don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

"Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think, and what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny ... it is the light that guides your way." ~Heraclitus, (?535BC-475BC)

Worksite wellness has, for the most part, consisted of employer-sponsored initiatives designed to slow the rising costs of company health insurance rates. Worksite wellness generally involves testing, lectures and the provision of facilities for physical activity, plus classroom lessons on nutrition, stress management and avoidance or management of common illness states to which employee flesh is heir. An expansion of worksite wellness to quality of life enhancement topics, such as ethics and related explorations of common decencies, would be revolutionary. I think the time has come to incorporate ethics, as well as other skill areas that impact quality of life. Traditional worksite wellness saves medical costs and reduces illness; REAL wellness might boost individual effectiveness and company productivity.

Examples of REAL wellness elements discussed in recent essays include effective decision-making, finding added meaning and purpose, better understanding of and appreciation for science and the nature of and paths to happiness -- and these are just starter topics for REAL wellness at work. No doubt other important issues would be included at varied worksites once this kind of wellness were tested and embraced. Let's start with ethics.

What are ethics? Ethics are principles of right conduct or a system of moral values. In a work setting, ethical discussions provide employees with a forum to explore ideas about morals, values and principles. The areas of attention can be quite diverse, such as general applied ethics, professional ethics, medical and social ethics, ethics in popular culture and entertainment, ethics regarding specific issues (for example, death and the process of dying) as well as applications in varied contexts (public safety). Everyone is encouraged to examine ethical ideas in general and related to the job, such as how to balance a desire for gain with a commitment to service. Ethical discussions are most successful if clear guidelines are communicated and skillfully managed. In a wellness context, groundrules emphasize a tolerance for all positions expressed, consent to resist proselytizing and support for open-minded, frank and non-insistent points of view.

Ethics can enhance a sense of order in a person's life, an overarching scheme of discipline that adds to and crystallizes the ethical sense and awareness that already exists at a sub-surface level.

Everyone is in favor of ethics. Ethics are like apple pie, motherhood, the flag and steroid-free baseball. Ethics are without natural enemies - at least in principle. Who would vote, for example, against wisdom, courage, temperance and justice? Nobody. Unions, management, customers - all favor and welcome good ethics. Even unethical people, groups, and institutions, such as Republicans and North Korean dictators, child molesters and tobacco company executives, claim to be ethical. In fact, Muslim terrorists talk about their ethics. Recently, a religious leader posed this ethical dilemma: Do minors require their parents consent to become suicide bombers? Imagine that. This is the subject of a big ethics debate among some leading theoreticians of global jihad, according to Bret Stephens, writing in the Wall Street Journal (Global View, 3/25/08, p. A22.) Ethics can be used in the strangest ways, as this quote suggests: We call on the fathers and mothers not to become barriers between their children and paradise. In short, everyone wants to be seen as virtuous, good, noble and true to popular ideals. Yet, the norm is usually not to discuss such matters, probably for the same reasons most do not speak freely about politics, sex, race, gender and religion - fear of controversy.

A good place to start the ethical ball rolling at the workplace is learning about the philosophical foundations, social issues and ethical concerns considered most relevant to business and professional life. Most universities and colleges have courses in ethics --faculty are excellent resource persons capable of constructively and effectively bringing ethics into worksite wellness programs. Among the basic ethical questions to entertain might be, what ethics do YOU embrace and what ethics does the company promote? Are they aligned?

Knowledge of certain philosophical, historical (Plato's Laws, as an example), religious and literary ethical traditions is invaluable, but there is no magic bullet, that is, there is no always-certain ethical compass. Better to teach moral reasoning than to demand adherence to core values or ethical checklists.

Here are a few specific ways ethics could be added to workplace wellness. Start with a few simple questions for discussion. It would be best, for unfettered dialogue reasons, if there were no official corporate imprimatur linked to particular answers at the introductory stages. Note also that it is usually a good thing to employ a skilled facilitator (such as local college faculty, as suggested above) to guide the discussion.

1. Identify a few essentials of the ethical life. 
   
   
2. Discuss the question - Do most humans generally know right from wrong, honor from shame, virtue from vice? 
   
   
3. Are most people able to recognize the differences between good and bad, truth and falsity, right and wrong? If not, if most of what we know is derived from teaching and of experience, how can such instruction be improved? 
   
   
4. Can social policies be devised and implemented that encourage the best and discourage our lesser tendencies?
   
    
5. Can right, honor and virtue be advanced in any way? If so, by whom under what circumstances and conditions? 
   
   
6. Who usually sets ethical standards, by example if not by word? Would you list secular leaders? Religious authorities? Friends? Certain role models?

Ethics is like fitness in at least one sense: Our capacity to perform work or function ethically diminishes with disuse. A person must employ his/her ethical muscles to keep them in shape for the work required. Neither fitness nor a high ethical standard is a skill or faculty achieved and done with; in each case, a high level of functioning must be safeguarded by usage and fine-tuning. In the case of ethics, this means open-minded discussions, reflection and building. As with vigorous regular exercise, we are never done with ethics -- our values are a work in progress, a process, not a product.

Most people are not highly articulate, at least not initially, describing their ethical values. This does not mean they do not have well-developed ethical systems. Rather, most folks are simply not accustomed to talking about ethics, except in certain ritual or highly structured ways (religious beliefs, for instance, which are often confused with ethics). For example, most people are quite comfortable talking about fairness but less so expressing its applications. Putting phrases (excellence in all we do, or service before self) on posters, calendars, desks and office stationary will not boost integrity. This is advertising and sloganeering, not a reliable reflection of noble conviction.

Ethical positions are more often caught than taught. That is, they are unconsciously communicated by cultures. A deed is worth many thousands of words about how to think and act. Thus, ethical modeling is a significant influence at the workplace and elsewhere. A scoundrel of a boss will not corrupt all workers any more than a moral exemplar will bring everyone to the high ground. But, both will influence many employees in one direction or the other. No question but that an ethical company needs ethical leaders. Such leaders will not assure ethical success, but it will boost the odds in a positive way and reduce the negative effect of ethical slackers.

This is a complex and rich topic that deserves a thorough study. A few other notes or overall suggestions can hint at the possibilities. Ethics can make worksite wellness discussions come alive in interest for all employees. Such a program can also enrich the quality of life of those who think about and act upon ethical insights likely to emerge from a well- ordered program. Consider these parting notes and cautions: 

• There is a fine line between valuing and promoting ethics and acting as if one is some kind of holier than thou keeper of supernatural truths that everyone else must adopt because you embrace them.
  
  
• Nobody's perfect, including those who set high ethical standards for themselves and hope for the same in others. Mistakes will be made; transgressions will occur. Don't be too hard on yourself or others. 
  
  
• Guard against a paralysis of moral quandaries. Ethical misjudgment or missteps are not always catastrophic or even irrevocably harmful. They can be lessons learned. 
  
  
• Read and discuss good sources about ethics. Follow-up worksite discussions that are lively, creative and dynamic can energize a wellness program like body fat compositions never have and never will. 
  
  
• Find wellness leaders who love the subject of applied ethics, who can explain it to others with enthusiasm and passion! Good teachers create good curricula; however, good curricula, of themselves, cannot make good teachers.

An ethics element at the worksite guarantees nothing but could affect nearly everything. The bottom line in ethics promotion and awareness is to consider standards, values and principles of right conduct. This is all we can ask people to do -- and doing so will help them prepare to do better, most of the time. When difficult choices and decisions come along, employees can assess their responsibilities and their characters, and act as prudentially as possible, reasoning wisely and well.

Consider the possibility that Heraclitus was on to something. It may be helpful for all concerned to expose principles to the light of day. The content of character, as with lifestyle, is a choice. Thoughts and deeds do become us, and affect who we become, to no small extent. Thus, including ethics in worksite wellness might boost quality of life enhancement. 

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MENTAL DOMAIN under the skill area of mental health. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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