The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) announced the release of the Guide to Bringing Lifestyle Medicine into Workplaces, a practical, evidence-based resource designed to help organizations build healthier workforces from the ground up.

Developed through a collaboration between the two organizations, the guide is intended for employers, benefits leaders, occupational health professionals, and lifestyle medicine clinicians who want to move beyond traditional wellness programs and create durable, systems-level approaches to workforce health.

Workplace health strategies have historically concentrated on downstream consequences: chronic disease, injury, absenteeism, burnout, and rising healthcare costs. The guide shifts the conversation upstream, integrating the six core pillars of lifestyle medicine – nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management, social connection, and avoidance of risky substances – into workplace culture, policies, and systems.

Because workers spend a substantial portion of their lives on the job, improving workforce health requires more than individual behavior change. It requires designing healthier workplaces that support healthy choices, psychological safety, recovery, resilience, and long-term well-being. The guide aligns lifestyle medicine, occupational and environmental medicine, Total Worker Health®, and population health strategies to help organizations improve worker health outcomes while advancing productivity, engagement, retention, and organizational performance.

“This collaboration reflects what occupational and environmental medicine has long understood: the workplace is one of the most powerful platforms we have for preventing chronic disease and supporting well-being,” said Jill Rosenthal President of the ACOEM Board of Directors. “By bringing lifestyle medicine and occupational health together, this guide gives employers and clinicians a practical roadmap to build environments where health can thrive, not just to treat disease after it appears, but to prevent it. That’s the future of workforce health, and ACOEM is proud to help lead the way.”

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) is the nation’s largest medical society dedicated to promoting the health of workers through preventive medicine, clinical care, research, and education. ACOEM’s members champion the health and safety of workers, workplaces, and environments. Learn more at acoem.org.

ACLM The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the medical professional society for clinicians dedicated to the clinical and worksite practice of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a transformed and sustainable healthcare system. Learn more at lifestylemedicine.org.