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The goal of this blog is to provide useful information on every aspect of workplace health - from wellness and injury prevention through to rehabilitation and recovery at work.
Four Steps to a Successful Health and Wellbeing Program
Bupa recently released their 2015 Workplace health in Australia report which was based on a survey of 150 Australian employers on their work-health initiatives, and aims to provide a benchmark for other organisations.
Wellness is becoming an increasingly effective tool used by employers in assisting to keep employees healthy and productive at work. An effective health and wellbeing strategy includes four fundamental elements, including the key component of communication, according to a Bupa report.
It found that initiatives that were engaging, educating and motivating workers to become healthier are "evolving", and identified four key steps employers should take when introducing and maintaining a health and wellbeing program:
1. Assess worker’s health needs
Employers can use information on absenteeism, employee turnover, safety and workers' compensation to help them plan health and wellbeing programs, the report says.
Interestingly, only 58% of employers surveyed review employee health data from screening programs and employee assistance programs.
The report predicted that more employers will start following a "formalised work health measurement and evaluation framework" in the next financial year.
2. Design a strategy around five key factors
A health and wellbeing program should support both physical and mental health; provide workers with health checks and promote a healthier workplace culture and environment, the report says.
Health checks benefit organisations in two ways: by improving workers' understanding and awareness of their personal health and by providing data that gives employers "quantified insights into the needs of their people". At Actevate, we encourage employers to look at health information as a whole rather than programs for individuals using their confidential records.
Nearly 25% are planning on introducing behavioural risk assessments – such as online tools that assess health and lifestyle risks including smoking, physical activity and nutrition habits – in 2015-16, it says.
A common physical health initiative is flu vaccinations, with 70% of employers offering them onsite and 30% subsidising workers' vaccination costs.
Programs that encourage workers to focus on musculoskeletal health, such as stretching at work, are expected to see the largest growth in the next two years, while nutrition-based programs are also predicted to grow, the report says.
The most commonly reported solution to mental health issues is employee assistance programs (82%), but digital solutions are expected to grow significantly over the coming years.
Actevate has reported on this serious issue before and the report confirms more workplaces consider sleep and fatigue management as key risk areas, with 1 in 5 planning to introduce related initiatives in the near future.
Common ways to improve workplace culture include team lunches, sports and fun runs, the report found, and nearly half (46.8%) of employers actively include workers' families in specific activities. Interestingly some (25.7%) of workplaces provide health initiatives to family members, it notes.
Half of employers have completely banned smoking in their workplace environments, with 8.3% planning on doing so in the near future, the report says.
3. Focus on clear communication when introducing the strategy
Creating an implementation plan that involves all workers and managers, and includes communication strategies is "key to supporting the success of the work health strategy".
"The communication of a work health strategy is one of the most important factors to consider in the implementation of programs."
The report says common forms of communication focus around print resources including posters or newsletters, but the use of digital communication, such as dedicated organisation portals and mobile phone apps, is expected to significantly increase in the coming years.
4. Evaluate the strategy
The report says many workplaces use the same data to assess the needs of their workers' to evaluate the achievements of their health and wellbeing programs; with workers' comp data, EAP usage, safety and absenteeism most commonly analysed.
Employers are more likely to measure the financial returns of specific programs in future, with only 12% currently measuring return-on-investment, it says.
Read more at Workplace health in Australia Bupa Benchmark Survey 2015 or OHS Alert.
At Actevate we have a number of programs we can tailor to build your wellness initiative. Pre-employment screenings, the new Stretch and Flex program, MindBody Project delivered by qualified Exercise Physiologists guaranteed to get people moving. We also have qualified and experienced psychologists who can help you establish your Employee Assistance Program.
Get in touch today so we can work on building, growing and evaluating your wellness initiatives. Call us on 1300 669 552 or email us at info@actevate.com.au.
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