Metrics + Measurement


"What gets measured, gets managed" - Peter Drucker, Management Guru
Oftentimes health gets clumped into a category of social impact, which unfortunately, leaves many impacts of health left out. For instance, with employee health programs much of what is measured focuses on the prevention of diseases or disabilities. While it is great that companies are beginning to focus on this aspect of health for their employees, the development of a positive social culture or psychological well-being of employees is rarely found. Many of the measurements associated with these two aspects of employee health are qualitative, and therefore not recognized as rigorous data. I've mentioned this in other work of mine.  These concepts that are not measured as easily often need a combination of quantitative measures, such as satisfaction surveys, coupled with qualitative measures, such an in-depth interviews. To get to the root of what truly increases or decreases the likelihood of a positive social culture and happy, productive employees, more effort is often needed. This is exactly the reason why many companies do not even try to assess these aspects of health. They are more elusive because emotion, motivation and satisfaction aren't so easily measured when there are many moving parts.

An interesting development in employee health and well-being was made in 2017 by Tyler Vanderweele of Harvard.  Called "The Flourishing Index"*, this tool is divided across 5 domains of life and attempts to capture more of what makes individuals happy and productive. The five domains (measured on a scale from 0-10) are:

  • Happiness and life satisfaction 
    • How satisfied are you with life as a whole these days? (0 = Not at all satisfied; 10 = Completely satisfied) 
    • In general, how happy or unhappy do you usually feel? (0 = Extremely unhappy; 10 = Extremely happy)
  • Physical and mental health 
    • In general, how would you rate your physical health? (0 = Poor; 10 = Excellent) 
    • How would you rate your overall health? (0 = Poor; 10 = Excellent)
  • Meaning and purpose 
    • Overall, to what extent do you feel things you do in your life are worthwhile? (0 = Not at all worthwhile; 10 = Completely worthwhile) 
    • I understand my purpose in life. (0 = Strongly Disagree; 10 = Strongly Agree)
  • Character strengths and virtue
    • I always act to promote good in all circumstances, even in difficult and challenging sitautions. (0 = Not true of me; 10 = Completely true of me)
    • I am always able to give up some happiness now for greater happiness later. (0 = Not true of me; 10 = Completely true of me)
  • Close social relationships 
    • I am content with my friendships and relationships. (0 = Strongly Disagree; 10 = Strongly Agree)
    • My relationships are as satisfying as I would want them to be. (0 = Strongly Disagree; 10 = Strongly Agree)
One key aspect to take away from the idea of metrics and measurement is that it is so incredibly important to use CONSISTENT measures. One's research and data will carry much less weight, if any at all, if different metrics/measurements are used throughout. You want to compare outcomes from one metric to outcomes from the same metric to show reliable evidence.

-Vicky

*Source for "The Flourishing Index" information: VanderWeele, T.J. (2017). On the promotion of human flourishing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., 31:8148-8156.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Waves

Image
I've recently started doing some research on the recommendations for women when they begin trying to conceive (TTC - a new abbreviation that I've become aware of).  The internet, as many of us know, can sometimes be a bit of a black hole.  You go in looking for one thing and come out with a million more questions and even more confusion than you started with.  Which is why, I didn't JUST go to the internet.  I also sent texts out to all of my friends who are already mommas and asked them to share with me what they did during this stage. What I received from friends was a sense of excitement that this journey was close to beginning for me, knowledge sharing about what worked for them, questions about the timing we were considering, and ultimately just support and an offer of being there for whatever questions come up during my research & the process in general. I maybe shouldn't have chosen the week of my period to dive into all of this.... as most women know, hor...
Read more

Younger

Image
I have two fabulous friends who both work in the TV/film industry as second assistant directors.  I wish I could say that I was even one tenth the connoisseur of their art as they are, but sadly I only dabble.  I just recently started watching a show that one of them worked on a few seasons of -  Younger .  More on that later...    This weekend, I found myself getting the scary news that one of my best friends was suddenly in the hospital.  This friend is a generally healthy, active, and wonderful individual.  Their partner texted me early one morning that they had an arterial dissection on the back of their head at the base of their neck. I'm not happy to share that I've actually had two other close friends go through something terrifyingly similar over the past few years.  Neither of these friends were really given a clear answer as to why they had these episodes.  The recovery, though lengthy and requiring close monitoring near the ...
Read more

Stoplight

Image
I've recently started seeing a new therapist.  As you may have seen from my last post, I've also been thinking about visiting smash rooms to let out emotions (still haven't managed to try one out yet!).   For me, therapy has always been a space where I am able to get vulnerable and real with someone who really doesn't know me.  And even though it happens every time I return to therapy for support, I'm always surprised to hear the shock that many mental health professionals have at my steadfast and lofty standards, for myself exclusively.  These standards, of course, began for me at a very young age. In psychology, the concept of nature vs. nurture is often discussed.  This is the idea that both nature and nurture play a role in how someone turns out. Experiments have shown that even identical twins can develop significant differences when they grow up in different environments.  Most research, however, eventually posits that both nature and nurtu...
Read more