Workplace Wellness that Works: 10 Steps to Infuse Well-Being and Vitality into Any Organization

Step 10Go Global(The International Imperative)

When I was very young, my family lived in Ethiopia. My dad, an epidemiologist, was hired by the U.S. government to fight malaria. Malaria is an infectious disease. If we were to telescope forward to today, my family might have moved to another country to fight a different kind of epidemic: obesity. In our altered reality, the world is waging a battle against obesity and correlated chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. Now, in countries like South Africa, you're more likely to die of heart disease than you are of AIDS or tuberculosis.¹

You've already started a wellness movement, built it, and taken steps to make it last. Now, you need to grow the movement on a global scale—keeping in mind these shifts in global health challenges.

In this chapter, we'll discuss the following:

1. Why the need for wellness is now an international issue,
2. Why the need for well-being, especially emotional well-being, is also a rising international issue,
3. Examples of global bright spots,
4. The importance of sharing best practices across borders, and
5. Steps you can take to build an effective global strategy.

Your Step 10 Checklist

• Clarify your organization's overarching strategy (refer to Pull It All Together addendum). Encourage each global ...