Healthy personnel policies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to note that the current discussion about employer behaviors appears to be more concerned with how these affect the physical world than the consequences of the adoption of new management practices and organizational changes for the physical and psychological wellbeing of their employees. Design/methodology/approach - Keynote speech (review of the literature). Findings - This paper argues that the overlap between health and personnel economics is a new, fruitful area of research that can fill this void. Recent research in health economics has taught us that the life cycle perspective is key, and accordingly, the importance of childhood conditions have become increasingly better understood. However, the determinants of adult health, and the role of work life and working conditions and changes therein, are less well understood. Originality/value - The paper discusses what economists can contribute to this area of research, and then selectively reviews some previous studies, including an investigation of the relationship between job design and health in Europe. Finally, some thoughts are given regarding promising areas for further research and a brief discussion of the major challenges involved.