Creating a healthy work environment and worker well-being

Modern health care is characterized by increasing levels of job burnout, anxiety and depression among health care workers. Moreover, COVID-19 has exacerbated an already difficult situation resulting in extra problems concerning retention and a resistance to return to workplace. The accumulated evidence on employee well-being indicates that only ‘whole organization’ approaches have the potential to successfully address this significant public health challenge. Unfortunately, the inability to create healthy workplaces is rooted in the significant lack of experience in genuine interdisciplinary collaboration between the relevant scientific fields (e.g. public health, architecture, occupational health, ergonomics, nutrition). This chapter outlines the main developments in the research topic, evaluates the theoretical and practical value of research to date, identifies the gaps in the field, delineates the next steps for human resource management, and charts the way forward in the field.