PROMOTING HEALTH IN ORGANIZATIONS

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY

-ASWATHI P D & ATHULYA MK

Healthy Workplace:
A healthy workplace is one where employers and employees collaborate to continually protect and promote
people’s health, safety, and well-being and workplace sustainability.
A healthy workplace considers:
 health safety and well-being matters in the physical work environment
 health, safety and well-being matters in the psychosocial work environment, including organisation of
work and workplace culture
 personal health in the workplace and how it can be supported
 community participation to improve the health of workers, their families and other members of the
community.

What are workplace health programs?

Workplace health programs refer to a coordinated and comprehensive set of strategies which include
programs, policies, benefits, environmental supports, and links to the surrounding community designed to
meet the health and safety needs of all employees.

Examples of workplace health program components and strategies include:

 Health education classes
 Access to local fitness facilities
 Company policies that promote healthy behaviors such as a tobacco-free campus policy
 Employee health insurance coverage for appropriate preventive screenings
 A healthy work environment created through actions such as making healthy foods available and
accessible through vending machines or cafeterias
 A work environment free of recognized health and safety threats with a means to identify and address
new problems as they arise

Issues Faced By Employees in their Workplace;

There are various issues faced by employees due to the workplace stress, it can be mental health or
physical health issues.
Mental health issues that may affect individuals working in an organization include:
1. Anxiety 7. Bipolar Disorder
2. Depression 8. Schizophrenia
3. Stress 9. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
4. Burnout (ADHD)
5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 10. Borderline Personality Disorder
6. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 11. Suicidal thoughts or behaviors
12. Substance abuse 14. Sleep disorders
13. Eating disorders 15. Social anxiety disorder

These mental health issues can be caused or exacerbated by various factors in the workplace, such as:
- High workload or pressure
- Lack of support or resources
- Conflicts with colleagues or supervisors
- Unclear expectations or constant changes
- Bullying or harassment
- Discrimination or bias
- Long working hours or shift work
- Lack of work-life balance
- Limited opportunities for growth or development
It's important for organizations to prioritize employee mental health and well-being by providing resources,
support, and a positive work environment.

Impact of workplace health programs -

Workplace health programs can lead to change at both the employee and the organization levels.
 For individuals, workplace health programs have the potential to impact an employee’s health, such as
their health behaviors; health risks for disease; and current health status.
 For organizations, workplace health programs have the potential to impact areas such as health care
costs, absenteeism, productivity, recruitment/retention, culture and employee morale.
 Employers, workers, their families and communities all benefit from the prevention of disease and
injury and from sustained health.

Other health benefits include;

1. Reduced health risks: Learning how to stay healthy in the workplace ensures that healthy behaviors are
maintained. This reduces the risk of employees coming down with an illness. When employees have better
occupational health, they’re better protected against chronic diseases such as heart disease or diabetes.
2. Decreased absenteeism: When employees are less healthy, they are more likely to take days off work,
whether for physical or mental health issues. Promoting health tips at work doesn’t just reduce employees’
risk of becoming ill. It also lowers your absentee rates.
3. Lower healthcare costs: The reduction in illness means that each worker is less dependent on healthcare
providers. This means fewer GP visits and prescription costs. These savings lower their cost of living and
can have an impact on the cost of health care plans provided by your organization.
4. Better workplace focus, efficiency, and productivity: It has long been understood that improved
employee health lifts productivity. This means that the employer gets a better return on their investment.
5. Improved employee retention: Focusing on health and occupational safety initiatives also leads to
improved employee retention. This stems from two factors:
 Healthier employees are happier employees. And happy employees are less likely to leave.
 Employees tend to value companies that value employee safety and well-being.

Benefits in creating an inclusive and balanced work environment :-

Promoting a healthy organization means fostering a work environment that supports the well-being, growth,
and development of all employees. It involves creating a culture that prioritizes:
1. Employee well-being: Encouraging physical, mental, and emotional health.
2. Positive work culture: Fostering open communication, respect, and collaboration.
3. Employee engagement: Encouraging participation, feedback, and empowerment.
4. Continuous learning: Providing opportunities for growth, development, and skill-building.
5. Work-life balance: Supporting balance between work and personal life.
6. Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Creating a culture that values and celebrates individual differences.
7. Effective leadership: Leaders who model healthy behaviors, provide support, and prioritize employee
well-being.
8. Recognition and appreciation: Regularly acknowledging and rewarding employees' contributions.
9. Workplace safety: Ensuring a safe and healthy physical work environment.
10. Continuous improvement: Regularly assessing and improving organizational practices to support
employee well-being.
By promoting a healthy organization, you can increase employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention,
leading to a more successful and sustainable organization.

Ways to Promote Health at Workplace -

The need to promote healthy workplace has increased significantly over the years. Individuals often forget
the need to stay healthy physically and mentally. Here’s a five-step process you can use:

1. Survey your teams to identify needs

Start by determining how your employees feel about the health initiatives you offer at the moment.
Ask them what kind of initiatives they’d like to see implemented. Find out what challenges they currently
face from a health perspective. Make sure to keep it high-level or make feedback anonymous, so as not to
cross any personal boundaries.
2. Draft a health policy and determine initiatives
Once you’ve got a solid understanding of your team’s needs, it’s time to put pen to paper and draft a health
policy. You’ll outline your company’s commitment to employee health and safety. Then, list the initiatives
you plan to put in place to achieve those goals.
3. Get feedback
Before you begin, it’s wise to get feedback from your employees on your plans. They might be able to
offer valuable insights that can save you both time and money.
4. Dive in headfirst to your new health initiatives
Once you’ve refined your health policy and initiatives to incorporate that feedback, it’s time to get started.
You might find this process easier by rolling out new initiatives in phases, rather than launching everything
at once.
5. Adjust accordingly
It’s unlikely that you’re going to hit the jackpot with health initiatives on the first try. Be prepared to make
changes as time goes on. You might wish to set a date in the future (say 3 or 6 months) to get further
feedback from your employees on how these workplace health initiatives have impacted their wellbeing.

WORKPLACE HEALTH MODEL

Building a workplace health program should involve a coordinated, systematic and comprehensive
approach-
A coordinated approach to workplace health promotion results in a planned, organized, and comprehensive
set of programs, policies, benefits, and environmental supports designed to meet the health and safety
needs of all employees. A comprehensive approach looks to put interventions in place that address multiple
risk factors and health conditions concurrently and recognizes that the interventions and strategies chosen
influence multiple levels of the organization including the individual employee and the organization as a
whole.

Fig.1
Step 1: Workplace Health Assessment
A successful workplace health program is one that is targeted to the specific employee population, suiting
the worksite, employee needs, and personal and organizational health goals. This information can be
gained through the first step in the process – a workplace health assessment.
An assessment should aim to capture a picture of the many factors that influence employee health
including: individual level factors such as lifestyle choices, the work environment (e.g, physical working
conditions and social support), and the organizational level (e.g., culture, policies, and practices). This
assessment can take place informally through conversations, a call for input/opinions (such as a bulletin
board, opinion box, email requesting ideas), or more formally by using instruments such as an employee
health survey or environmental audit.
Both current health issues as well as employee interests should be considered when prioritizing program
and policy interventions as well as evaluating and making improvements to the workplace health program
on an ongoing basis. Involving employees from the beginning will reinforce the shared responsibility and
commitment the employee and the organization have to employee health, and the overall success of the
workplace health program. The assessment module provides guidelines, tools, and resources for conducting
a workplace health assessment.

Step 2 – Planning the Program

Next, a careful planning stage should precede any implementation of workplace health programs, policies,
benefits or environmental supports. The overall program requires a basic governance structure or
infrastructure to administer and manage health promotion activities which can be initiated during the
planning phase and recognizes the size and scope of each step may be influenced by factors such as the
company’s size, sector, or geographic location.
The enterprise governance structure provides the strategic direction, leadership, and organization necessary
to operationalize the program elements. Organizational strategies provide the infrastructure to ensure
program objectives are achieved, employee health risks are appropriately managed, and the company’s
resources are used responsibility. Organizational strategies include:
a) Dedicating senior leadership support to serve as a role model and champion
b) Identifying a workplace health coordinator, council or committee to oversee the program
c) Developing a workplace health improvement plan with sufficient resources to articulate and execute
goals and strategies
d) Communicating clearly and consistently with all employees
e) Establishing workplace health informatics to collect and use data for planning and evaluation
A truly successful program is one whose components are carefully selected, implemented efficiently, and is
suited to the employee population. It may be more prudent to focus on one or two policies/programs at first
and build on early successes rather than poorly implement several interventions at the
beginning. Workplace health programs also do not have to cost significant amounts of money.

Step 3 – Implementing the Program

A person’s health is a result of both individual actions and the context or environment within which those
actions are taken. Employers and employees have many opportunities to influence the work environment to
promote health and prevent disease. Changing the environment affects large groups of workers
simultaneously and makes adopting healthy behaviors much easier if there are supportive workplace norms
and policies. Therefore, it is important for the overall workplace health program to contain a combination
of individual and organizational level strategies and interventions to influence health. The strategies and
interventions available fall into four major categories:
i. Health-related Programs – opportunities available to employees at the workplace or through outside
organizations to begin, change or maintain health behaviors
ii. Health-related Policies – formal/informal written statement that are designed to protect or promote
employee health. They affect large groups of employees simultaneously
iii. Health Benefits – part of an overall compensation package including health insurance coverage and
other services or discounts regarding health
iv. Environmental Supports – refers to the physical factors at and nearby the workplace that help protect
and enhance employee health.

Step 4 – Determine Impact through Evaluation

Lastly, worksites should plan to evaluate the programs, policies, benefits, or environmental supports
implemented. It is important to assess how well the workplace health program can be sustained over time,
how it is received by employees and management, and its return on investment (ROI). The evaluation
should focus on questions that are relevant, salient, and useful to those who will use the findings and that
the evaluation process feeds into a continuous quality improvement loop to improve and strengthen
existing activities; identify potential gaps in current offerings; and describe the efficiency and effectiveness
of the resources invested. The evaluation module provides general and topic specific guidelines, tools, and
resources for evaluating the program’s efforts.

Eight Best Workplace Health Strategies:-

1. Pay attention to overtime and the number of hours worked
 Long weeks and excess overtime leads to high levels of stress. Stress, when experienced for prolonged
periods of time, leads to burnout.
 The first step in creating a healthy workplace is setting a policy that restricts or at least carefully
monitors overtime.
 Enforcing paid leave is not only important to reducing your company liability count. It’s also essential
for ensuring employees are well-rested and healthy.
2. Provide social support
One of the key factors that impact happiness (an aspect of overall health and wellbeing) is a strong social
network. It might not be your place to involve yourself in your employee’s family and friend groups. But,
it’s still possible for companies to influence and encourage social wellbeing. Consider starting a social club
with monthly events, or even encouraging or subsidizing a Friday lunch in the office.
3. Offer health insurance
One of the easiest ways to get involved in the health and wellbeing of your workforce is to offer health
insurance benefits. It’s more of a safety net than a preventative measure. However, some insurance policies
include free regular screenings, check-ups, and vaccinations, all of which can help improve individual
health outcomes.
4. Initiate physical fitness initiatives
Not every office has the ability to fund an on-site gym. But that doesn’t mean you can’t implement
physical health initiatives. Examples of effective physical health programs include:
 The Biggest Loser style challenges
 Bootcamps
 Jogging clubs
 Sit/stand desks
 In-office yoga classes
A little competition goes a long way, so consider how you might incentivize team members to work toward
a goal.
5. Offer mindfulness and meditation classes
It’s important to keep in mind that health at work does go beyond physical health initiatives such as
exercise and healthy eating. A way to incorporate this area of health is to offer mindfulness, meditation
classes, and deep breathing exercises. This can be done in-office (many coaches are happy to take a
seminar at your office), or you can organize a group trip. Also consider offering some form of confidential
counseling services that employees can access autonomously.
6. Improve knowledge of healthy behaviors
One of the key barriers that stands in the way of a healthy lifestyle is accurate knowledge of what a healthy
lifestyle actually is. Part of your healthy workplace strategy should include improved awareness of the
impacts of:
 Poor desk posture
 Staring at a screen for too long
 Excessive caffeine intake
 Try to provide some guidance around healthy eating as well.
You can share health information on a regular basis through email, posters, or during meetings.
7. Subsidize gym memberships
This can actually be a great way to get buy-in and accountability from your team, as their money is on the
line too.
8. Encourage preventative screenings and vaccinations
Many healthcare insurance policies offer preventative screenings and vaccinations. But these rights often
go unexercised. This happens for a variety of reasons. A common one is that employees simply struggle to
find the time to put aside for routine check-ups. One way you can encourage your team members to take
advantage of these offerings is to allow them to take paid time out of their workday to head to the doctor.
You can go one better by offering routine vaccinations (such as the flu shot) to employees in your office.
This will make it accessible to even the busiest of employees.

IN-SHORT:
Here are six quick tips you can share with your team so everyone can start to improve workplace health
today:
 Stay hydrated by keeping a water bottle at your desk
 Be aware of tension neck syndrome (TNS) and perform regular stretches
 Avoid working too many long days in a row, as you’ll hurt your sleep hygiene
 Work in 90 minutes blocks with breaks in between to get up and get some blood flowing
 Use ergonomic equipment such as chairs and keyboards
 Reduce your sugar intake by cutting down the sugar in your coffee

ROL:
1. A multilevel model of organizational health culture and the effectiveness of health promotion:
This study examines the impact of organizational health culture on health promotion effectiveness. It found
that organizational health culture significantly affects planning effectiveness and production of health
promotion. Employee effectiveness was also influenced by health behavior. The findings suggest that
organizational health culture and employee health behavior can improve employee effectiveness.

2. The effectiveness of workplace nutrition and physical activity interventions in improving productivity,
work performance and workability: a systematic review
This systematic review investigates the impact of workplace nutrition and physical activity interventions on
employees' productivity, work performance, and workability. The review included randomized controlled
trials and non-randomized controlled studies, with 28% of the included studies being of high quality and
56% being of medium quality. Fourteen workplace nutrition and physical activity intervention studies
showed statistically significant changes on absenteeism, work performance, workability, productivity, and
both workability and productivity. Two studies showed effects on absenteeism only between subgroups.
The scientific evidence shows that it is possible to influence work-related outcomes, especially
absenteeism, positively through health promotion efforts that include components aimed at the workplace's
physical work environment and organizational structure. Long-term follow-up using objective outcomes
and/or quality assured questionnaires are required to draw further conclusions regarding work-related
outcomes in controlled high-quality studies. The study concludes that workplace health promotion
interventions can positively influence work-related outcomes, especially absenteeism, and that further
research is needed to draw further conclusions.
REFERENCE:

Grimani, A., Aboagye, E., & Kwak, L. (2019). The effectiveness of workplace nutrition and physical
activity interventions in improving productivity, work performance and workability: a systematic
review. BMC Public Health, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-8033-1

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https://www.healthyworkplaces.sa.gov.au/healthy-workplaces/what-is-a-healthy-workplace

Lin, Y., & Lin, Y. (2014). A multilevel model of organizational health culture and the effectiveness of
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Promoting a healthier workplace (8 ways to Try). (n.d.). https://www.betterup.com/blog/health-at-work

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https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/model/index.html