The workplace is increasingly being used as a setting for health promotion and preventive health activities – not only to prevent occupational injury, but to assess and improve employee’s overall health. As a result, occupational health has evolved from an almost exclusive focus on the physical work environment to the inclusion of psychosocial and personal health practice factors. According to the World Health Organization (2010) a healthy workplace is one in which all stakeholders collaborate to use a continual improvement process to protect and promote the health, safety and wellbeing of all workers and the sustainability of the workplace. To create and cultivate a healthy work environment, an organization needs to consider the areas of influence where actions can best take place and the most effective processes by which employers and employees can act.
Four Key areas can be mobilized to influence healthy workplace initiatives:
• The physical work environment
• The psychosocial work environment
• Personal health resources and the
• Organizations involvement in the community
The Physical Work Environment
The physical work environment refers to the structure, air, machinery, furniture, products, chemicals, materials, and production processes in the workplace. These factors have the greatest potential to disable and harm employees. Such factors must be identified, assessed, and controlled in accordance with health and safety policies, guidelines, and regulations. In doing so, organizations not only create a healthy working environment for employees, but also limit undue risks to their family members and the public. As well as avoid violations, imprisonment and scrutiny which ultimately affect the bottom line. key suggestions in ensuring a safe physical work environment consist of training employees of safe operating procedures, performing preventative maintenance on machinery and equipment, the use of protective equipment for employees working in dusty and hazardous conditions such as face masks, gloves, hard hats, safety boots and respirators as well as setting up local exhaust ventilation to remove toxic gases and the installation of noise buffers to name a few.
The Psychosocial Work Environment
The psychosocial work environment focuses on organizational culture such as attitudes, values, beliefs, and daily practices within the organization that affect the mental and physical wellbeing of employees. Such factors are often referred to as workplace stressors. Workplace stressors stem from poor work organization such as job clarity and design, poor communication structures, inadequate reward, recognition and supervision, work demands and time constraints. Organizational culture, such as a lack of policies and practices related to dignity and respect for all, harassment, bullying, gender discrimination and even stigma pertaining to HIV status and intolerance for ethnic or religious diversity as well as a lack of support for healthy lifestyles and work/life integration. Organizations should aim to understand their workforce to eliminate and modify such workplace stressors. Interviews and surveys can be a good place to start.
Personal Health Resources in the Workplace
Personal health resources are health services, information, resources, opportunities, flexibility, and an otherwise supportive environment an organization provides to its employees to support and motivate their efforts to improve or maintain healthy personal lifestyles, as well as to monitor and support their physical and mental health. Employment conditions, or lack of knowledge may make it difficult for employees to adopt healthy lifestyles or remain healthy. Efforts to enhance workplace personal health resources may include medical services, information, training, financial support, facilities, policy support, flexibility, and promotional programs to enable and encourage workers to develop healthy lifestyle practices. Such as subsidizing healthy food choices in cafeterias and vending machines, flexibility in timing and length of work breaks to allow for exercise, putting no-smoking policies in place and enforcing them, provide smoking cessation programs for employees as well as confidential medical services such as health assessments, medical examinations, medical surveillance, and medical treatment if it is not accessible within the community.
Organizational Community Involvement
Organizations impact the communities in which they operate and are impacted by their communities. An employee’s health is profoundly affected by the physical and social environment of the broader community, and vice versa. At an organizational level, community involvement is a social and ethical responsibility, and refers to the activities in which an organization might engage, or expertise and resources it might provide, to support the social and physical wellbeing of a community in which it operates. This particularly includes factors affecting the physical and mental health, safety and wellbeing of workers and their families. An organization may choose to provide support by addressing pertinent social issues which have been identified as problems both at a local and global level. For example, the United Nations (UN), Sustainable Development Goals, has identified education, gender and equality, health and well-being as being important to work towards to reach its 2030 objectives. Within the South African context, social issues identified relate to pollution, gender equality, education, and insufficient infrastructure to support health and wellbeing. Organizations can work towards addressing these social issues in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030, by Initiating activities to control pollution emissions and clean up production operations, or to address polluted air or water sources in the community as well as going beyond legislated standards for minimizing the organizations carbon footprint. Supporting community screening and treatment for HIV infection, tuberculosis, hepatitis, or other prevalent diseases. Instituting gender equality policies within the workplace to protect and support women or protective policies for other vulnerable groups. Providing free or affordable supplemental literacy education to workers and their families and the provision of leadership and expertise related to workplace health and safety to small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to name a few. A healthy workforce is amongst the most successful and competitive and enjoys better rates of employee retention by positioning an employee’s health as an important business asset. In doing so, organizations minimize on many financial and legal violations of occupational health and safety, in addition to a significant decrease in medical costs resulting from workplace accidents, undue sick leave, disability, and costs associated with high turnover such as training. In essence, a healthy working environment is one where employees feel safe, respected, and supported. It is a place where employees can thrive and do their best work. Creating and cultivating a healthy working environment is essential to an organization’s long-term success.
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Mind Matters at work advocates for the inclusion of mental health at work, addressing the barriers that obstruct the cultivation of a healthy workforce and solutions that enable an environment for change. A happy and healthy workforce is the foundation for thriving organizations and healthier communities.
Sources:
World Health Organization. (2010). Healthy workplaces: a model for action for employers, workers, policy-makers and practitioners. www.worldhealthorganization.org
Author: Naseeba Hoosen
Naseeba Hoosen is an aspiring Industrial and Organizational Psychologist. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Cum Laude) from the University of South Africa (UNISA) and a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
Naseeba has a strong passion towards the re-humanization of the workforce with a focus on career development and wellbeing in the workplace, by providing individual, group and organizations development solutions to human capital challenges and advocating for the inclusion of mental health in the workplace. She has gained extensive experience within the NGO sector, applying a solutionist approach to real life challenges, creating, and coordinating meaningful campaigns which provided humanitarian relief, advocacy, research, and facilitation on social issues. In addition to this, Naseeba works closely with likeminded individuals in identifying gaps within an unequal society to create resourceful solutions that motivate, inspire, and educate youth in life skills and personal and professional leadership development to enhance their employability and become an agent of change. Naseeba is committed to working in various settings and socio-economic contexts with the purpose of assisting individuals to make occupational, educational, and developmental choices to manage their career and lives.
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