Toward a sociology of worksite health promotion: A few reactions and reflections

In a critical review of eight papers representing current sociological thinking on health promotion at the worksite, focus is on two issues in need of further research: meanings & motives. Redefinition is needed for both the ideological construct of risk (corporate & individual) & the role it has played & will continue to play in the evolution of worksite health promotion programs. Two kinds of motives needing closer attention emerge: those of corporations in the decision to sponsor programs; & those of individual employees in the decision to partake of them. Two investigative approaches should advance the study of worksite health promotion: (1) tightly designed intervention studies that compare two or more fundamentally different strategies seeking to achieve the same result; & (2) works that address broader sociological questions. 20 References. Modified AA