If there is one thing that nearly all Americans do - it’s work. We spend nearly 90,00 hours of our life doing it - and in many scenarios, that experience can be stressful, mentally and emotionally taxing, or may even lead to depression. Fortunately, the modern landscape of corporate culture carries numerous leaders and role models whom trail blaze a path for all employees to find true health and happiness at their jobs. Modern corporate wellness programs are proven to improve employee behaviors, reduce elevated health risks, reduce health care costs, improve productivity, and even decrease absenteeism. These factors each can correlate directly to a happier relationship between the employee and employer. With the possibilities to create a better life for those they serve presented to them, perhaps employers around the country will adopt these essential programs.

Director Biography - Daniel Gartzke

Daniel Gartzke is an alumni of University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Radio/Tv/Film Department and an internationally, award winning Director. Dan is the winner of Best Documentary and Best Director awards in London, Paris, and Los Angeles for his debut documentary, Light in The Darkness 2019, the seven time International Best Documentary winner for Rescue Story: Saving Companion Animals 2020 and the award nominated Tethered: Are We the Experiment? in 2021. He brings expertise and vision to the important issue of workplace wellness regarding the social contracts and its affects on the bottom line for business and the long term effects on the humans who work for them.

Director Statement

The average American spends 90,000 hours of their life at work. Nearly half of them say they have gained weight at their current job. A quarter of them say that their job is their greatest source of stress. With so much of ourselves being poured into our occupation and workplace, how can the outcomes be so poor?

This film seeks to address the issue from a number of perspectives. By featuring the voice of acclaimed author Leigh Stringer, and other authorities in the field, we first examine the numerous issues plaguing workers in America today. Obesity, smoking, musculoskeletal issues, stress, absenteeism, and presenteeism, are just a few, and as we will discover, they all have solutions. We speak with people and companies on the forefront of these solutions, including environmental designers, business leaders, and even healthcare providers, to determine how the alarming workplace trends can be reversed.

How did things become this problematic in the first place? What sorts of priorities need to be set in order to facilitate change? Has corporate America broken the “social contract?” If they have, can it be mended, or does a modern workplace imply a different set of rules all together? What roles should technology, and the “mobile office” play in the modern world?

Ultimately, what is an ideal, healthy workplace in the modern world, and how do we build it?

My work as a filmmaker takes me all around the world. Unfortunately, I have seen many people chronically unhappy in their jobs, many of whom suffer negative health consequences, mental and physical. My hope is that this film will serve as a ray of hope for those people, and show them that not every workplace is this way, and that improvements can be made. They can also learn small adjustments they can make as workers that will help them to lead happier, healthier lives.

Furthermore, this film is also intended as a letter to those in the driver’s seat on the issue: the business owners. Workplace health and wellness cannot be dismissed as a luxury expense. It should be considered a cost of doing business. My final hope is that we can appeal to these decision makers. Caring about employees is good for a company’s bottom line. It’s also the right thing to do.