The role of senior leaders in the development of healthy workplace programs: a case study in call centres

Abstract

Although there has been extensive research about managing costs of employer health and benefit plans, there has been less attention on preventative approaches such as healthy workplace programs (HWP), and more specifically, the role of senior leaders in HWP effectiveness. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted in two call centres with similar HWPs. The findings suggest that, despite similar HWP design features, the role of senior leaders is central to employee perceptions about the overall HWP effectiveness. The five themes relating to what senior leaders do in effective HWP environments are discussed in this paper.