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Making a healthy change: a historical analysis of workplace wellbeing

James Wallace

Management and Organizational History, Volume: 17, Issue: 1-2, Pages: 20 - 42

Swansea University Author: James Wallace

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Abstract

This paper looks at the precedents of current wellbeing programs, examining three historical modes of workplace wellbeing in order to analyze the way in which employees have become subjects of wellbeing discourse. In doing so, this paper seeks to illustrate the historical trajectory of the managemen...

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Published in: Management and Organizational History
ISSN: 1744-9359 1744-9367
Published: Informa UK Limited 2022
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa59937
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spelling 2022-11-24T17:17:42.8351333 v2 59937 2022-05-03 Making a healthy change: a historical analysis of workplace wellbeing 6575f6398c0c87484d1ffa580f1861a0 James Wallace James Wallace true false 2022-05-03 FGHSS This paper looks at the precedents of current wellbeing programs, examining three historical modes of workplace wellbeing in order to analyze the way in which employees have become subjects of wellbeing discourse. In doing so, this paper seeks to illustrate the historical trajectory of the management of employee health, exploring both its disjunctures and continuities. It is argued that workplace wellbeing can be characterized in two ways. First, as an intervention into the lives of employees, becoming a means of producing ‘fit for work’ subjects. Second, in terms of the legitimation of this intervention through its discursive positioning as a response to prevalent social concerns. It is noted that, while wellbeing has evolved over time in terms of its rationale and its practices, it has continued to be characterized by these two features. Journal Article Management and Organizational History 17 1-2 20 42 Informa UK Limited 1744-9359 1744-9367 wellbeing; wellness; subjectivity; Foucault; genealogy; paternalism; human relations 3 4 2022 2022-04-03 10.1080/17449359.2022.2068152 COLLEGE NANME Humanities and Social Sciences - Faculty COLLEGE CODE FGHSS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council through a PhD studentship. 2022-11-24T17:17:42.8351333 2022-05-03T09:21:11.1605921 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Business Management James Wallace 1 59937__23972__1900f119b4674f3c934455e5664a2cc0.pdf VoR.pdf 2022-05-03T15:42:08.6223235 Output 787449 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2022 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Making a healthy change: a historical analysis of workplace wellbeing
spellingShingle Making a healthy change: a historical analysis of workplace wellbeing
James Wallace
title_short Making a healthy change: a historical analysis of workplace wellbeing
title_full Making a healthy change: a historical analysis of workplace wellbeing
title_fullStr Making a healthy change: a historical analysis of workplace wellbeing
title_full_unstemmed Making a healthy change: a historical analysis of workplace wellbeing
title_sort Making a healthy change: a historical analysis of workplace wellbeing
author_id_str_mv 6575f6398c0c87484d1ffa580f1861a0
author_id_fullname_str_mv 6575f6398c0c87484d1ffa580f1861a0_***_James Wallace
author James Wallace
author2 James Wallace
format Journal article
container_title Management and Organizational History
container_volume 17
container_issue 1-2
container_start_page 20
publishDate 2022
institution Swansea University
issn 1744-9359
1744-9367
doi_str_mv 10.1080/17449359.2022.2068152
publisher Informa UK Limited
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Management - Business Management{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Business Management
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description This paper looks at the precedents of current wellbeing programs, examining three historical modes of workplace wellbeing in order to analyze the way in which employees have become subjects of wellbeing discourse. In doing so, this paper seeks to illustrate the historical trajectory of the management of employee health, exploring both its disjunctures and continuities. It is argued that workplace wellbeing can be characterized in two ways. First, as an intervention into the lives of employees, becoming a means of producing ‘fit for work’ subjects. Second, in terms of the legitimation of this intervention through its discursive positioning as a response to prevalent social concerns. It is noted that, while wellbeing has evolved over time in terms of its rationale and its practices, it has continued to be characterized by these two features.
published_date 2022-04-03T04:17:37Z
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