Work Health Initiatives

Taking steps to help you and your workers improve health and wellbeing could also improve your business’ safety performance, productivity and workplace culture. Broadening the scope of your workplace health and safety systems to include work health can have considerable benefits for your business. According to the Health and Productivity Institute of Australia, the following benefits can be achieved by implementing a work health initiative.

For employers

The benefits of providing workplace health programs include (but are not limited to):

• Improved productivity.
• Increased creativity and innovation.
• Improved employee engagement.
• Improved staff morale.
• Reduced sickness-related absenteeism.
• Reduced presenteeism (health-related work impairment).
• Increased attraction and retention of staff.
• Reduced workplace injury and workers compensation costs.
• Improved employee relations.
• Improved corporate image.
• Improved workability in an ageing workforce.

For employees

The benefits of participating in workplace health initiatives include (but are not limited to):

• Improved health awareness and knowledge.
• Improved physical and mental wellbeing and resilience.
• Increased energy and vitality.
• Increased work enjoyment and fulfilment.
• Improved concentration and productivity.
• Improved team relationships.

Evidence

In a recent evaluation, workplace health initiatives resulted in an average:

• Reduction in sick leave absenteeism by 25 per cent.
• Decrease in workers compensation and disability claims of 32 per cent.
• Saving of $5.56 for every $1 invested in employee wellbeing.

Reference – Health and Productivity Institute of Australia, Best practice guidelines: Workplace health in Australia.

Reference – Chapman, LS 2005, ‘Meta-evaluation of worksite health promotion economic return studies: 2005 update’, American Journal of Health Promotion, vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 1-11.