Wellness: Its Impact on Student Grades and Implications for Business

Abstract

Personal wellness, manifested as physical, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, environmental, and occupational dimensions, are discussed in a hospitality business context. Each dimension is analyzed as to its importance to student success, as measured by grade point average (GPA), and its implications for employee productivity and corporate profitability. University students tracked and reported how they spent their time relative to these seven dimensions over a 2-week period. Physical, social, environmental, and occupational dimensions all affect a student's GPA. Whereas wellness is as much habitual as it is learned, the authors make a case for wellness education in hospitality programs. Moreover, there is evidence to support a relationship between wellness and both individual and corporate values.

KEYWORDS:

• Wellness
• student success
• productivity
• profitability
• value
• GPA

INTRODUCTION

Wellness has evolved over time, first being defined as the absence of physical and psychological illness, to a concept encompassing many more complexities. The evolution began as early as Greek mythology, when the Greeks developed two separate gods, one associated with illness, Panacea, and one associated with preventing illness, Hygiea. To a degree, this separation still exists today. However, wellness is not just the absence of illness. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity” (World Health Organization, 2007). This statement from the WHO constitution drafted in 1948 established a platform from which to better understand both corporate and individual “wellness.” By 1961, Halbert Dunn was attempting to develop a wellness framework and operationalize wellness for individuals, communities, and companies. The WHO and Dunn began to look at people, and to a lesser degree, companies and societies, in terms of “high-level wellness.” The goal was, and is, to maximize an individual's potential well-being and balance that well-being such that the focus is no longer simply Panacea wellness.

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

When examined holistically, wellness is not static, it is a process of obtaining optimum health for an individual versus a state of health predetermined by society (Archer, Probert, & Gage, 1987; Myers, Sweeney, & Witmer, 2000; Powers, Myers, Tingle, & Powers, 2004). It is not something that can be achieved by an individual or business overnight, it is a process that requires continuous work by both the individual and the organization (Zwetsloot & Pot, 2004). In the seminal work by Dunn (1961), it is quite apparent that the key to high-level wellness is balance. When the traditional physical wellness dimension is recognized as the sole source of wellness it highlights the gap between a short-term solution and a long-term balanced solution (Dunn, 1961). For instance, in today's society obesity is a concern for both children and adults (Luchsinger & Richardson, 2006). Obesity issues, marked by a lack of physical exercise as well as stress-related physical and mental ailments, are rampant in the United States (O’Rourke & Sullivan, 2003). The typical panacea response to this “illness” is to reduce caloric intake (New Jersey Department of Agriculture, 2004). Obesity may be related to a lack of physical activity, nutrition, or excess calorie consumption, but it is more multifaceted. Obesity may be a symptom of one or more wellness dimensions (Ardell, 1977; Hettler, 1984; McCormick & Lockwood, 2006). Hettler identifies six dimensions in his individual wellness model: Social, Occupational, Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, and Emotional. These dimensions will be subsequently explored in more detail relative to both an individual and firm, but for now it is enough to realize that wellness is vastly more than the absence of illness, and it is made up of more than just good nutrition and exercise.

The idea of wellness, however important it is to an individual and society, may not resonate with business or educators, especially the less concrete spiritual, emotional, social, and intellectual dimensions. Due to the increased competition for quality employees as well as persistently low unemployment, employee retention and wellness is paramount to an organization's success (Gustafson, 2002). Recent research supports some psychologists’, business leaders’, and educators’ claims that these more ethereal dimensions are more important to overall wellness, employee satisfaction, and productivity than many give them credit (Benjamin, 2006; Chandler, Bodenhamer-Davis, Holden, Evenson, & Bratton, 2001; de Klerk, 2005; Gunther, 2002; Milano, 2005). This study begins by examining how wellness manifests itself as student success, as measured by grades. It then goes on to develop a theoretical discussion of the applicability of this model to a business environment.

To that end, Ureda and Yates (2005) provide a holistic view of health for an individual and organization such that a healthy organization, or individual, is one that is able to resist environmental challenges. A diseased organization or individual, by definition, is unable to respond to and resist environmental change. Wellness for an individual or organization is preparation for and anticipation of environmental challenges that are sure to come. Research suggests wellness has lifelong and holistic effects on academics, individuals, society, and business success, but few studies appear to exist relative to wellness and college students (Myers & Mobley, 2004). This gap persists despite studies that have shown that individual behaviors can be changed through intervention (Broderick, 2003; Russel-Mayhew, Arthur, & Ewashen, 2007).

Whether it is in college or in business, changing wellness behavior and perception is foremost in creating value (Johnson, 2005; Powers et al., 2004). When wellness is understood and integrated into an individual, it is valuable. Once internalized into an individual or organization it becomes intellectual capital and an organizational asset that contributes to wealth creation (Adams, Bezner, Drabbs, Zambarano, & Steinhardt, 2000; Roslender, Stevenson, & Kahn, 2006).

Individual wellness, or integral health management, once internalized, translates into corporate value in the form of reduced health care costs, increased productivity, improved company image, facilitation of recruitment, and reduced turnover (O’Rourke & Sullivan, 2003; Zwetsloot & Pot, 2004). It is no surprise that illness has been documented as having a dramatic impact on company profitability (Milano, 2005). Presenteeism, the act of coming to work when not well, is costing American business $150 billion per year. This expense is in addition to $450 billion in health care costs and another $225.8 billion in lost productivity, 70% of which is traceable to preventable illnesses (Benjamin, 2006; Hall, 2006a, 2006b; Milano, 2005). American business is not alone; 200 million workdays were lost in the United Kingdom due to illness, and much of the illness was stress related (Chandler et al., 2001; Cryer, McCraty, & Childre, 2003; Ryan and Watson, 2004). Wellness and health promotion has also yielded an average return on investment of $3.14 to a high of $4.50 per dollar spent (Johnson & Johnson, 2003; O’Rourke & Sullivan, 2003; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). Wellness activities have been shown to reduce absences by 9.3%, staff turnover by 25%, and stress by 14%, and subsequently improve productivity by 8% (Paton, 2005). However, to achieve these results, or any results, wellness programs must be personal and fit the lifestyle of the employee (Paton, 2003). It is important to understand that wellness is not an isolated activity focusing solely on the corporate life of an individual absent of life outside the classroom or company walls.

Wellness capital is something that individuals possess, to varying degrees, upon graduation and is nurtured, to varying degrees, by employing organizations. Stress management, or wellness, can be learned and, once learned, reduces issues related to somatization, psychoticism, and interpersonal sensitivity (Chandler et al., 2001). Stress is not only psychological, but a cause of physical illness, and as such should be addressed in schools and places of work. Universities and, more pointedly, hospitality programs would be amiss to not provide students with an understanding of, and practice in, wellness as part of their “tool chest” upon graduation. Given the apparent importance of wellness as related to return on investment (ROI), it would seem prudent for companies to demand wellness education and seek out well students as future employees—similar to how they seek out characteristics of teamwork, leadership, creativity, adaptability, etc. (Roslender et al., 2006). Just as business leaders must provide an environment that promotes wellness, academia must cultivate wellness among its students (Roslender et al., 2006). The less work-family balance that exists, the less well the employee—as exhibited in physical wellness, productivity, turnover, absenteeism, and performance (Madison, John, & Miller, 2005). Despite the apparent importance of wellness, the research related to student wellness and student success and employee wellness and firm success is limited.

For purposes of this study, wellness is comprised of seven separate dimensions, more or less: physical, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, environmental, and occupational (Adams, Bezner, & Steinhardt, 1997; Allison, 1997; Connolly & Myers, 2003; Eberst, 1984; Greenberg, 1985; Hattie, Myers, & Sweeney, 2004; Hettler, 1984; Madsen, 2003; Smith, 2006). These seven dimensions are discussed in depth, relative to an individual and firm, in the following section.

DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS

Physical Wellness

The physical dimension of wellness is the most common aspect of wellness and the one most people think of when they consider themselves, or others, well or ill. Physical wellness incorporates all aspects of lifestyle choices and the physical self. Exercise, sleep, diet, personal hygiene, and the use of drugs or alcohol, among others, are all lifestyle choices that affect a person's physical self (Eberst, 1984; Hettler, 1984; Lafferty, 1979).

These lifestyle choices are important to the firm because physical wellness decisions by an individual directly impact firm value (Johnson & Johnson, 2003). Physicians have found that 7 to 9 hours of sleep are ideal for most individuals to sustain maximum wellness (National Sleep Foundation, 2007). Countless research studies and billions of consumer dollars are spent on diet and exercise programs to affect and improve a person's physical self (Hettler, 1984). Smoking and drinking (especially in excess) are all personal choices that affect physical wellness. One of the challenges facing a group of students, soon to be employed adults, is getting the group to perceive that their physical wellness may be in jeopardy unless they spend the time necessary to evaluate their lifestyle and make appropriate accommodations. Many hold that they will be physically “well” simply because they are too young to have serious health and wellness concerns. According to government statistics, the patterns of behavior that lead to otherwise avoidable disease and death by age 40 to 44 most commonly take shape between the ages of 20 and 24 (Hettler, 1984; Idler & Kasl, 1991). It is incumbent upon educators to send more informed and responsible citizens, who perceive wellness as a lifetime commitment, into the workplace. Employers who seek out these informed and well citizens stand to reap the rewards of improved performance.

Spiritual Wellness

In order to more easily facilitate an understanding of and initiate steps toward wellness at an earlier point in one's life, it is important to understand the wellness dimensions beyond the ubiquitous physical dimension. Spiritual wellness is an element commonly misunderstood, especially in the business world (Gunther, 2002). Often it is seen as only encompassing prayer and belief in God, Allah, or Yahweh. However, it is more and less (Chandler, Holden, & Kolander, 1992; Myers et al., 2000, Pink, 2006). Spirituality is not so much a single aspect of wellness, but an overlying or central component that is necessary for balance and sustaining the other wellness dimensions that can increase ones ego strength (Chandler et al., 1992; Myers & Williard, 2003).

Some authors claim that the core to wellness is spirituality (Ardell, 1998; Eberst, 1984). Spiritual wellness has to do with a belief in and respect for someone or something larger than one's self, a “unifying force.” It is an ability to construct a deeper meaning about life and is believed to be more fundamental than all other dimensions (Ardell, 1998; Chandler et al., 1992; Greenberg, 1985; Myers & Williard, 2003). Spiritual wellness often leads to greater personal growth, more responsibility, and stronger relationships with others, all characteristics desired in students and employees (Gunther, 2002). To massage one's spiritual wellness, time and energy could be devoted to attending religious gatherings, taking showers (for pensive alone time), jogging, gardening, engaging in meditation, practicing yoga, or reading thought-provoking books on contemporary topics that require value judgments (Chandler et al., 1992; Lafferty, 1979). The deeper the understanding of spiritual wellness or energy, and development of spiritual purpose, the higher the level of an individual's own wellness (de Klerk, 2005; Gunther, 2002; Pink, 2006). Cultivating spiritual wellness at the college level will likely reduce stress while in college and upon entering the hospitality industry, a benefit to both the individual and the firm (Ardell, 1977; Chandler et al., 2001; Hettler, 1984; O’Rourke & Sullivan, 2003).

Intellectual Wellness

Intellectual wellness is stimulating the mind for stimulation sake; it keeps one engaged in meaningful, informed conversations on an ongoing basis (Hettler, 1984). Reading books on unfamiliar topics, increasing one's personal vocabulary, or participating in educational pursuits via the local library, a lecture series, or a college course could all be viable ways to enhance intellectual wellness and promote lifelong learning that is useful both on a personal and professional level. Ferrari Corporation has discovered that intellectual stimulation for line-level and senior management employees results in a healthy work environment (Gardiner, 2006).

Herein lies a tactical problem to the categorization and study of wellness. One person's intellectual wellness may be another person's occupational wellness. If an English teacher reads a great work of literature for the sole purpose of broadening one's knowledge, then the book likely satisfies, and benefits, that teacher's intellectual wellness. However, if that same English teacher reads a classical work of literature to prepare for class, develop assignments, and improve one's ability to successfully do one's job, then the classical work of literature is more likely satisfying occupational wellness. Therefore there ambiguity may exist in subsequent categorization of wellness areas. As noted earlier, wellness has as much to do with perceptions and how those perceptions impact individual behaviors, which then may determine the pace and capacity of intellectual capital (Fylkesnes & F⊘rde, 1991).

Intellectual capital is how an organization delivers value to its customers. Managing intellectual capital and subsequent wellness dimensions as firm assets is imperative to the success of an organization (Roslender et al., 2006). Firms that cultivate intellectual wellness, such as Ferrari, have been found to be more profitable (Gardiner, 2006). As Roslender et al. (2006) point out, valuing intellectual capital is a real issue in today's business environment. As students enter the workplace they too should be able to place a value on their intellectual capital and individual wellness.

Emotional Wellness

Emotional wellness is developing a sound psyche and strong sense of self-identity or self-esteem (Adams et al., 1997). Unfortunately discussions of emotional wellness and psychological aspects of one's self are not prolific in the business management research. However, more and more research is shedding light on the benefit of emotional wellness with the study and application of emotional intelligence and the value of interpersonal skills in the workplace (Goleman, 1995). Emotional wellness, again much like physical wellness, is more than the absence of illness, and is as much about self-perception as it is actual tangible emotional attributes (Fylkesnes & F⊘rde, 1991). How an individual perceives his or her salutogenesis health is relative to his or her environment. Just as someone who does not have a diagnosed disease may not be fully well, someone who is not diagnosed as crazy may not be fully sane or emotionally well. Managing emotional wellness is difficult because techniques that work for one individual may be completely inadequate for another. Similar to how introverts and extraverts, as categorized by a Meyers-Briggs type indicator, recharge themselves in entirely different manners, such is the case for managing emotional wellness (Myers, McCaulley, Quenk, & Hammer, 1998). Spending time alone for one individual may help to improve emotional wellness, while for another individual emotional wellness can only be improved in a social setting. Reading improves wellness for one person, while exercise helps another. As may be self-evident, emotional wellness can be an aspect of or façade to other wellness dimensions (Adams et al., 1997). Helping students or employees understand and improve their own emotional wellness will likely lead to healthier and more valuable corporate citizens.

Social Wellness

Social wellness is the ability and willingness to give and receive support from others (Adams et al., 1997; Myers & McCaulley, 1985; Procidano & Heller, 1983). Individuals can be the life of the cocktail party, socially inept, or anywhere in between; an individual may have one or many friends who are close or superficial, and this social prowess impacts social wellness (Hale, Hannum, & Espelage, 2005). Persons exhibiting optimal social wellness can manage their social calendar relative to all other aspects of personal wellness. The student who manages a busy social calendar, irrespective of all other aspects of his or her personal wellness, may be extremely popular, but may be unable to succeed in educational pursuits, physical health, or the like. Furthermore, as the individual moves into a career, an excessive social calendar may be detrimental to his or her occupation. Anecdotal evidence from working with young graduates, and supported by Procidano and Heller, suggests that the ability to develop and maintain social wellness upon graduation is paramount to job satisfaction. An inability to develop a social network, or the severing of a network upon graduation from college, often influences turnover (Gustafson, 2002). Graduates working atypical hours in a new environment may find it difficult to develop a social network of peers and may rapidly become socially unwell (Gustafson, 2002). Again, there is not a magic amount of social time to achieve optimum social wellness. However, there is some truth to the saying “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” As is the case with all aspects of wellness, balance is the key to maximizing personal wellness, and the ultimate balance is highly dependent upon establishing a social network that results in a healthier individual (Hale et al., 2005). The school or firm that nurtures this balance of social wellness helps add value to the individual and subsequently to the firm.

Environmental Wellness

Environmental wellness is the one dimension that is not directly identified in most wellness models, but is encompassed in many models as a subset of other dimensions (Hattie et al., 2004). Environmental wellness is related to one's surroundings and the fit between the environment and the individual (Allison, 1997; Zwetsloot & Pot, 2004). It is often misunderstood to only mean the care for and management of “trees.” However, environmental wellness includes management of one's space. When a discrepancy exists between the environment and the individual, stress ensues, as well as mental or physical illness (Allison, 1997). An individual's environment has been shown to influence behavior, and any change in wellness should take into consideration an individual's environment, where some environments are more conducive to wellness than others (Dunn, 1977; Fischer et al., 2000; Horowitz, 1985; Hughes, 2006; Ureda & Yates, 2005).

Some make an effort to live and work in an urban environment and are quite happy. Others prefer a suburban or rural environment. Satisfaction with one's surroundings is one aspect of environmental wellness. A second aspect is acting in a manner consistent with preservation of the environment for future generations. Recycling, conservation, preservation, and acknowledging one's surroundings are all part of environmental wellness. Smokey Bear stating that “only you can prevent forest fires” is indicative of environmental wellness. Making a conscious effort to do good for one's individual environment is difficult to measure, especially when attempting to quantify it as a dimension of time. How long does it take to recycle? Is recycling the easy aspect of environmental wellness, or does one have to recycle everything to truly be environmentally conscious? Here again, wellness has extremes from Greenpeace activist to toxic waste producer. Environmental wellness is the act of making an effort, however small it may be, to affect change in one's environment. Acknowledging that one is part of the environment is the first step to environmental management, creating balance, and making the environment better for the individual and firm (Ureda & Yates, 2005). With today's focus on “green,” it seems prudent to encourage and hire environmentally conscientious employees.

Occupational Wellness

Occupational wellness is the final dimension in the wellness model. An occupation is what someone does for a living and where the individual works. Occupational wellness is achieved when there is a proper “fit” between the individual and the job, similar to the fit between a person and his or her environment. Someone's occupation, from a larger perspective, continues even into retirement, as wellness, career, and leisure are intertwined (Lengfelder, 1987). Most often, occupational wellness is achieved through contentment with one's job (either paid or unpaid). Achieving occupational wellness does not necessarily translate into well employees and subsequent firm profitability. For example, an examination of the Canadian steel industry found that the work environment accounted for only 14% of lost time. The remaining 86% of lost time occurred at home (Murray, 2004). Similarly, student occupational success can not focus solely on the time spent in the classroom; the remaining six dimensions can and will affect success. Contentment with the job can and should be viewed from a holistic perspective, as it appears possible to increase life satisfaction through serious leisure (Fave & Massimini, 2003).

To fully understand occupational wellness it is often necessary to link job satisfaction and life satisfaction (Ghiselli, La Lopa, & Bai, 2001). The homemaker raising a family and volunteering throughout the community may be completely satisfied in his or her occupation, and therefore occupationally well. Conversely, the chief executive officer (CEO) of a Fortune 500 company who is perceived as successful based on social position, compensation, and title may be extremely unsatisfied in his or her position, and therefore occupationally unwell. For students, occupational wellness may constitute having a job on campus while going to school, or simply attending classes. The correct amount of time working at an occupation to satisfy an individual's wellness is again dependent upon the individual and the occupation. Personal aspirations will often drive an individual's time in the office, and consequently, their satisfaction related to how time is spent. For a workaholic, spending 70 to 80 hours at the office may constitute a viable wellness plan, whereas 30 hours may be sufficient for someone else.

PROPOSED MODEL

As depicted by the proposed model (Figure 1), wellness is a relationship between the following seven dimensions: physical, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, environmental, and occupational. Moreover, holistic wellness is a journey as opposed to a destination, and the journey will be different for each individual and firm (Allison, 1997). Simply understanding these seven dimensions of wellness does not intrinsically mean that you, or your firm, will be more well and more profitable. The process of beginning the journey and maximizing the journey may be more beneficial to an individual and organization than actually being classified as well. An example illustrates the point. A single day of dieting does not constitute wellness, nor does a single Thanksgiving Day feast constitute illness. A person who is conscientious about his or her diet and is slightly overweight is likely more physically well than an individual who is “technically a perfect weight,” but eats irrespective of nutrition.

Figure 1 Wellness diagram.

A person who achieves greater wellness is someone who is aware of all aspects of wellness and consciously works to incorporate these into his or her life. A firm that improves all dimensions of an employee's wellness will theoretically achieve greater profitability. The absence of a single wellness dimension in the short term may go unnoticed, but over time will result in a breakdown in the system. An individual who works hard and plays hard may be satisfying aspects of occupational, emotional, social, and possibly even spiritual wellness compared to an individual who only works hard in a sedentary environment maximizing occupational wellness. Over time, the sedentary workaholic will likely have more health issues, reduced productivity, increased health care costs, and lost workdays than the individual who spends less time working, but enjoys a balance of physical, spiritual, and emotional activities.

A draw for many individuals who have gone back to school or are shifting careers is the satisfaction of their need for intellectual wellness. If this need is met in the workplace, then turnover may be reduced. A draw for many young college graduates is to live in an environment that is socially stimulating, whereas others may view the same environment as a rat race and prefer a more subdued rural or suburban environment. The corporation that can maximize the environmental match or minimize the environmental mismatch will reduce turnover and increase productivity.

Herein is a potential problem with wellness at the corporate level. Is wellness an individual's responsibility or something a business should try to manage? Should business begin the day with mandatory calisthenics, or possibly a 30-minute run three times per week, or do firms simply need to provide access to a gym? Countless organizations have wellness initiatives ranging from an annual blood pressure check to one or more full-time individuals helping the organization manage employee wellness via a personalized employee assistance program. Unfortunately some of the “best” wellness programs still focus on physical wellness, with limited emphasis on the remaining six dimensions. This may be due, in part, to the financial benefits of reduced insurance costs associated with a physically well workforce or the recognized constraint that, outside the place of employment, managers have no direct and immediate influence on individuals’ behavior.

This study does not attempt to measure employee wellness across all facets of the hospitality industry; however, this is the ultimate objective in this line of research. This study examines the seven wellness dimensions relative to the currency of academia, that is, course grades. The belief is that students who are more well relative to the seven separate dimensions will achieve better grades and a higher overall GPA. This study stands as an initial facsimile to the belief that employees who are more well add value to their respective firms.

METHOD

Seven dimensions of wellness were identified and defined in an introduction to hospitality and tourism management class. After a 75-minute class discussion, based on Hettler's wellness model (1984) with the inclusion of the environmental dimension, students were asked to track how they spent their time over a 2-week period.

Data were collected from undergraduates in a hospitality and tourism management program at a midsize university in the United States between 2003 and 2006. Two hundred forty-nine responses were obtained (79.5% were female). Following Oswick and Barber's (1998) methodology, the total sample was divided into three subcategories according to cumulative college GPA. The upper quartile of GPA represents “top performers” (mean GPA = 3.49), the lower quartile represents “poor performers” (mean GPA = 2.39), and the middle quartile was labeled “moderate performers” (mean GPA = 2.92) (see Table 1). The GPA of students was compared along each of the seven dimensions to discern a statistical difference in time spent on each activity. The actual raw data were examined by two researchers for trends relative to how individuals in the upper and lower quartiles, as measured by GPA, spent their time.

Table 1 Percent of Time Used Compared to GPA

	GPA	Physical	Spiritual	Intellectual	Emotional	Social	Environmental	Occupational
Total
Max.	4.0	69.2%	23.0%	35.7%	21.1%	36.8%	22.5%	30.5%
Min.	1.65	17.8%	0.0%	0.3%	0.0%	0.6%	0.0%	0.0%
Average	2.93	47.2%	2.4%	18.7%	5.1%	18.9%	1.4%	6.3%
Lower
Max.	2.61	69.2%	18.2%	35.7%	21.1%	36.8%	8.5%	23.2%
Min.	1.85	17.8%	0.0%	5.2%	0.0%	6.5%	0.0%	0.0%
Average	2.39	46.1%	2.7%	18.5%	4.6%	19.9%	1.2%	6.9%
Middle
Max.	3.23	62.7%	23.0%	34.2%	20.3%	36.2%	11.2%	30.5%
Min.	2.61	29.9%	0.0%	0.4%	0.0%	0.6%	0.0%	0.0%
Average	2.92	47.0%	2.4%	18.7%	5.2%	18.7%	1.2%	6.8%
Upper
Max.	4.0	67.6%	21.7%	31.1%	16.2%	35.3%	22.5%	20.0%
Min.	3.23	37.6%	0.0%	0.3%	0.0%	1.5%	0.0%	0.0%
Average	3.49	48.7%	2.1%	18.9%	5.3%	18.2%	2.0%	4.8%
t test		0.029∗	0.199	0.377	0.216	0.083∗∗	0.046∗	0.024∗

Students tracked their time in 30-minute increments, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for 14 days. Students reported their time usage at the end of both 7 and 14 days. Self-reporting of how an individual spends his or her time and the perception of its impact on wellness has been shown to improve salutogenesis health (Adams et al., 1997; Diener, 1984; Fylkesnes & F⊘rde, 1991; Procidano & Heller, 1983).

RESULTS

The data suggest that academic success, as measured by grades, is best achieved through balanced wellness. Students classified as top performers spent significantly more time on physical and environmental activities (p < .05) and significantly less time on occupational activities (p < .05). To a lesser degree (p < .1), top performers spent less time on social activities. It is important to note that students in all GPA groups spent some time relative to each dimension (see Table 1).

As a group, students spent the majority of their time on physical activities (47.2%), including sleeping, eating, and exercise. It should be noted that 8 hours of sleep represents 33% of total time, and therefore 47.2% of time spent on physical activities is not unusual (National Sleep Foundation, 2007). Social and intellectual activities each represented approximately 18% of student time. The large majority of students considered academic pursuits an intellectual activity, while some viewed it as occupational. As noted by Fylkesnes and F⊘rde (1991), perception is an important part of wellness. The following section will expound on the findings relative to hospitality education and industry applications.

DISCUSSION

The extra time spent by top academic performers relative to the physical dimension represents balance as much as an ideal amount. The poor performers had both more and less physical activity than did top performers, as conveyed by a standard deviation of 8.2% for poor performers versus 6.4% for top performers. In some instances, poor performers exercised too much in lieu of studying or attending class, while others spent too much time sleeping. It was interesting to note that the sleep pattern of poor performers was more erratic than the sleep habits of top performers. Creating balance to achieve success, in this case measured by GPA, appears to be the key, as suggested by the seminal work of Dunn (1961). The premises, based on academic data, are that tracking how employees spend their time and helping employees create greater balance will likely result in greater firm value.

Top performers spent more time relative to the environmental dimension. This, at first, seemed somewhat paradoxical. One supposition may be a correlation between environmental issues and being conscientious in all that one does. This conscientious behavior would likely result in better course grades. How conscientiousness might transfer to industry can only be surmised, but creating a healthy work environment will likely result in efficiencies.

Earlier research by Kozar, Horton, and Gregoire (2005) supports this study in finding that students who spent more time working achieved lower grades. Some poor performer students spent up to 23% of their time in occupational activities, corresponding to 38 hours per week. The average for poor performers was 11.5 hours, compared to only 8 hours for top performers. Keeping with the earlier discussion, the amount of time spent on any dimension is relative to all others and cannot be normalized; however, it appears that excess occupational activities distract from dimensions that lead to success as measured by GPA. As noted, not having a job, 0% occupational activities, did not necessarily lead to being either a top or poor performer. Interestingly, only 8 top performers had 0% occupational activity, while 15 poor performers had 0% occupational activity; again adding credence to the view that balance is important. Given the nature of the hospitality industry and the propensity for employees to moonlight to make financial ends meet suggests that some moonlighting may be advantageous, but a second full-time job will reduce the overall quality of employee work.

Balance is the key to success, and achieving the ideal balance is an individual activity, not something that can or should be mandated. Making students and employees aware of the importance of moderation and balance relative to these seven dimensions is an important first step (Allison, 1997; Black-Branch & Lamont, 1998a, 1998b; Horowitz, 1985; McCormick & Lockwood, 2006; Rickman, 1992). Students, in their discussion of the class exercise, mentioned time and time again that being aware of how they spent their time was important in making a conscientious effort to change their behavior. Furthermore, Horowitz (1985) states that accurate and appropriate health awareness is critical to overall wellness of an individual. Making employees aware of these seven dimensions is the first step toward salutogenesis corporate wellness. The second step is modeling wellness at the senior management level, and the third is creating opportunities for individuals to affect their personal wellness.

There is a need to be able to control, or change, a behavior once the individual is made aware of it. An employee who is stressed due to lack of social engagement and excess occupational activity may need assistance in coping with the situation. If the occupational excess is only temporary, then employees need to be made aware of this anomaly and given an opportunity to alter behaviors to cope with the imbalance. Additional research can and should be conducted on coping strategies of successful students and managers, similar to the work done by Allison (1997). If employees are in need of more social time than it is possible to provide, then employees and employers need to communicate this and seek an amicable solution. In some situations, time for social activities may seem possible, but due to the nature of the hospitality industry, an employee's social time may not correspond with that of peers, and therefore adjustments may be necessary. Gustafson (2002) found that among club managers, organizations that provided social events for employees had lower turnover. Managers have commented that they have also counseled young managers on money matters to help reduce stress. A similar counseling session may be necessary for any one of the seven dimensions to achieve proper individual balance. Industry must be cognizant of the fact that each individual is different. An appropriate amount of social or emotional time for one manager may be too much or too little for another. Buckingham and Coffman (1999) suggest that the successful organization is the one that seeks to treat each person individually. Doing so relative to the seven dimensions of wellness would be a worthy place to begin.

In the end this study identified seven aspects of wellness that can and should be further studied at both the academic and industry level. Moreover, among a limited sample of college students, it is apparent that balance is the key to academic success, but more physical and environmental activities and fewer social and occupational activities leads to greater academic success as measured by grades. The next step is to assess these seven dimensions among hospitality employees relative to one or more measures of firm or individual corporate success.

Notes

∗Significant at 0.05.

∗∗Significant at 0.10.