WHEREAS, over 300,000 New York City municipal employees power our vibrant, safe, and thriving city; and
WHEREAS, City workers need to be healthy to be productive and effective at work, at home, and in their communities, yet, as in the city’s general population, many employees suffer from or are at risk for preventable diseases or mental health challenges – hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and depression, among others – that diminish their work performance and impact their work attendance and quality of life; and
WHEREAS, worksite wellness programs that are well designed and well implemented, and have strong leadership support can result in numerous benefits for employees, employers, and the public that depends on government services, such as improved employee physical and mental health, and such programs can lead to reduced stress, reduced health care costs over the long term, improved employee retention and recruitment, and improved productivity due to increased job satisfaction and morale and reduced short-term disability and other absenteeism; and
WHEREAS, the workplace is a natural and powerful place in which to promote health among workers as recognized by the US Surgeon General, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization, since employees spend much of their waking hours there; and
WHEREAS, in 1992, Mayor David N. Dinkins signed Executive Order No. 46, which “recognized that substance abuse and other mental, emotional and social problems have a serious impact on the health, welfare and social life of the individual, the individual's family, co-workers and the community;” and
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 46, which created the City’s Employee Assistance Program, signaled the first time that the City recognized employee wellness as a priority and laid the groundwork for cooperation among City agencies, municipal labor unions, and City employees to address wellbeing in the workplace; and
WHEREAS, in 2016 the City founded WorkWell NYC with the goal of creating a comprehensive workplace wellness initiative that would impact health care costs over time and enhance efforts to attract well qualified candidates to civil service employment and, most importantly, enable City workers to live healthy, productive lives and deliver the best public services in the nation; and
WHEREAS, WorkWell NYC is an innovative workplace wellness program of the New York City Office of Labor Relations (OLR) in collaboration with many City agencies and the leadership of the City’s unions, that has taken successful steps to improve the health of New York City’s municipal workforce with a spectrum of evidence-based health promotion programs that have been enthusiastically embraced; and
WHEREAS, WorkWell NYC has grown significantly under this Administration, having engaged over 165,000 participants through more than 140 programs delivered across City agencies since 2022; and
WHEREAS, it is a priority of this Administration to encourage employee wellness and to ensure the programs offered and supported by WorkWell NYC are integrated into all City agencies and readily available to all employees of the City of New York;
NOW, THEREFORE, by the power vested in me as Mayor of the City of New York, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. I hereby recognize WorkWell NYC as the official citywide worksite wellness program for the City of New York, which shall be responsible for the development and management of citywide employee wellness programs and for the coordination of agency-based employee wellness programs.
a. WorkWell NYC shall operate as a division of the New York City Office of Labor Relations, which shall be responsible for providing appropriate support for the operation of WorkWell NYC.
b. WorkWell NYC shall support the full health and well-being of employees of the City of New York through programs to address prevention and chronic conditions, physical fitness, mental well-being and health equity utilizing a range of modalities including in-person, virtual, on-demand, social media and other formats as appropriate.
§ 2. Agency coordination.
a. WorkWell NYC shall coordinate and support leadership of agency-based programs as well as provide resources through citywide and workplace programs and grants as appropriate.
b. Mayoral agencies shall designate employees to serve as liaisons to Workwell NYC.
i. Agency Workwell NYC liaisons shall be responsible for enlisting agency leadership and engaging with agency staff as necessary to ensure that workplace wellness initiatives are appropriately planned and implemented as part of the organizational culture. Liaison activities may include, but shall not be limited to, designating additional staff or establishing committees to coordinate or promote initiatives.
ii. Agency Workwell NYC liaisons shall, where appropriate, identify staffing and financial resources as well as space for wellness programs and activities. Liaisons shall also seek to encourage staff participation and remove barriers to such participation, and may recommend environmental and policy changes to encourage wellness in the workplace.
c. Mayoral agencies shall report to WorkWell NYC on the implementation of wellness initiatives, including the designation of Agency Workwell NYC liaisons, on a periodic basis as determined by Workwell NYC, so as to ensure accountability for such implementation.
§ 3. WorkWell NYC shall conduct regular surveys of employees of the City of New York and agency leaders to identify needs designed to inform programming content and expansion opportunities.
§ 4. WorkWell NYC shall coordinate relationships with municipal labor union wellness programs and health benefits programs to encourage employee wellness and bolster programming offered by the City of New York.
§ 5. WorkWell NYC shall provide annual reports on citywide workplace wellness activities and participation to the Mayor or the Deputy Mayor responsible for oversight of OLR.
§ 6. This Order shall take effect immediately.
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Eric Adams
Mayor