MIT Sloan Convening on Work and Health Explored Links Between Employee Population Health and Company Performance

Coming out of the pandemic, employee physical and mental wellbeing is top of mind for business leaders. By investing in employee wellness, businesses can improve the lives and safety of employees. At the same time, these investments reduce healthcare costs and improve productivity—the types of gains that can spur more widespread adoption.

This convening, held October 14, 2022, introduced the HSI Lab on Employee Population Health, which organizes collaborative research opportunities for large, self-insured employers to work with MIT researchers to develop and test ideas that improve employee wellness. We emphasized rigorous research, not anecdotes, to validate evidence-based recommendations,  so we can make true progress.

Panels

Practitioner Panel: The Post-Covid context: employee health realities, barriers, and needs for management research

Moderator: Paul Greenberg, Director of Analysis Group’s Healthcare practice, where he studies health and workplace performance

Panelists

o   Karen Singleton, PhD, Chief of Student Mental Health & Counseling Services at MIT

o   Charles Lattarulo, PhD, Director of the Healthy Minds initiative at American Express

o   Maren Fragala, PhD, Director of Scientific Affairs for HealthyQuest at Quest Diagnostics

Researcher Panel: Evidence, gaps, and opportunities for management research via the HSI Lab

Moderator: Anne Quaadgras, Director of the MIT Sloan Health Systems Initiative 

Panelists:

o   Joseph Doyle, Professor, Applied Economics, MIT Sloan who leads clinical trials on healthcare delivery redesign

o   David Molitor, Associate Professor of Finance and Economics University of Illinois, who helped lead a large-scale trial on workplace wellness

o   Lisa Berkman, Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy, Epidemiology, and Global Health and Population, Harvard, who is an expert on workplace practices