address that factor too. If these programs are not effective what specific changes can we focus on to help improve this risk factor?

I get where you're coming from. It's also worth noting that even while we strive for systemic change we need to take care of ourselves in the here and now. But the big point is that whatever relief programs can give immediately, they will not fix the harms caused through work.

For that we need to unionise and collectively bargain for better working conditions.

I've always avoided my workplace wellness program specifically because I understood it was a way for my employer and insurance carrier to gather health-related information they couldn't get directly from my doctor due to privacy laws.

i've always said that "wellness program" is just another word for "worker surveillance" (&/or one of the most literal & deliberate implementations of bio-politics imaginable)

We have to pay an added cost for our health insurance for not participating in the hubs' "voluntary" wellness program. It is more than $1,000 each year. Worth every penny, but, while we can afford it, others cannot.