UWP 104A UC Davis Workplace Wellness Programs Paper direction 4-14 reading resource 1. Andersen, L.V., “Workplace Wellness Programs Are a Sham” (Note: You

UWP 104A UC Davis Workplace Wellness Programs Paper direction 4-14 reading resource

1. Andersen, L.V., “Workplace Wellness Programs Are a Sham” (Note: You’ll be greeted by

this threatening message, “Blocked by Content Security Policy .” Just click on the

article’s title again.) link:https://slate.com/technology/2016/09/workplace-wellness-programs-are-a-sham.html

2. Solow, Lena, “The Scourge of Worker Wellness Programs” link:https://newrepublic.com/article/154890/scourge-worker-wellness-programs

3.Read: Mull, Amanda, “Workplace Wellness Comes for the Working Class” link:https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/01/uhauls-nicotine-workplace-wellness/604420/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20200106&silverid-ref=MzEwMTkwMTQyNTU0S0

direction 4-16 reading resource

1. “The Work Required to Have an Opinion” https://fs.blog/2013/04/the-work-required-to-have-an-opinion/

2. “Counterargument”https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/counter-argument

3. Anonymous student sample letter to employees on the file Directions for 4/16
© Jeff Magnin
Reasonable People Can Disagree
For Tuesday, the 14th, we read several articles published by those opposed to workplace
wellness programs. These articles, together with those we read for Friday, the 10th, in favor of
such programs, have – with luck – introduced us to the arguments for and against them.
Altogether, these readings illustrate something important for us to understand as we enter our
professions, respectively: reasonable people can disagree. In our example, those in favor of
workplace wellness programs and those opposed to them each have good grounds to argue as
they do. Neither side is entirely right and neither side is entirely wrong.
With that as background, the first brief reading we do for 4/16, “The Work Required to Have an
Opinion,” will help us understand how we strengthen our arguments when we understand the
concerns with them that the other side will find. In other words, we strengthen our arguments
when we find their risk and address them. To search for these risks is a habit of mind that one
can develop. To be clear: it can be a painful habit, too, especially if we believe wholeheartedly
in the course of action we’re arguing for! But no preferred course of action is perfect, and
therefore ours isn’t. Even if we believe that workplace wellness programs have all kinds of
benefits, we need to acknowledge in our letter to employees – that the actions we propose
have risks, too.
Why? Aren’t we giving an advantage to those who hold the opposing viewpoint? The opposite
takes place. We discover weaknesses in our argument not to recognize them but to overcome
them. This effort to discover and then to overcome is known as “counterargument.”
Here are our readings for Thursday:
1. “The Work Required to Have an Opinion”
2. “Counterargument”
3. Anonymous student sample letter to employees
“The Work Required to Have an Opinion” explains how important it is to understand the
weaknesses in our argument that someone who disagrees with it will find. FWIW, the
businessman quoted extensively in this blog post, Charlie Munger, is the professional partner
of Warren Buffet, arguably the greatest investor of all time. For decades Buffett has considered
Munger his equal in every way.
“Counterargument,” published by the Harvard College Writing Center, explains how a
counterargument is structured in two parts. It also lists the different kinds of weakness that a
counterargument might address. We’re concerned only with one kind, the practical risk. The
other listed risks are outside the scope of our class.
This second reading then explains where in an argument we can place a counterargument – for
our purposes, where we can place it in our letter to employees. We’re free to decide where to
place the counterargument. We have good choices.
The third reading, the anonymous student sample, enables you to do the first part of the
writing assignment, below.
This writing assignment has two brief parts, the second part more challenging than the first.
1. Please evaluate in a few sentences the counterargument made by a fellow UCD student
in the anonymous student sample I’ve posted in Modules. This sample appears beneath
the readings for 4/16. Has this student temporarily “turned against” their own argument
in an authentic way? In other words, do you fully understand the risk or risks that this
student has described in part one of the counterargument? Next, evaluate whether, in
part two, this student “turned back toward,” their own argument. That is, has the
student persuaded you that, even if introducing a workplace wellness program has a
risk, introducing such a program is nonetheless a better course of action than not
introducing one?
2. The writing assignment’s second part is to find a different risk than this student has
found, and then to compose a two-part counterargument that, first, describes this risk,
and, second, overcomes it, as described in “Counterargument.” Remember that no
course of action is risk-free. To introduce a workplace wellness program has several
risks.
If you’re unsatisfied with the risks described in the readings you did for 4/14, you should easily
be able to find additional ones by googling something like, “risks workplace wellness program.”
Finally, I recognize, as I’ve written before, that teaching and learning online are new to all of us.
Moreover, I recognize that for you, in addition, the writing practices and habits of mind I’m
introducing are new. I consider these things when I assign grades.
Contribution to quarter-end grade: 30 pts.
Directions for 4-14
Several Arguments Against Workplace Wellness Programs
Many people concerned with promoting health in the workplace argue for workplace
wellness programs. You’ve just read three articles that argue for them for different reasons.
However, other people concerned with health in the workplace argue against workplace
wellness programs for several reasons. These objections are real and justified. Thus, for
4/14, you’re going to read several arguments against workplace wellness programs, and,
with luck, discover that the issue is more complicated than it seems.
By Tuesday, then, you will have read opposing viewpoints on this issue. Why should you
want to on this issue or on any issue? Remember that the dialogue over workplace wellness
programs is taking place already. We’re joining it, not creating the dialogue, as we will be
when we write a proposal. In that light, we can serve ourselves well when we join this
dialogue by becoming familiar with opposing viewpoints before we write. Please read in
order:
1. Andersen, L.V., “Workplace Wellness Programs Are a Sham” (Note: You’ll be greeted by
this threatening message, “Blocked by Content Security Policy .” Just click on the
article’s title again.)
2. Solow, Lena, “The Scourge of Worker Wellness Programs”
3. Read: Mull, Amanda, “Workplace Wellness Comes for the Working Class”
Note: the syllabus reads that you’ll write something for 4/14 that contributes 30 points – 3% to your quarter-end grade. I’ve moved that brief writing assignment to 4/16.
JM
Directions for 4/16
© Jeff Magnin
Reasonable People Can Disagree
For Tuesday, the 14th, we read several articles published by those opposed to workplace
wellness programs. These articles, together with those we read for Friday, the 10th, in favor of
such programs, have – with luck – introduced us to the arguments for and against them.
Altogether, these readings illustrate something important for us to understand as we enter our
professions, respectively: reasonable people can disagree. In our example, those in favor of
workplace wellness programs and those opposed to them each have good grounds to argue as
they do. Neither side is entirely right and neither side is entirely wrong.
With that as background, the first brief reading we do for 4/16, “The Work Required to Have an
Opinion,” will help us understand how we strengthen our arguments when we understand the
concerns with them that the other side will find. In other words, we strengthen our arguments
when we find their risk and address them. To search for these risks is a habit of mind that one
can develop. To be clear: it can be a painful habit, too, especially if we believe wholeheartedly
in the course of action we’re arguing for! But no preferred course of action is perfect, and
therefore ours isn’t. Even if we believe that workplace wellness programs have all kinds of
benefits, we need to acknowledge in our letter to employees – that the actions we propose
have risks, too.
Why? Aren’t we giving an advantage to those who hold the opposing viewpoint? The opposite
takes place. We discover weaknesses in our argument not to recognize them but to overcome
them. This effort to discover and then to overcome is known as “counterargument.”
Here are our readings for Thursday:
1. “The Work Required to Have an Opinion”
2. “Counterargument”
3. Anonymous student sample letter to employees
“The Work Required to Have an Opinion” explains how important it is to understand the
weaknesses in our argument that someone who disagrees with it will find. FWIW, the
businessman quoted extensively in this blog post, Charlie Munger, is the professional partner
of Warren Buffet, arguably the greatest investor of all time. For decades Buffett has considered
Munger his equal in every way.
“Counterargument,” published by the Harvard College Writing Center, explains how a
counterargument is structured in two parts. It also lists the different kinds of weakness that a
counterargument might address. We’re concerned only with one kind, the practical risk. The
other listed risks are outside the scope of our class.
This second reading then explains where in an argument we can place a counterargument – for
our purposes, where we can place it in our letter to employees. We’re free to decide where to
place the counterargument. We have good choices.
The third reading, the anonymous student sample, enables you to do the first part of the
writing assignment, below.
This writing assignment has two brief parts, the second part more challenging than the first.
1. Please evaluate in a few sentences the counterargument made by a fellow UCD student
in the anonymous student sample I’ve posted in Modules. This sample appears beneath
the readings for 4/16. Has this student temporarily “turned against” their own argument
in an authentic way? In other words, do you fully understand the risk or risks that this
student has described in part one of the counterargument? Next, evaluate whether, in
part two, this student “turned back toward,” their own argument. That is, has the
student persuaded you that, even if introducing a workplace wellness program has a
risk, introducing such a program is nonetheless a better course of action than not
introducing one?
2. The writing assignment’s second part is to find a different risk than this student has
found, and then to compose a two-part counterargument that, first, describes this risk,
and, second, overcomes it, as described in “Counterargument.” Remember that no
course of action is risk-free. To introduce a workplace wellness program has several
risks.
If you’re unsatisfied with the risks described in the readings you did for 4/14, you should easily
be able to find additional ones by googling something like, “risks workplace wellness program.”
Finally, I recognize, as I’ve written before, that teaching and learning online are new to all of us.
Moreover, I recognize that for you, in addition, the writing practices and habits of mind I’m
introducing are new. I consider these things when I assign grades.
Contribution to quarter-end grade: 30 pts.
2/6/2018
All Employees
[Employee Address]
Dear Valued Employee,
Over the last few decades the increasing rate of chronic illness and poor health habits has
been a national issue. This issue, as you can imagine, has put extra strain on the health insurance
fees of privately own businesses, like this one. The impact has only been recently felt because
the age of acquiring these illnesses is getting lower. Being that our company has employees of
ranging ages, the costs allocated to health insurance has been exceeding our capabilities.
Americans in general have been falling into a trend of unhealthy lifestyle patterns.
Studies have shown that from 2012, 50% of all adults in America have had at least one chronic
illness. Additionally, $2.7 trillion of the nations’ healthcare was just for chronic illness treatment
().
It is important to note the specificity to chronic illnesses which are largely brought on by
lifestyle choices. The chronic illnesses that are vastly prevalent today are heart disease, cancer,
obesity and arthritis. Whether it is inactivity or poor health choices (i.e. Smoking, excessive
drinking, etc.), these seemingly personal choices are becoming economic concerns.
A large contributor to chronic illnesses like heart disease, arthritis and obesity is physical
inactivity and eating disproportionately. Majority of adults do not meet the physical exercise
recommendation per year, and as a result, nearly 160 million Americans are obese (). Staying
active and eating moderately is important to health, not just when you get older but from the time
of young adulthood. More than 90% of Americans sodium intake is higher than recommended.
This consumption causes high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems. Avoiding too much
of any food group and maintaining and moderate diet can reduce the risk of health problems.
Furthermore, unhealthy habits such as smoking and drinking excessively are a particular
issue because they can be changed. Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer in the country.
The number of adults who smoke has been decreasing over the last decade, but still 40 million
American adults still smoke today. Moreover, the average cost of lung cancer treatment can
range from $45,000 to $120,000 (). Excessive drinking can result in severe liver issues and high
susceptibility to common sicknesses. By trying to leave habits like this behind, you can help your
own health and reduce the amount of money spent on treatments.
These lifestyle choices affect you primarily, but it can cause significant impact in the
workplace. Chronic illnesses increase the rate of sick days taken by employees. This can be
problematic, because your work consistent is very valued and necessary to helping this company
flourish. The more absences we have per year, the further our productivity decreases. Promoting
a healthy lifestyle at home means promoting the progression of our company and ourselves as
individuals.
These numbers and statistics are important because ignoring it any longer will result in
catastrophic economic and physiological consequences. The expansion of chronic illnesses to
younger adults increase the rate of premiums that all employees pay. I’m certain not every
employee at this company leads an unhealthy lifestyle, however, the people that do are
increasing premiums for everyone. There is a disproportionate bearing of costs which I believe is
unfair. Instead of making ‘unhealthy’ people pay more and ‘healthy’ people pay less, we should
all work towards a common goal of a healthy lifestyle.
To counteract the increasing rates of chronic illness, effective July 1, 2018, the company
is introducing a Wellness Program. This program is not meant to be a punishment but rather a
motivator, as we try to strive for a healthy way of life. To start, the company will sponsor gym
memberships nearby the office and healthier lunch and snack options to all employees. The
Wellness Program will include monthly check-ups to ensure that we are maintaining good health
conventions. These check-ups will include measuring blood pressure, blood glucose levels and
BMI. For all employees that smoke or drink excessively, there will be checks to assess your
efforts to stop these habits. There will also be a biannual stress test. We are not expecting fast
and immediate results, but rather, a progression towards a naturally healthy lifestyle. There will
be a detailed seminar on the program shortly, which all employees are encouraged to attend.
Wellness programs have proven to decrease the cost of premiums and promote
productivity within companies (). This program is optional for all employees; however, we are
offering rewards for those who participate. Rewards for people who maintain a healthy lifestyle
can include, increased stock ownership, financial bonuses, extra vacation days and sponsored
trips to vacation spas.
I understand that this proposition sounds very intrusive and discriminatory. Furthermore,
a lot of our employees make sure to separate work and home life decisions to maintain a good
balance. It seems unfair to reward people for changing their personal lifestyle, when we are
simply a company you work for. While I agree, companies should not be weighing in on
employees’ personal decisions, it is crucial to understand that your personal actions have effects
on the company. Employees spend almost as much time at work as they do at home, and
therefore it would be naïve to assume that activities at home don’t touch the workplace.
I want every employee to know that I would not make this decision without careful
consideration. I would not intentionally try to change the way you live your life. The family-like
environment of this company is very important, which is why I think this is the best course of
action for the company and all of you. This course of action will not please everyone, but I hope
everyone can understand the reason this is important. I look forward to striving toward a healthy
and balanced workplace.

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