Empowering High-Performance Workplaces Through Research-Backed Wellness Solutions
About this Research Lab
The Workplace Wellness Research Lab, led by Professor Danny Kessler (Ph.D., Hotel and Tourism Management with a specialization in Wellness Tourism), is a globally engaged, impact-driven research hub based in South Korea. Founded in 2022, our mission is to pioneer practical, research-backed strategies that elevate human well-being across institutions, communities, and organizations. We bridge wellness science, sustainability, and social innovation to shape high-performance environments where people flourish.
While others talk about theory, we deliver field-tested innovation that translates into visible, real-world outcomes.
Marketing Innovative Wellness Solutions Through International Competitions
We don’t just study marketing—we compete and win on the world stage. Since 2021, the Workplace Wellness Research Lab has guided students to submit 13 innovation projects to global wellness and sustainability competitions. In 2021, our team was selected as a winner at the Shark Tank of Wellness, earning a $3,000 cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to the United States to attend a premier international wellness summit.
Our students also competed in the SDGs Design International Awards in both 2023 and 2024, receiving an Honorable Mention for our 2023 submission. These achievements reflect our lab’s philosophy: students don’t just research—they build, pitch, and lead.
Our Ambition
We are redefining wellness as a strategic discipline rooted in evidence, not slogans. Our lab’s research focuses on two intersecting areas:
Workplace Wellness: Applying positive organizational psychology and human-centered design to improve employee motivation, engagement, and mental health.
Community Wellness: Advancing cross-sector solutions that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—particularly Goals 3 (Health), 4 (Education), and 11 (Sustainable Cities).
Wellness Research Opportunities
Our lab examines how built environments—offices, campuses, neighborhoods—affect individual well-being. Through interdisciplinary studies that combine positive psychology, innovative service design, and behavioral science, we co-create strategies that support thriving individuals and inclusive communities.
From undergraduate innovators to graduate researchers, our members work on applied projects, publish academic articles, and collaborate with global networks. We don’t just prepare students for careers—we empower them to shape the future of wellness.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Participating in an active research group provides students with the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge in a more practical, real-world research setting. By working with others, building on existing research, gathering and analyzing data, and presenting findings for peer review and feedback, students are able to gain valuable hands-on experience and develop important skills that are applicable to a variety of fields.
Collaborating with others on a research project allows students to learn from and contribute to the work of others, while also developing their own critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Overall, working with a research group offers a unique and meaningful learning experience that can help students grow and succeed both academically and professionally.
Graduate Research Opportunities
At the Workplace Wellness Research Lab, we conduct research in the field of positive psychology, exploring theories such as Ryan and Deci’s Self Determination Theory (2012), Luthans’ Psychological Capital (2007), and Fredrickson’s Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions (2001). As a member of the research group, you will have the opportunity to publish research articles on human resource management under the guidance of Professor Kessler. Our research efforts in the field of positive psychology aim to identify and understand the factors that contribute to positive mental health and well-being in the workplace, with the goal of developing strategies and interventions that can promote employee well-being and productivity.
By engaging in this research, you will have the chance to develop a deeper understanding of the role that positive psychology plays in human resource management and to contribute to the field through your own research and writing.
Major Accomplishments
In the fall of 2021, our student Doan Anh Duong won 2,500$ in the Shark Tank of Wellness at the Global Wellness Summit. Her idea is the Immersion lamp. You can read more about it here, and her idea by watching this video.
Other Research
A foreign advisor to Busan Global Tourism City as well as an advisor to the new Busan Wellness Medical Tourism Cluster. Additionally, Danny works as a Research Associate with the Wellness Tourism Association and is a senior researcher at the Wellness Tourism Institute.
ADDRESS
Dongseo University
47, Jurye-ro, Sasang-gu, Busan, South Korea
CONTACT
dannykess@gmail.com