Many people use the terms well-being and wellness interchangeably, but my concern is that this is likley to cause confusion. Wellness has a close relationship with health, as does well-being, of course. However, I believe it is important to distinguish between health and well-being (while not forgetting that they influence each other in significant ways). It is quite possible to be in good health but with very poor well-being (for example, a perfectly healthy person who is deeply distressed for whatever reason) and for people to be ill and yet have a high level of well-being (for example, someone who has a chronic health condition but who is very happy being looked after by loving family members).

To understand the complexity of human experience (both in the workplace and beyond it) we need to understand both health and well-being - and the similarities and differences between them.