Work Strategies: A Review of Well-Being at Work – Book Review

Wellness at Work: The New Strategic Imperative, by John Nesheim, Artist Digital, 2025, $24.95.

Today I am writing about a book by a local author, John Nesheim. But first, a puzzle: when is health at work not health at work? Well, that might not be so much a puzzle as an invitation for biased answers, at least for burned-out employees. When workers are provided with “wellness” programs while at the same time being underpaid and overworked, it’s understandable if they don’t seem entirely appreciative. or better

One of my favorite workplace wellness stories came from someone who told me she knew it was time to quit her job when she realized she was exposed to the corporate logo during a company-sponsored yoga class. It was then that she decided that all the asana poses in the world couldn’t be wrong with her job.

I got a deeper look into this story last week when I ran into John Nesheim, author of Health at Work: The New Strategic Imperative. He had arranged to speak at a St. Paul University club when he took time to explain his ideas about workplace wellness and signed a book for me.

As a starting point, Nesheim says, workplace wellness efforts are most likely to succeed when they spring from strategy and culture, not as added “programs and perks.” Yoga classes with mats emblazoned with logos are privileges, while paying fairly represents a strategic and cultural mindset.

Does this mean that ping pong tables and pizza Fridays are a thing of the past? I, for one, hope so. Not that a little chill at work is a bad thing. But when the game appears to be in a place of fine lines and balance, you can’t help but feel cheated.

In any case, today’s workforce, Generation Z, is less likely to fall for these incentives than previous workers who started their careers. In many surveys and articles, this group (roughly 14-28 years old) consistently values ​​adaptation and flexibility as more important than traditional signs of success such as titles and promotions. Nor does free pizza move the needle much in these days of hybrid work schedules.

Nesheim, recently retired with 30 years of executive human resources experience at a global company (3M), says he believes Gen Z workers are already changing the workplace with their expectations. “Health wasn’t a thing in the ’80s, but today’s workforce demands it. Candidates are openly asked about things like corporate policy on the environment or company values ​​in job interviews,” he notes.

If you’re wondering what the environment or corporate values ​​have to do with well-being, that’s Nesheim’s point. When wellness is fully integrated into the corporate—or candidate—mindset, these questions suddenly seem relevant.

Where wellness was a more physical exercise in the past—keeping employees “well” in compliance with safety regulations, or providing gym memberships—Nesheim believes it’s more holistic today. Now it means redefining the workplace so that social, spiritual and other aspects are aligned with individual values.

Or at least, that’s what he believes it should mean. This is an argument Nesheim carefully presents in his book, where he presents eight different aspects of workplace well-being that he calls the “Wheel of Wellness.” The eight include physical, but also spiritual, social, environmental, occupational, financial, emotional and intellectual. At the center of the wheel is the goal, continued and driven by each of the eight segments.

Addressing and supporting each of these aspects of well-being forms the basis of Nesheim’s work, with his primary audience being managers and executives who have the power to do so. As he explained to me, this concept can be useful for workers down the line, but it’s up to decision-makers to embed it in their organizational strategies at all levels.

But why should they — especially when companies have more applicants than they have openings, and significant workers will stay even when they’re miserable?

Nesheim takes a long view of this question, calling it “human sustainability” when the workplace is optimized to engage and retain workers, which in turn makes them more productive. “It’s better than a command-and-control style of leadership, because it suboptimal your human assets. Happy employees are just better, and it’s better for them as individuals,” he says.

And, in any case, it may be a matter of organizational survival if enough workers demand a more holistic “good” workplace. Already, the percentage of Gen Z workers in the United States has surpassed that of Boomers, who will make up 30% of the workforce by 2030. If for no other reason than to attract and retain employees, Nausheim believes companies need to step up their game. “Health is a competitive advantage, now, a differentiator,” he says.

If he is right, it will be an interesting few years ahead of us.