Schafer, Julie L

Background Employee wellness programs can help manage stress and alleviate burnout. Objective To pilot and disseminate the Intentional Action(InAct) concept for employee wellbeing. Methods Five independent interactive workshop-lectures with an automated audience response system. Descriptive analysis of participant response data. Results Participants (n = 275): rated spirituality, physical environment and nutrition the most highly in contributing to their present well-being. Ninety-eight percent (n = 269) of participants identified a focus area to work on. The well-being area most selected was Exercise, (35% n = 95), however, other non-traditional areas, including Personal and Professional Development (18% n = 48), Relationships and Communication (17% n = 47), were selected, along with mind-body connection and mindful awareness (6% n = 15 and n = 16). Conclusion The pilot engaged employees to reflect and set goals for their future well-being. Healthcare institutions implementing programs should consider a broad range of whole person strategies addressing employee well-being, which go beyond the traditional focus on exercise and nutrition.