Whole person. Whole health. Whole system

Health, human potential and human capital 

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The workplace holds enormous potential to become a powerful positive determinant of health.
Equally, when employee health is optimised, organisations unlock human capital - enhancing engagement, creativity, performance, trust, innovation, and career longevity, while strengthening organisational capital.

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To optimise health and wellbeing, we must consider the whole person, in the whole context of their environment and life - recognising the interconnectedness between health, relationships, meaning, agency, culture, and conditions.

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With economic inactivity at a concerning high, and population health at a concerning low, workplaces sit at a pivotal intersection - where health can move in either direction:

• Towards burnout, chronic illness, isolation, mental health decline and disengagement
• Or towards energy, purpose, participation, connection, creativity and thriving - for the benefit of people, organisations, and society.

 

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Health as capital

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When health is seen not only as the absence of illness - but as a source of capacity, cognitive quality (clarity, creativity, accuracy), energy, adaptability, connection and resilience - it becomes clear that health itself is a form of human capital, alongside skills, knowledge and experience.

 

Health capital enables, protects and powers human potential.

 

Both human capital and health capital are inextricably linked - and when aligned through coherent, human-centred, health-orientated design, culture, strategy and systems - people and organisations flourish together.

 

Workplace wellbeing is evolving. Health and wellbeing is no longer an initiative - it is emerging as a strategic value driver, a source of sustainability, and arguably, an organisation’s highest-value asset.

 

 

What do we mean by Whole Person and Whole Health?

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This means recognising people as whole human beings - not only in terms of role or function - but within the wider context of their life, relationships, experience and environment.

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Whole health includes physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health. Zooming out, it includes the wider socioeconomic determinants – such as finances, housing and more. Zooming in, it includes metabolic health, nervous system regulation, the immune system, the musculoskeletal system and more.

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All aspects of health are inextricably linked. A focus on one area in isolation can be a missed opportunity for identifying and addressing others.

 

For example, a focus purely on mental health may not address an underlying chronic disease that is causing fatigue, cognitive drain and anxiety as a result. It may not capture the caring responsibilities a person is carrying, emotional and relational strain compounded by different team dynamics, or the fact that this is worsened by irritability, or sleep or mood disturbances, due to reliance on caffeine in the day, alcohol to relax, or many other examples.

 

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A framework of Lifestyle Medicine principles applied to workplace whole health

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When considering whole person health within the workplace we can draw from the six pillars of lifestyle medicine, which include:

 

• Nutrition
• Physical activity and movement
• Stress regulation and resilience
• Sleep quality and restoration
• Relationships and social connection
• Minimising harmful substances

We can also include purpose and meaning, agency, and time in nature.

These dimensions apply uniquely for each individual - yet remain common to all – and importantly, they can be cultivated, supported, and optimised.

 

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What do we mean by Whole System?

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It means considering what needs to be aligned within people, between people, and around people for health, participation, value and performance to evolve sustainably - for the benefit of all involved.

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We can learn from evidence, observation and experience.

 

We can assimilate knowledge, apply insight and activate meaningful change.

 

And we can intentionally design conditions where health, culture and human potential grow - not just through programmes - but through alignment.

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Introducing the Empirical Health Solutions perspective

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The following infographic illustrates the Empirical Health Solutions perspective of a whole person, whole health, whole system approach - one where insight, intention and alignment are key.

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It offers a human-centred, health-orientated lens - designed to support and strengthen health capital, realise human potential, and help create a flourishing and sustainable future.

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This perspective provides a way of approaching health, work and human potential that moves beyond isolated initiatives - towards something enabled rather than delivered, shared rather than individual, and cultivated rather than provided. Not a wellbeing programme -  a living ecosystem.

 

Whole person. Whole health. Whole system.
 

A lens for understanding health - and a foundation for building it.