This master thesis aims to provide a complex up-to-date overview of the spa industry in the Czech Republic and to analyze the position of Spa Luhačovice. Having shown the growing global importance of wellness tourism, the focus moves onto the spa industry which plays a major role in wellness. Nevertheless,the medical significance of spas can't be overlooked, especially in the Czech Republic where spas are known for the quality of medical care. While statistical reports from the Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic and from the Czech Statistical Office are being examined and analyzed in the country's perspective, Global Wellness Institute provides the majority of the global wellness and spa data. The thesis shows the current state of the industry in the country with its strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, the practical part is focused on Spa Luhačovice, the biggest spa in Moravia region. Various information and data are compared to overall development of the spa industry in the country. Finally, an interview with the spa representative is conducted to further clarify the findings of this thesis.

Diplomová práce řeší, zda reorganizovat hotelové zařízení vybudováním Wellness, popř. Wellness&Spa centra. Návrh variant je docílen na základě externí analýzy hotelového trhu v České republice a Karlových Varech a interní analýzy hotelového zařízení spolu s marketingovým výzkumem v něm.

The aim of this thesis is to characterize the situation in the field of wellness and subsequently set the wellness hotel business plan. The emphasis is placed on finding public awareness about the importance of the field of wellness and public interest in a healthy lifestyle. The work focuses on the research of the demand, which builds actual business plan. The processing of this thesis will help in deciding whether the project of the wellness hotel is realistic.

This thesis deals with the possible application Asian curative methods on the market of spa tourism and wellness in the Czech Republic. The thesis is divided into five chapters, theoretical and practical. The aim of this work is to define Indian culture in the area of treatment and relaxation in the context of historical development and measure of use in the domestic tourism. Partial aims of this thesis are analysis of utilization Indian therapeutical technique and facilities dedicate these procedures in the Czech Republic. The introductory chapter is devoted to definitions tourism and health tourism. The second chapter is focused on spa tourism and the third chapter is devoted to wellness and quality of life. The fourth chapter is oriented on India, ayurveda and typical methods of usage ayurvedic massage. In the last chapter is description of situation in the Czech Republic, centres concentrated on ayurveda are mentioned and there is also questionnaire construction and in conclusion there are some proposed attractive products.

The workplace of today is global, fast paced and under intense pressure to stay competitive and achieve financial results. This makes change an inevitable part of any organisation because in order to survive and thrive in this environment organisations need to continuously change and re-invent themselves. This study was conducted in a mining company and the industry has been one of the biggest contributors to the South African economy for over a century. There have been many changes and developments within the mining industry over the years. The mining industry has also experienced a lot of transformational activities such as mergers, acquisitions, downsizing and restructuring. During these changing and uncertain times it is important to pay special attention to the employees in the organisation as people still remain the most important asset in any organisation. Change can be a pleasant or traumatic experience for people and this makes it important to ensure that with all changes to the work environment employees are well looked after and their wellbeing is maintained. Employee wellness has been a subject of much interest for many years and it has been found that organisations that invest in the wellness of their employees have greater benefits and are more successful at managing change. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of a restructuring exercise on the wellness of middle managers. The study aimed to determine the impact/effect of a restructuring exercise on employee wellness in a sample of employees in the middle management category. This research investigated possible wellness factors that were impacted on during this organisational restructuring exercise. Three wellness dimensions were looked at and these included: physical, mental and social dimensions of wellness. The intention is to use the information collected as guidelines in the development of future employee wellness programs, taking into account change management and how to better handle it. A qualitative approach was followed and employees from a mining company were asked to participate in the study. Data was collected firstly through the use of an open ended questionnaire and thereafter two focus groups were conducted. The focus group sessions were recorded and the data was transcribed. A process of coding was used to analyse and get the central themes from the data. In conclusion the results indicated that the restructuring exercise had a significant impact on the wellness of middle managers. The general responses were negative and indicated that people’s wellness was definitely impacted on. The key themes and sub themes that emerged across all dimensions were grouped into the following: communication, trust, personal health management (nutrition, physical health and fitness and sleeping habits), mental wellbeing (stress and anxiety, morale, uncertainty), workplace environment and social status. The role of managers/leaders was seen as key during this process. Also it was clear that the development and implementation of relevant wellness programs was important to manage employee wellness during such activities. Therefore recommendations and strategies for managing change and wellness offered in this study take into account the responses from the participants and the key issues identified. This study was conducted in a specific organisation with a limited number of participants from the Corporate Office and therefore the findings should not be generalised to other middle managers in other organisational contexts without a degree of caution. Another important limitation to consider is that this research was taken at a specific time during this restructuring exercise. The negative responses could have been influenced by the timing of this research, in that, although there was a lot of communication pertaining to the changes envisaged to employees, there however were no final decisions made or implemented yet. Employees were in a waiting period and they did not know what was going to be the extent of the impact of these changes on them. A recommendation is that this research is undertaken at a later stage when all changes are implemented. In this case this was however not possible due to a time factor from the researcher’s side and delays within the organisation. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / Wellness Management strives to meet the health and wellness needs of the public servants through diverse preventative and curative measures by customizing those aspects from traditional programmes such as Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), Work life Balance and, Wellness Management programmes. These are the most relevant and fit the uniqueness of the public service and its mandate. The provision of such diverse programmes is vital in the public service setting. In order to determine the effectiveness of these programmes, an evaluation is therefore necessary to validate its existence in fulfilling its objectives and furthermore, improving its performance. The aim of this research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Wellness Management Programme (WMP) in the Department of Agriculture in the Capricorn District, concentrating on the provision, utilization and awareness of the programme. The study also investigate the benefits of the programme to both the employee and the employer and the extent to which they derive value in the programme. Supervisors and supervisees respectively were interviewed, and they both regarded the programme as effective and furthermore as a good and suitable option in improving job performance in the department. However, the utilization of the programme is mainly from employees in the administration field, with less utilization from technical employees, which further calls for promotion of the programme to technical/core employees and their management. The majority of respondents were aware of the programme and are currently satisfied with the accessibility of coordinators of the programme, although the challenge is still with EAP services. The centralisation of EAP at Provincial office delays progress and effective utilization of the services and therefore decentralisation of the services to district office, the recruitment of qualified professionals and establishment of EAP Advisory Committees are recommended. The majority of supervisors and supervisees who had utilised the services have seen improvements in their lives and their job performance, hence they still recommend the services to other colleagues. Management support and involvement through the provision of advises, budget and so forth is crucial in the improvement of the programme utilization.

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Career burnout, defined by feelings of high emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment, is prevalent amongst clinicians. A literature search established mindfulness-based interventions are growing in popularity to reduce or prevent burnout in healthcare. One type of mindfulness-based intervention is Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programming. MBSR, an eight-week course, has been shown to reduce stress and improve quality of life and self-compassion. Our research aims to investigate the current burnout landscape in the field of medicine, and evaluate the effects of a MBSR variant course on clinician burnout and professional fulfillment at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Through the creation and execution of an eight-week MBSR variant course, Mindfulness Training for BMC Clinicians: A Program for Stress Reduction, Vitality, and Professional Development, we surveyed clinicians before the course, after the completion of the course, and two months after the completion of the course. The surveys were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data; we employed mixed methods analysis to statistically evaluate these data. The survey results were used to calculate numerical professional fulfillment and burnout scores for each clinician. Changes in scores were evaluated over time. These data suggest participants' professional fulfillment increased and burnout decreased from baseline measures to post-intervention measures, and results were sustained two months after the course was completed. Likewise, our qualitative data revealed approximately two-thirds of participants remarked having greater value on self-care. The vast majority of participants plan on continuing their mindfulness practice after the course and would recommend the MBSR variant course to their colleagues. Mindfulness based interventions show promise in increasing professional fulfillment and alleviating aspects of career burnout in clinicians at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Continuation of our pilot course will allow our team to increase our sample size and continue to evaluate and modify methods to best serve clinicians and other hospital employees in the efforts to increase their overall wellbeing.

Health and wellness are two buzzwords making their presence known in a variety of industries including hospitality, tourism, food and beverage and, leisure among others. As the obesity epidemic continues to be at the forefront of people's minds, health and wellness are topics that cannot be overlooked by the tourism and leisure industries. Due to the popularity of American's wanting to live more healthy and active lifestyles the average tourism consumer has changed considerably. The values of American tourists have altered from those of the past and now the tourism industry finds itself attempting to meet the needs and wants of this large and emerging health and wellness market. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there are different groups (market segments) of travelers based on their self proclaimed travel behavior. Using a factor-cluster market segmentation approach, this study attempted to delineate the segments of the U.S. traveling public. Based on four healthy living attitudes factors, cluster analysis was employed to identify similar respondents based on their attitudes towards healthy living. The findings show that there are two distinct groups: High Health Conscious and Low Health Conscious. Gender was shown to be statistically significant between the two groups. The study concludes with marketing implications of the study results, limitations, and suggestions for future research. / Master of Science

Purpose: The concept of aging at home is one that has seen massive gains in popularity amongst older adults in the last few years, especially with the advent of technologies that help them maintain autonomy and functional independence. However, in order to support such an endeavor and ensure the safety and well-being of older adults who choose to partake, an analysis of the concept of home and its many facets should be explored, including its relationship with technology. The aim of this research was to develop a model of the relationship between wellness technology and experiences of home for older persons and examine the role of loneliness (as an important component of wellness) in this relationship. The project addressed the following research questions: (i) Does technology influence experiences of loneliness in older adults? (ii) How does loneliness affect an older adult's experience of home? Methods: A mixed methods study was used that included Go-Along interviews with 15 older adults receiving services from a unique, older adult centered facility in Ottawa, the Perley Rideau. Services at the Perley Rideau include but are not limited to providing short term care, long term care, as well as independent senior living apartments. Participants completed a number of scales that assessed their attitudes towards technology as well as their levels of loneliness. After conducting an initial round of interviews, participants were introduced to a wellness technology called WellAssistTM. They were asked to use the technology for a period of three months after which an exit interview was conducted. The exit interview included an additional Go-Along interview, a loneliness assessment, and administration of the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS) to examine the user's perceptions about the effects from using the WellAssistTM. Twelve participants completed the exit interview. Results: The pre and post intervention analysis of the UCLA Loneliness scale showed a statistically significant decrease in loneliness scores with increased usage of the wellness technology, WellAssistTM. The thematic analysis of our interviews showed that loneliness affected the experience of home in the following way(s); diminished connection to home and feelings of home which negatively impacted the older adult's overall experience of home. Discussion: The findings suggest that wellness technology can have an impact on the older adults' experience of home by reducing loneliness and improving their overall state of wellness. Further research is needed to explore how such results would carry over onto larger sample populations as well as to explore the direct of relationship between technology that promotes wellness and the older adult's experience of home.