Posted by admin | Posted in Employee Wellness, wellness program | Posted on 15-07-2010
Company health promotion is evolving.
Early efforts to develop healthful worksites focused on safety at the worksite and injury prevention for workers.
More recently, wellness programs are designed to assist workforce to pick healthier behaviours like being more physically active or quitting use of tobacco.
Campaigns to increase awareness, educational sessions to increase knowledge, opportunities to learn new skills, and changes to policies to make it easier for workforce to make healthful options are often included.
This approach is taken because the workplace is a good way to reach people , since most adult Americans spend a large part of their day at work.
While safety and lifestyle programs are two aspects that contribute to the health of workers, company health promotion is more effective when a third factor is brought into the equation-the environment at work.
Exactly how the worksite affects health.
Increasingly, it is recognized that the workplace itself has a powerful affect on people ’s health. When people are satisfied with their job, they are more productive and tend to be healthier. When workers feel that the environment at work is negative, they feel stressed.
Stress has a big impact on worker mental and physical health, and in turn, on productivity.
Consultant Graham Lowe has identified five components of worksite culture that directly affect employees’ health and the health of the corporation overall-credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.
The underlying idea is that companies must genuinely care about the well-being of their workforce.
Corporations today who want to attract and keep good staff have leaders who understand the connection between employee satisfaction and employee health and believe that company health promotion is a business strategy.
Their upper management practices include making reasonable demands on time and energy, involving employees in decision making, rewarding work well done, openly communicating, and providing support to balance work and home life.
Companys know that employees are looking for jobs that pay well, have good benefits, are interesting, and include excellent safety and health programs. So in today’s competitive hiring market, it’s become more important than ever for corporations to enhance job satisfaction and ensure that employees enjoy being on the job.
Corporate wellness benefits both corporations and employees.
Exactly how does company health promotion benefit the business?
A health promotion program can help a organization to –
• Attract and keep employees;
• reduce the costs of disability, drugs, and absenteeism;
• reduce the effects of a stressful workplace;
• reduce health costs or keep them contained; and
• improve morale by creating a happy, supportive environment.
Precisely how does employee health promotion benefit employees?
Workers of corporations that have a wellness program are likely to have –
• increased awareness and knowledge of ways to improve their health;
• A better (less stressful) workplace;
• increased protection from injury;
• improved health and wellness;
• higher morale and greater job satisfaction;
• increased productivity and effectiveness at work;
• lowered personal healthcare costs; and
• A more relaxed/flexible approach to health issues.
Both businesss and workers have a responsibility for building a healthy workplace. Employees are expected to arrive at work in good health, and the business is expected to provide an environment that permits workers to maintain good health, enjoy their work, and contribute to the organization’s success.
Corporate wellness is more than a “lunch and learn” program. It is about developing a “people first” approach to doing corporation.
It’s about taking care of staff, establishing a positive work environment, and paying attention to the factors that keep staff healthful and happy at work.
A good wellness program has an impact on employees’ mental, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.