Making a healthy change: a historical analysis of workplace wellbeing

This paper looks at the precedents of current wellbeing programs, examining three historical modes of workplace wellbeing in order to analyze the way in which employees have become subjects of wellbeing discourse. In doing so, this paper seeks to illustrate the historical trajectory of the managemen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inManagement & organizational history : M&OH Vol. 17; no. 1-2; pp. 20 - 42
Main Author Wallace, James
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 03.04.2022
Subjects
Foucault
genealogy
human relations
paternalism
subjectivity
wellbeing
wellness
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Summary:This paper looks at the precedents of current wellbeing programs, examining three historical modes of workplace wellbeing in order to analyze the way in which employees have become subjects of wellbeing discourse. In doing so, this paper seeks to illustrate the historical trajectory of the management of employee health, exploring both its disjunctures and continuities. It is argued that workplace wellbeing can be characterized in two ways. First, as an intervention into the lives of employees, becoming a means of producing 'fit for work' subjects. Second, in terms of the legitimation of this intervention through its discursive positioning as a response to prevalent social concerns. It is noted that, while wellbeing has evolved over time in terms of its rationale and its practices, it has continued to be characterized by these two features.
ISSN:1744-9359
1744-9367
DOI:10.1080/17449359.2022.2068152