WellTrend: A workplace wellness podcast

In the first episode of our second season Jake discusses new year's resolutions. Their history and why we fail to keep them. He also goes over the steps to what it takes to form a habit.Here are some of the links Jake mentions in the podcast:5 steps to create a habit, according to science - CNN10 Top New Year's Resolutions for Success and Happiness in 2019 | Inc.comThe History of New Year's Resolutions - HISTORY

Jake welcomes Whitney Gorsegner to the WellTrend podcast for the final episode of our first season. Whitney Gorsegner is Wellness Program Manager at Garver where she provides personal wellness education and support for Garver employees, focusing on a total mind and body approach to living a healthy lifestyle. Whitney has been with Garver since December 2017 and is responsible for implementing wellness solutions for over 900 employees across the firm's 35 offices. Jake and Whitney talk about learning to build a corporate culture of well-being, helping people where they're at and trends for the future of wellness in the workplace.

Jake is joined by guest Kristin  Meschler, Regional Director of Health & Productivity at AssuredPartners, for a wide-ranging discussion on making wellness programs work in organizations across the country. Jake and Kristin talk about helping clients clarify their goals, build culture and implement programs that work for employers and employees alike.

Jake welcomes guest Bisma Anwar to the WellTrend podcast to talk about seasonal affective disorder and coping skills for dealing with seasonal depression. Bisma is a Licensed Mental Health counselor based in New York City and hosts her own podcast Therappuccino (therappuccino.com) focused on therapy, self-care, and wellness. 

Jake welcomes Emily – a dietician, certified trainer, wellness consultant and new mom – to the podcast to talk about nutrition and work-life balance for working mothers. They talk about establishing priorities and finding ways to deal with the stress of being a working mom in the middle of a pandemic.

In this episode of the WellTrend podcast, Jake addresses a challenge that many people are facing as we continue into the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic: burn out. Employees across a wide variety of industries are experiencing unprecedented stress in their work and lives. Mental health continues to be a major issue and caring for the overall well-being of employees has never been more important. Jake talks about dealing with the challenges of burn out and shares what he's learned about finding peace and balance.

In this episode of the WellTrend podcast, Jake talks about resiliency as a component of wellbeing. He offers his own tips and tricks for facing challenges and becoming more resilient personally and in the workplace. 

In a lively exchange, Courtney and Jake chat about recharging for work and life. Topics include work-life balance vs. work-life integration, taking time away from work, and how important it is to refresh and restore. 

Jake and Courtney welcome guest Felicia Williams who is Director of Culture Advancement for Humana's Employer Group segment. Felicia talks about communication, common objectives, scorecards for measuring  wellbeing, and provides examples of the work she does to advance culture within her group at Humana. 

Courtney and Jake welcome guest Michelle Wax who is founder of The American Happiness Project to talk about creating more joy, energy, and connection every day. They discuss American Happiness Project's documentary, workshops, strategies, cognitive science and much more. 

Courtney and Jake check in on the New Year's resolutions that they committed to at the start of the year and reflect on their own wellness and work/life balance. The book that Jake is reading kicks off a chat about stress, anxiety and trying to be authentic in challenging work situations. 

Workplace culture is on the docket for this episode of the WellTrend podcast. Courtney and Jake dig into the importance of building a culture of wellness throughout an organization. They talk about top-down and bottom-up approaches to culture that they've seen help and hinder business effectiveness. How do you build a positive culture in your workplace that will keep your employees healthy and happy? Listen to this episode for insights.

Courtney & Jake talk about the financial wellbeing "gap" in workplace wellness. Many organizations want to ensure that they are addressing three core components of wellness in their workplace program: physical health, mental health and financial wellbeing. But often the financial part of the trio is overshadowed. Today's podcast addresses finance wellbeing in workplace wellness programs.

Jake and Courtney welcome guest Brian Zehetner, Director of Clinical Integration at Humana, for a discussion about nutrition and integration of nutrition resources into workplace wellness programs. As Brian says in this episode, "Nutrition should be foundational to whatever experience you're trying to create for your target audience. Very few things can have as profound an impact as nutrition can have as pertains to general wellness and also the prevention and/or management of chronic conditions." 

Courtney and Jake talk about the cyclical nature of workplace wellness programs and pose the question "What is the wave of the future in wellbeing?". They discuss point solutions, rewards solutions and engagement-type platforms and the importance of matching a wellness program to an organization's objectives and culture. As the world moves closer to a post-pandemic reality, what will organizations focus on to help employees improve their health and wellbeing and how will that focus impact the decisions they make when selecting a workplace wellness program?

As we begin to see light at the end of the tunnel from the COVID-19 pandemic, what will the world of workplace wellness look like in the future? Specifically, will employers choose to invest more in mental health resources or will they remain status quo? Jake and Courtney talk about trends in mental health offerings within Employer Assistance Programs and different types of  pandemic and work-from-home stess employees are facing. 

In this episode of the WellTrend podcast, Courtney and Jake talk about how organizations can take an inventory of the tools and resources already in their benefit packages and use those to begin shaping a wellbeing program. They discuss the role of wellness champions in helping communicate with employees across organizations and to help establish a culture of health and wellness.

Jake and Courtney talk about motivation and the science of behavior change. With personal reflections as well as business insights, they talk about finding the "Why?" and establishing the "How?" in workplace wellness programs.

Jake and Courtney welcome guest Mike Clarke, Senior Enterprise Partnership Leader at Humana, who answers questions about digital fitness connections. How has the pandemic driven innovation in the fitness industry and what does that mean for members of workplace wellness programs? There are a wide variety of fitness devices, apps and exercise equipment available to help people maintain their health whether at home or on the go. New programs are being launched as demand increases. Connecting to these digital devices is an important part of Humana's wellness initiative.

Courtney and Jake discuss strategies and steps organizations can take to build a holistic wellness program. They talk about their own experiences taking an inventory and asking the right questions to meet expectations for launching successful workplace wellness programs.

Courtney and Jake discuss how mental health resources have taken center stage in workplace wellness programs over the past year especially as the COVID pandemic disrupted lives for so many employees. 

Courtney and Jake share thoughts on how organizations can encourage year around well-being through their wellness programs and talk about their personal journeys into careers in the workplace wellness industry.

Jake and Courtney talk about digital wellness connections and trends transitioning from 2020 into 2021. Home workouts, meditation, physical and mental well-being, apps that help people with wellness and keep connected. Plus talk about resolutions for 2021.

WellTrend is a new podcast from Humana Wellness with discussion of workplace wellness trends, tips and best practices for employers and sales representatives. In this pilot episode, Jake Lewellen and Courtney Schroeder introduce themselves and describe their professional backgrounds as well as offer a glimpse of topics they'll discuss in future episodes covering workplace wellness trends in 2021.