don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

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

Applied ethics, an element of REAL wellness that would in my view add consequence, interest and effectiveness to worksite wellness programming, is not well understood. Simple discussions at worksites, led by skillful facilitators, could assist employees to explore common personal and business conflicts in non-controversial ways.  Doing so would show that ethical perspectives often play a subtle role, not a controlling influence, on decisions. Employees might also be guided to explore many unexamined, unrecognized and unclear assumptions that shape their ideas about right and wrong. In this manner, worksite deliberations on matters of applied ethics would likely prove consequential for both companies and individual employees.  Explorations of applied ethics would make more people aware of ethical gray areas and other matters warranting attention and clarification. 

REAL wellness programming is vital if the wellness movement is to be a major factor in the future success of organizations. To increase the impact of the movement, connections must be made to such REAL wellness quality of life concerns as applied ethics. Ethical matters are more consequential to individual employee and organizational productivity than medical matters related to risk factors. Of course, it is not an either/or choice, but the need is to include the former, which currently is not part of worksite wellness in America. What a difference a positive focus can make—that is, a focus on REAL wellness, not just health and sickness prevention and management. 

Applied ethics is likely one of the more fruitful areas of REAL wellness. The health or medical system is rife with ethical quandaries. The field of health care is ripe for exploration in new dimensions of wellness programming. The study and testing of right or wrong judgments applied to hypothetical issues would surely generate animated interactions. The discussions would raise levels of ethical understanding dramatically in a short period of time. In doing so, worksite wellness would facilitate moral and ethical character building. Nothing in the current agenda of medical management or risk reduction offers any possibility of such an impact.

Ethics are a vital element in the common decencies: ethics affect human interactions in business and in social discourse. Consensus on ethical matters are likely to render most communications, agreements and understandings more reliable, trustworthy and successful. 

The Society for Applied Philosophy defines applied ethics as "the philosophical examination, from a moral standpoint, of particular issues in private and public life that are matters of moral judgment." Educators in this field promote an understanding of applied ethics to specific worksite settings. They also employ philosophical methods to identify what most would consent to be "morally correct" courses of action. Bioethics, for instance, is concerned with applied ethics in decision-making regarding the allocation of scarce health resources.

With that general background, let's look at a typical ethical challenge—that of conflicts of interest. This is a recurring matter that leads even responsible people into ethical quandaries. It is a topic that begs for attention in our ordinary affairs, but it is particularly well suited for applied ethics deliberations as part of worksite wellness programming. 

Alas, it must wait until next time (December 15)—I'm out of space for the moment. Be well—look on the bright side.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MENTAL DOMAIN under the skill area of emotional intelligence. 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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