Returns on Wellbeing Institute Podcast
This podcast helps HR professionals, C Suites and Boards of Directors embrace employee wellbeing as a bottom-line business strategy. We provide in-depth expert interviews, real-world case studies and original research to help companies implement evidence-based, socially responsible wellbeing initiatives that deliver real returns.
Latest Episodes
Making Stress Work for You
In this podcast, we speak with Dr. Steven Stein PhD, a clinical psychologist and expert on psychological assessments and emotional intelligence. We discuss how wellness programs can combine “hardiness” and “emotional intelligence” to reduce the harmful effects of workplace stress and help employees learn to effectively process stress in ways that support employee health and improve workplace performance.
Repairing Toxic Workplaces
In this podcast, we speak with Jessica Childress, managing attorney and founder of the Childress Firm PLLC, an employment law firm based in Washington, D.C that represents clients in all aspects of employment law. We’ll discuss characteristics of a toxic workplace and action steps to fix toxic workplaces.
Dean Health Plan: Taking An Individual Approach to Whole-Person Wellbeing
In this podcast, we speak with Jenni Beekman, Health Promotion Manager at Dean Health Plan, a health insurance company based in Madison, Wisconsin. We’ll discuss how Dean Health’s whole person approach to wellbeing includes individual support that helps employees engage with the company’s wellness offerings and take ownership of their own wellbeing journey.
Staff Wellbeing: Key to Thriving Schools
In this podcast, Karyn Richmond, Wellness Coordinator of Sun Prairie Area School District, and Collisa Mahin, Wellness Coordinator of Duval County Public Schools, discuss how their schools foster a thriving workforce with evidence-based workplace wellbeing initiatives.
Creating Cultures of Health
In this podcast, Dr. Richard Safeer, the Chief Medical Director of Employee Health and Well-Being at Johns Hopkins Medicine, who also leads the Healthy at Hopkins employee health and well-being strategy, provides an evidence-based roadmap for creating and shaping a culture of health.
Engaging Managers In Workplace Wellbeing
In this podcast, Scott Behson, a professor of management at Fairleigh Dickinson University, discusses the role of managers in shaping workplace wellness initiatives and provides strategies for engaging, training, and holding managers accountable to support wellbeing initiatives.
Healthy Eating and Wellbeing with Dr. David Katz
In this podcast, we interview Dr. David Katz, a board-certified specialist in preventive medicine and public health, about the role of healthy eating in achieving optimal health and how employer wellbeing initiatives can help employees understand and embrace healthy eating.
What Employers Can Do To Help Manage the Diabetes Crisis
In this podcast, Aduro’s CEO, Dr. Darren White discusses how employers can effectively address the diabetes crisis and boost employee health outcomes.
How Human-Centric Design Can Improve Employee Wellbeing
In this podcast, Doug Shapiro, VP of research and insights at OFS and hosts Imagine a Place podcast, discusses the role of people-first design and how it can improve employee wellbeing.
Helping Employees Meet Financial Hardships
In this podcast, Holly Welch Stubbing, CEO of E4E Relief, a nonprofit that helps employers provide grants to employees facing natural disasters and personal hardships, discusses E4E’s model for helping companies provide emergency relief as part of their workplace wellbeing initiatives.
Employee Wellbeing And Stock Performance
In this podcast, we talk with Ray Fabius, a physician executive who served in academics, private practice, managed care, the health insurance industry about his recent study, Companies That Promote a Culture of Health, Safety, and Wellbeing Outperform in the Marketplace.
Rhino Foods Fosters Financial Wellbeing With Income Advance
Debora Rolland, Executive Director of the Rhino Foods Foundation, explains how employers can help employees meet every day financial needs with Income Advance, an inexpensive and easy-to-set-up program that can support financial wellness for employees and increase morale, productivity, retention.
Expert Interview: What Employers Need To Know About Medical Debt
Allison Sesso, the Executive Director of RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit organization dedicated to removing the burden of medical debt, discusses how medical debt has become a major source of low financial wellbeing in America and offers strategies for employers to help employees avoid or tackle medical debt.
Expert Interview: Childhood Trauma and Employee Mental Health
In this interview, Diana explains how ACEs contribute to workplace absenteeism, healthcare costs, and mental illness, and provides an overview of ACEs to help employers understand.
Expert Interview: Paul Scialla, Founder and CEO of Delos
In this interview, Paul discusses how Well Building principles are improving indoor workspaces and discusses research at the Well Living Lab.
Expert Interview: Darcy Gruttadaro, Mental Wellbeing In The Workplace
In this podcast, Darcy Gruttadaro discusses the challenges and opportunities for companies to improve employee mental/emotional wellbeing.
Expert Interview: Richard Citrin; Helping Employees Reduce Stress
Moderate stress is a natural and unavoidable part of life. But high stress that’s sustained over time can lead to serious physical and mental illness.
Expert Interview: Jon Robison and Rosie Ward, How To Build a Thriving Culture at Work
No wellbeing program, however good, will work in resistant workplace cultures. Yet, many businesses implement wellness programs while ignoring the central role of culture in ensuring the success of any wellbeing initiative.
Dale Cook, Founder, Learn To Live: New Approaches to Mental Health in the Workplace
Employee mental health challenges are on the rise and spiking employee stress levels from challenges both inside and outside the workplace are hindering job performance and contributing to higher healthcare costs.
Justine Zinkin, CEO, Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners: How Employers Can Help Financially Struggling Employees
The economy is reportedly healthy with nearly full employment. Yet, surveys show that almost half of US employees struggle to pay for basic necessities, and four out of ten adults today could meet a $400 emergency without taking a loan…
Al Lewis
This interview of Al Lewis highlights some of the controversies surrounding workplace wellness. Mr. Lewis is a harsh critic of some well-known wellness industry commentators. Mr. Lewis does not call out anyone by name, but he accuses the industry of lying when it claims to save money.
Mike Thompson, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions
Mike Thompson is the CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, formerly, the National Business Coalition on Health. The National Alliance is an association of over 50 regional coalitions whose members provide healthcare coverage to over 45 Million Americans.