Many people with whom we spoke emphasized that buy-in from the leaders in any organization is essential to establishing a culture that supports and reinforces an effective wellness program. Part of this comes from direct culture-setting; leaders need to “walk the talk” on workplace wellness to establish a health culture as the norm in any organization. In a more practical sense, leadership buy-in is also often the key to securing the necessary resources to create and sustain a comprehensive program. In large organizations, this works best when buy-in comes from multiple departments or areas, as this reinforces the culture in a broad way and creates many stakeholders in the program’s success.
