Workplace wellness participation and the becoming of self

Joseph A. Kotarba and Pamela Bentley

Social Science & Medicine, 1988, vol. 26, issue 5, 551-558

Abstract: This paper provides a sociological examination of workplace wellness participation as a process that occurs in two stages or levels. The existential model of self provides the theoretical orientation for this examination, and data are presented from an ethnographic study of a large workplace wellness program. The first stage or level of participation involves the establishment of a sense of competence. Competence refers to the perceived ability to 'fit in' with the program, to master the often subtle skills required for membership in the class. Once a minimal sense of competence is established, the employee may decide to join by viewing participation either as an extension of a commitment to wellness, or as a vehicle for experimenting with or establishing a new style of self, the identity of a 'well person' so highly valued in contemporary western culture. The dynamics of workplace wellness participation illustrate a more general cultural trend towards health-as-accomplishment.

Keywords: worksite; health; promotion; participants'; perspective; self (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1988
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