What is this about?

The document in this edition of Connections is the latest Solution Set and addresses options and alternatives for how wellness professionals might modify their programs after COVID-19.  A summary of current research on COVID-19 is provided along with an overall assessment of the “big picture.” A concluding excerpt is reproduced below.

“I believe we still need to be careful as individuals who may have significant susceptibilities to the disease, but we certainly don’t have to follow the wholesale and widespread distancing and work disruption that is in place in selected states. We also need to be sensitive to the short term and long term morbidity, pain, suffering and health care use associated with COVID-19 infection, but I believe that it does not rate the extreme “lockdown” actions caused by a fear of specific disease-caused premature mortality.⁴  I also believe that future historians will essentially say that the weak and those in poor health were the first victims of the virus, but after they died, few were really at-risk for unexpected premature mortality and therefore the virus had largely run its most critical clinical course which should have led quickly to diminished “lockdown” practices.  I believe they may ultimately say that COVID-19 was somewhat of an over-reaction on the part of governmental authorities driven by fear and influenced by a largely national political calculus.”

A series of recommendations for how employee wellness programming should change are provided along with an emerging view of the overall health significance of the pandemic.

Why is this important?

This document represents the most complete summary of the probable overall significance of the pandemic and how it will likely change how workplace wellness programs are conducted in the months and years ahead.  Helpful suggestions are provided about how to navigate the transition from pandemic to post-pandemic to help wellness professionals navigate the challenge of adjustment to the post-COVID-19 “new normal.” Links are also provided to the source documentation.

What can you do with this document?

• First, skim through the document to get a sense of what it is recommending.
• Next, determine if the source documentation can be used in educating employees about the long-term implications of the pandemic.
• Next, determine which of the recommendations you should adopt.
• Next, share with staff. volunteers and management the major points and find out how they view the recommendations you have selected to implement.
• Next, as you put your work plan and budget together for the next year of programming consider which recommendations will be addressed and plan accordingly.

In summary, we believe that the intensive acute stage of this current COVID-19 pandemic will be over soon leaving some residual changes and modifications to be made to employee wellness programming efforts.  The challenge moving forward will be to transition smoothly from the current disrupted state of programming to the “new normal” state which will require some thoughtful planning and more flexible programming.