Heigh Ho — Work and Wellbeing

Trump's Attack on Workers: How HR and Wellness Associations Are Responding

Today’s AI assisted conversation is based on Bob Merberg’s article, “New Threats to Employee Wellbeing: How HR and Wellness Associations Are (And Aren't) Meeting the Moment [https://heighho.substack.com/p/associataions-employee-wellbeing-trump-shrm-eeoc-osha-nlrb].” Subscribe to the Heigh Ho newsletter at https://heighho.substack.com. Employee wellbeing faces mounting challenges as the Trump administration takes action on multiple fronts (for example, by trying to gut the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-hobbles-us-anti-discrimination-agency-by-firing-democrats-2025-01-28/] and the National Labor Relations Board [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-fires-us-labor-board-member-hobbling-agency-amid-legal-battles-2025-01-28/]; dehumanize the federal workforce [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/doge/federal-workers-gripped-mental-health-instability-trump-cuts-rcna194485]; and sow chaos at the Occupational Health and Safety Administration) [https://popular.info/p/in-botched-dei-purge-osha-trashes], much of which has taken place under the guise of “anti-wokeism.” If you’re a member of an HR and/or a wellness association, a subscriber to its journal or newsletter, a conference speaker or attendee, or a prospective award applicant… your engagement is your voice. Before you join, renew, register, subscribe, or apply, check whether the organization’s actions and advocacy align with the values it professes. This episode’s music is by EVGENY from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/users/crab_audio-47493304/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=301132] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com [https://heighho.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Employee Engagement SOS?

Is employee engagement a sinking ship? According to Gallup, engagement is taking on water, with the firm’s frequently repeated survey findings showing an engagement rate of 31% — a 10-year low. But a closer look surfaces insights that lead us to believe employee engagement may be very much afloat. We break it down in this AI-assisted conversation, based on the original Heigh Ho article Employee Engagement SOS [https://heighho.substack.com/p/employee-engagement-gallup-merberg]? (See the article for links and references.) Subscribe to Heigh Ho — Work and Working Life [https://heighho.substack.com]: https://heighho.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com [https://heighho.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Understanding Evidence-Based Practice for Employee Wellness Leaders

“How do we do an evidence-based wellness program when there is no evidence?” This was a question asked of me by a distinguished wellness director. She also happened to be a physician who understood better than most the meaning of evidence-based practice. You may agree or disagree that there is no evidence supporting specific employee wellness interventions, but for now, the more important questions are: How do you decide? And what is evidence anyway? I've come to realize that most wellness leaders, as well as HR directors and CEOs, don't care about evidence and aren't even persuaded by it when it's presented to them. So be it. But as today's episode makes clear, you'll be better equipped for wellness success if you understand what scientific evidence is; what its hallmarks are; and why — and this piece often gets lost — wellness programs should not be directed exclusively by evidence. Wellness program leaders are especially likely to benefit from today's AI-assisted deep dive into evidence, as the conversation is shaped with your needs in mind. To keep it tight, I had to omit some things I would have liked to include. But only the nerdiest listeners will object to their absence: The difference between prospective and retrospective studies; the definition and value of cluster randomized controlled studies, which are an important part of the scientific literature on wellness; more details about bias, systematic review, and meta-analysis; and the role of gray literature, like those white papers produced by commercial enterprises and nonprofit agencies. Be that as it may, in an era when we all get drawn into conversations, especially around science, regarding what's true and what isn't, anyone willing to spend a few minutes with some attention on this lively, practical dialog will learn something relevant to your everyday life. Off we go! [Subscribe to Bob Merberg’s Heigh Ho newsletter at https://heighho.substack.com] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com [https://heighho.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Let Your People Go... to the bathroom (podcast version)

A conversation (AI-assisted) about an employee wellbeing topic a lot of people never think about: Delaying bathroom use because of lack of scheduling flexibility, lack of access, or excessive job demands. This has serious physical and mental health consequences, and you’ll be shocked at the range of workers affected, including — in addition to warehouse and poultry processing workers, who’ve been in the news — nurses, teachers, women working in predominantly male jobs, professional drivers and transit operators, bankers, call center reps, and even work-from-home employees. This conversation counters the prevailing commodification of employee wellbeing, emphasizing instead the importance of meeting workers’ basic needs. It also summarizes OSHA regulation regarding bathroom breaks, while outlining solutions. Today’s “deep dive” is based on Bob Merberg’s Heigh Ho article, “Let Your People Go: As leaders evangelize wellbeing, workers are deprived of decent bathroom breaks [https://heighho.substack.com/p/let-your-people-go-bathroom-breaks-restroom-toilet].” Subscribe to Bob Merberg’s newsletter, Heigh Ho — Work and Working Life. [https://heighho.substack.com] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com [https://heighho.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Joseph Zito — Hero of the Triangle Factory Fire

A quick, AI-assisted conversation describing the heroic actions of Joseph Zito, hero of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. This episode is based on Bob Merberg’s web page, The Story of Joseph Zito [https://www.jozito.com/about_jozito_joseph_zito/]. Learn more about the fire, and how it became an inflection point in the arc of employee wellbeing, in the previous podcast episode — or read about it in Bob Merberg’s free Heigh Ho newsletter article, A Nation that Catches Workers Before They Fall [https://heighho.substack.com/p/human-factor-employee-wellbeing-triangle]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com [https://heighho.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]