Workplace Wellness
Creating healthy work environments benefits employees and employers alike
By Lorne Chase
The modern workplace can be hectic and stressful. Many companies expect their employees to work harder and put in long hours. Trying to juggle work responsibilities and family commitments has resulted in unhealthy lifestyles
for many people, exemplified by sedentary work, an abundance of fast-food and little exercise. Many Canadians are obese, diabetes is on the rise, and there has been an increase in cardiovascular diseases and mental and emotional problems.
How did Canadian workers become so unhealthy and stressed out?
Many workplaces have been irrevocably altered by a combination of technological advances and the trend toward globalization. To achieve many lofty goals, companies embarked on a rash of downsizings, restructurings, mergers and acquisitions. The result: fewer employees shouldering heavier workloads.
An Ipsos-Reid study on workplace conditions released in 2004 reported that the main preventable contributors to employee absenteeism were depression, anxiety and other mental disorders; stress; negative relationships with supervisors or managers; and conflicts with co-workers. This at a time when Canada’s economy is growing more reliant on knowledge-based companies in which the creativity and know-how of employees determines success.
When employees are stressed from working in a negative environment, it has an impact on their physical and mental well-being. This results in higher rates of absenteeism which costs Canadian businesses approximately $3 to $5 billion a year in lost productivity. Aging workers and skyrocketing health benefits costs (including an increase in drug claims), are other factors driving many companies to consider and adopt wellness programs. “Wellness encompasses physical, mental and organizational health,” says Nora Spinks, president of Work/Life Harmony Enterprises in Toronto. “The arguments have been made and the evidence is in that healthy employees contribute to the bottom line.”
Spinks helps companies develop wellness policies and practices. She has worked with companies of all sizes and notes that implementing wellness programs is also a business strategy. To compete for the best people in a tight labour market, many employers are beginning to realize that it may take more than good pay and benefits. These forward-thinking companies understand that a work environment offering healthy eating choices, seminars on health issues, fitness programs, or other initiatives to support a balance between work and home life will be more attractive to many people, especially younger workers like those in the high tech industry who spend long hours on the job.
Employers interested in implementing workplace wellness initiatives can avail themselves of a number of resources. The federal government’s Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety (CCOHS) offers a handy pocket guide titled “Wellness in the Workplace”, while the Canadian Healthy Workplace Council’s website www.healthyworkplaceweek.ca/about.php has plenty of tips, links to other useful sites and information on its annual Canada’s Healthy Workplace Week created to increase awareness of the issue, which this year takes place the week of October 22-28.
Elsewhere, the non-profit National Quality Institute (NQI) provides principles, practices and guidelines for workplace wellness. Recognized as a leading authority on workplace issues, the organization was among the first in Canada to recognize and promote healthy workplaces. Its members include companies of all sizes, many from the Markham area, including IBM, American Express and the Town of Markham. Every year NQI hands out its prestigious Canada Awards for Excellence in various categories, one of which is workplace wellness. To be eligible for the awards, companies have to participate in NQI’s Progressive Excellence Program with its four levels of certification. “The program has been designed with generic criteria that can be used by businesses of all sizes, government institutions and schools,” says John Perry, senior advisor and vice-president at NQI. “The key to success is establishing a corporate culture that nurtures wellness.”
Implementing successful wellness programs needs the support of senior management and involvement from everyone within a company. Even with buy-in from the top, the process isn’t simple. In some cases, as Perry notes, a complete change in corporate culture may be necessary. Workplace wellness requires strong leadership, communication and programs that encourage participation. If that sounds like work, it is. And that’s why many companies are turning to specialists like Nora Spinks and human resources consulting companies like Markham-based Ceridian Canada Ltd. to help them.
Estelle Morrison, director of Lifeworks Strategic Solutions at Ceridian, helps organizations create workplace initiatives aimed at improving employee health and well-being. “Ceridian offers programs that can be delivered face-to-face or online,” she says. “Many people prefer the online support where they can access treatment programs and educational sessions themselves, on their own time. Our programs are confidential and employees don’t have to share their findings from the sessions with anyone else.”
The size of a company will dictate how much it can get involved in wellness programs, which can come in many different forms. Some companies have started on-site flu clinics as a way to reduce the spread of flues and colds to employees throughout the organization. Others may provide seminars to help their employees quit smoking; a study by the University of Toronto’s Centre for Health Promotion found that employees who take four 10-minute smoke breaks per day work one month less per year. Some other examples of wellness programs are healthy food choices in the cafeteria, walking programs, yoga classes, seminars on health issues, mental health counselling and community involvement programs (employee teams involved in charity events like the annual Terry Fox Run in aid of cancer research).
As the trend toward corporate wellness programs grows, the demand for professionals skilled in program design and management will increase. Centennial College in Toronto has recognized the need and introduced an accredited one-year post-graduate program called Workplace Wellness & Health Promotion, the first of its type in Canada. Graduates are poised to become corporate wellness managers, entrepreneurs or consultants.
No matter how large or small an organization, if it ignores workplace wellness there is another price to pay: higher staff turnover. Employees leave jobs for a number of reasons – a higher position, more money – but for those who are stressed and depressed it just might be the opportunity to work for a company that places more value on helping employees achieve a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Workplace wellness can increase loyalty and keep employees from jumping ship. A recent survey by NQI confirms that employers are concerned about staff turnover. “Organizations are trying hard to become employers of choice, and the biggest challenge employers responding to our survey said they would face in the next few years was retaining employees,” says Perry.
Employers in all occupations are beginning to contend with the health issues associated with an aging workforce, and this will only become more pronounced in the years to come. Morrison at Ceridian has seen this trend first-hand. “Our clients are across the board, from white-collar to blue-collar occupations, but they are all having to contend with aging workers. It’s important for employers to keep them healthy, especially with the job shortages expected in the next five to ten years,” she says.
Unlike health and safety programs, there is no legislation that makes wellness or health promotion programs mandatory in Canadian workplaces. It’s a choice employers make. Yet there are increasing incentives to get involved; health insurers have even begun offering discounted rates for companies that can keep employee claims down. And, according to Nora Spinks, legislation has been introduced in Quebec that expands on traditional health and safety rules to include the well-being of employees. “The Quebec government has said that no form of mental or verbal harassment is permitted in organizations,” she notes. “People are recognizing that healthcare is a collective responsibility. Employers and employees need to work together to ensure that everyone is healthy, safe and free of illness.”
That sounds like more than just a business strategy, it sounds like a strategy for life.
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