Not feeling well? Could be your work environment…

 WELLNESS WEDNESDAY

Common sense tells us a bad work environment is bad for our health. Recent research is beginning to quantify this notion and shed some light on exactly how our environment impacts our emotional and physical health.  Findings from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index® (WBI) and the Health ways Well-Being Assessment™ (WBA) are starting to bring more clarity about the work environment a person is experiencing.  These include: job satisfaction, job overload, co-worker issues, technology, supervisor issues, training, and resources.

 If the work culture does not support workers in these areas there will be a social and emotional impact that reduces the chances they will take care of themselves.  This results in more risk factors and higher disease prevalence, which adds to health-related costs and leads to deterioration in their work performance. 

How to have a Healthy work environment…

The county government has taken the lead to improve the work environment of their employees by creating a worksite wellness program. The goal is to improve the health of employees and to inspire other employers to do the same. With our county health rankings being 84 out of 92 counties, we need to be proactive in making a difference. As the Employee Health Coordinator, I am confident that a difference is being made. The following is some easy steps we took to start a wellness program and increase employees’s moral and create a healthier work environment:

·         share an understanding that a healthy work environment not only benefits employees through improved health and wellness but also benefits customers, shareholders and communities

·         take a comprehensive approach to promoting health and wellness

·         encourage workers to take responsibility for their own health, safety and wellness and contribute to creating a healthy work environment

·         create environments that make the healthy choice the easy choice

·         provide information and resources to assist their workers to make healthy lifestyle choices and to achieve and maintain good health

·         promote work-life balance and make work a healthy life experience

·         create a healthy physical, social and psychological work environment as a core business goal

How will a healthy work environment benefit my bottom line you ask?

Research shows that healthy people working in a healthy environment is key to business success. That’s because a healthy workplace improves productivity and reduces employers’ costs.

A healthy workplace will:

·         Improve employee health outcomes

·         Make it easier to attract and retain qualified employees

·         Lower absenteeism

·         Reduce health benefit costs

·         Enhance morale

·         Reduce risk of injury

·         Improve job performance

There are many interesting findings on how work environment affects well-being, these are only a few.  Is there anything you can add, even if it is just observational?  What would you do about it at your worksite?  I look forward to your responses.