Workplace Health

1
Workplace Health

• Rachel Faulkner
• Workplace Health Coordinator
• Health Promotion Service
• 01209 313419
• rachel.faulkner_at_ciospct.cornwall.nhs.uk

2
Contents

• This presentation includes
• Importance of Workplace Health
• Costs
• Benefits
• National Update
• Real Workplace Health Issues
• Cornwall Isles of Scilly Healthy Workplace
  Award
• 5. Support and Useful Resources

3
Why is Workplace Health important?

• The workplace is a setting where many people
  spend the largest proportion of their time and
  therefore can play a key role in contributing to
  the health of their employees and in turn the
  health of their organisation!
• Individuals may spend up to 60 of their waking
  hours in their place of work

4
A health promoting workplace

• Provides an environment which protects health
• Provides opportunities and support for the
  promotion of healthy lifestyles
• Organises work to promote good health

5
Whats in it for you?

• Opportunity to look after your health!
• Save Money
• Retain Staff
• Less time taken off sick
• Attract new staff
• Improve Morale
• And much more..

6
Benefits of a Healthier Workplace

• Increased productivity
• Improved absenteeism and ability to return to
  work after illness
• Enhanced reputation - Helping to attract and keep
  employees
• Reduced workplace injuries
• Improved work-ability among older employees
• Creating a positive corporate image
• Reduced industrial injuries
• Improved morale and health of the workforce

7
Costs

• In 2006 around 175 million working days were lost
  due to illness and it is estimated that the
  annual economic costs of sickness absence and
  worklessness is over 100 billion.
• 
  (Working for a healthier tomorrow, DOH March
  2008).
• Annually the average sickness absence is 3.7
  (8.4 days per employee) and the average cost of
  absence per employee is estimated at 659.
• 
  (CIPD Employee
  Absence, July 2007).
• Stress related conditions and musculoskeletal
  disorders are now the most common reported causes
  of sickness absence from work in the UK.
• The cost of making reasonable adjustments to keep
  an employee who develops a health condition or
  disability will almost certainly be far lower
  than the cost of recruiting and training a new
  employee.
• Alcohol misuse among employees in England costs
  up to 6.4 billion a year in lost productivity
  through increased absenteeism, unemployment and
  premature death
  (Creating a healthy workplace, Faculty of Public
  Health, 2006).

8
Key Facts

• Physically Active Employees take 27 Fewer Days
  Sick Leave than Non-Active Employees.
• If the Present Trend in Obesity Continues, by
  2010 1 in 4 People Will Not Fit into A Standard
  Office Chair.
• In the UK, 1 in 5 Accidents in the Workplace are
  Alcohol Related.
• 1 in 5 People Report Feeling Extremely Stressed
  at Work.
• 4 out of every 5 people develop back pain that
  lasts more than a day at some time during their
  life.

9

• No one should leave work at the end of the day,
  less healthy than they were when they arrived.
• Work should be health enhancing!

10
National Update

• Dame Carol Black Review The Governments
  Response to Dame Carol Black's Review of the
  Health of Britain's Working Age Population. 
• Improving Health and work Changing Lives -
  November 2008. 
• Key initiatives
• Electronic Fit Note
• A National Education Programme for GPs
• Health, Work Wellbeing Coordinators
• National Centre for Working-Age Health
  Wellbeing
• Business Health Check Tool-Kit
• Occupational Help-Line for smaller businesses
• A Challenge Fund
• www.workingforhealth.gov.uk/

11
Real workplace health issues

• Coordinator
• Senior management support and commitment
• Engaging employees meeting their needs
• What works
• Champions
• Communication

12
Coordinator

• Key to success of the project
• overall responsibility rests with them
• engage with management and employees
• develop innovative ideas
• communicate, communicate
• Motivate!

13
Management support

• Buy in support essential for success
• Coordinator needs to
• Find out their key drivers e.g. sickness absence,
  retention, CSR
• Ensure clarity and understanding of what is
  required
• BEST WAY - develop and maintain regular contact
  and provide project updates and results, esp
  successes

14
Management support

• Management need to
• be seen as supportive
• demonstrate support and endorsement for project
• encourage staff to participate
• How
• promote activities
• participate in activities with staff
• allow flexible working time
• recognise success

15
Champions

• Getting the right champions is vital!
• Nomination from managers
• Invitation from coordinator
• Volunteers
• more interested
• more successful

16
Recruiting Champions

• More than 1 champion helps share
  responsibilities and increase capacity
• Include people from different departments
• Include people at different grades/ ages
• Find out their interests
• Give them recognition
• Give them the responsibility

17
Champions

• How can the champion help the coordinator
• Run the project support throughout
• Communication (vital)
• raising awareness
• encouraging staff
• feedback to coordinator and managers
• Sustainability of the project

18
Engaging employees

• Takes time, persistence and constant
  communication
• Even more so with those resistant to change,
  cynical towards project and with hard to reach
  individuals and groups

19
Engaging employees

• Employee needs
• Needs assessment/ survey
• Champion and employee working groups to bring
  forward ideas and needs
• Formal and informal face-to-face contact with
  employees
• Attending team/ department meetings

20
Engaging employees

• Encourage participation
• Workplace champions help to communicate,
  encourage peers and gain feedback from employees
• Fun, innovative and social activities
• Work with employees who show an early interest
  get the project started, create early success
  communicate success as widely as possible
• Visible management support management
  participation with employees, being flexible
  allowing staff to participate, recognition

21
Engaging employees

• What works well? Team based challenges and
  competitions
• Provides support and encouragement from
  colleagues
• Friendly rivalry and competition helps to
  motivate employees
• Can participate during the working day
• Incentives
• E.g. Pedometer challenge, team weight loss
  competitions
• The pedometer Challenge has been a fun way of
  interacting with work colleagues both male and
  female as well as keeping your own personal
  fitness level up.

22
Engaging employees

• What works well? One-off/ taster events
• Cheap
• Provide variety - appeal to wide range of
  employees
• Time requirement low
• Work well - in work time, on-site, offered free
• Good to gauge interest for future activities
• Lunchtime classes e.g. pilates, boxercise
• Dance classes ballroom, salsa, belly dancing
• Tasters - rock climbing, surfing, golf, archery
• Combining healthy activity with social events
  inflatable
• human football, rounders tournament

23
Communication

• Constant communication, promotion and
  reinforcement needed
• Coordinator, management, champions and employees
• Helps to encourage support, commitment and
  participation

24
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Healthy Workplace
Award

25
Cornwall Isles Of SillyHealthy Workplace
Award

• The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Award is a
  county standard of good practice and quality mark
  of health and wellbeing in the workplace. It has
  been produced following research in to effective
  and successful workplace health awards in Wales,
  Scotland and Plymouth.
• There are three levels of the award Bronze,
  Silver and Gold and 10 sets of criteria.

26
Cornwall Isles Of SillyHealthy Workplace
Award

• Creating a Safe Healthy Workplace
• Health Safety
• Recruitment, Retention Rehabilitation
• Mental Wellbeing Minimizing Stress
• Back Pain Prevention
• Stop Smoking
• Alcohol Substance Misuse
• Physical Activity including Active Travel
• Healthier Eating including Healthy Weight
• Choosing Well

27
Cornwall Isles Of SillyHealthy Workplace
Award

• The aim of the award is to act as a toolkit to
  encourage employers to think about ways to
  improve the health and wellbeing of their
  employees.
• The toolkit provides steps to achieve and
  improve in a wide range of health areas mentioned
  in the ten criteria.
• The process enables focus on the current good
  practices in place within an organisation and
  assists in recognising priorities and providing
  solutions to addressing any highlighted issues
  specific to the company and the working
  population.

28
Support Available from HPS

• Health Promotion Service can offer
• Support in working towards the Healthy Workplace
  Award
• Free Smoking Cessation Support in the workplace
  setting
• Shape Up Weight Management Courses
• Training
• Stress in the Workplace
• Alcohol in the Workplace
• Resource Library - Free Information and resources
• And more, please contact Rachel Faulkner for
  further information!
• www.healthpromcornwall.org

29
Useful Resources

• Health Promotion Training Booklet
• Stress Tool-Kit
• Sod It Sod It All Books
• Shift Life in the Office DVD
• Men at Work Haynes Manual
• NICE Guidance
• Promoting physical activity in the workplace
• Workplace interventions to promote smoking
  cessation
• Management of long term sickness and incapacity
  for work
• Promoting mental wellbeing at work
• www.healthpromcornwall.org

30
Workplace Health Resources A Healthy Business
needs a Health Workforce

• The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has a series
  of resources for employers interested in
  workplace health programmes.
• The resources cover physical activity, healthy
  eating and mental wellbeing and include a range
  of ideas, challenges and signposts, as well as an
  employee booklet, great giveaway items and fun
  packaging. 
• To order call 0870 600 6566              
  Email orderline_at_bhf.org.uk               Visit
  bhf.org.uk/thinkfit
• The BHF would welcome a suggested donation of 25
  per pack.

31
Think fit! Physical activity G283 G283h08

• Think fit! - A guide to developing a
• workplace activity programme (2005)
• Think fit! Be active! A how to do it
• guide to workplace physical
• activity interventions (2008)

32
Think fit! Healthy eatingG399

• Think fit! - Eat well! A guide to
• developing a workplace healthy
• eating programme (2008)

33
Think fit! Mental wellbeingG400

• Think fit! - Think well! A guide to developing a
• workplace mental wellbeing
• programme (2008)

34

• www.bhf.org.uk/HealthAtWork/
• Please Check Out the website above
• Top Tips
• Sign Up to the E Newsletter
• Check out examples of case studies

35
Thank youAny Questions?Workplace Health

• Rachel Faulkner
• Workplace Health Coordinator
• Health Promotion Service
• 01209 313419
• rachel.faulkner_at_ciospct.cornwall.nhs.uk