Posted by admin | Posted in Workplace Health Promotion | Posted on 11-12-2008
As the science behind Workplace Health Promotion Programs continues to evolve, so will the need to define and articulate the dimensions of a broad-based model of Workplace Health Promotion Programs. A representative model includes the following components; health education initiatives, worker health services and benefits, physical fitness and nutrition initiatives, Workplace Health Promotion Program policies and procedures, counseling and employee assistance programs, a safe and healthy work environment, and the integration of company and community resources.
A broad-based approach to Workplace Health Promotion Programs will maximize the impact of all interventions by increasing communication between administrators, employees, and worker families, while encouraging the adoption of a healthy worksite culture and climate. Philosophically, this model supports the ideals of worker wellness and optimal health by encouraging worksites to go beyond initiatives designed to only reduce health care costs, prevent disease, or maintain health.
A key factor in the utility of this model is the integration and overlap of responsibilities for Workplace Health Promotion Programs by various departments and individuals inside and outside the company. As the structure of the workplace continues to change, in the future this dynamic model can be used to evaluate and plan for Workplace Health Promotion Programs that are truly broad-based in nature.
A Comprehensive Model For Workplace Health Promotion Programs
According to the National Survey of Worksite Health Promotion Activities (1992) 81 percent of corporations in the U.S. with 50 or more employees have some form of Workplace Health Promotion Programs activity. This result puts us in proximity of the Healthy People 2000 (1990) objective of 85 percent by the year 2000. Why are employers getting into the business of Workplace Health Promotion Programs? The three most common reasons cited for employer interest in Workplace Health Promotion Programs are the desire to control spiraling health care costs, to encourage a healthy productive work force, and as a way of boosting the morale of employees and the image of the company (O’Donnell, 1994).
As the motivations for Workplace Health Promotion Programs differ, so do the extent of a Workplace Health Promotion Programs efforts. A program may consist of distributing the occasional health pamphlet on the warning signs of cancer to employees, or it may comprise an elaborate and strategically planned Workplace Health Promotion Program targeted to the specific needs of a company and its employees. Research indicates (O’Donnel & Harris, 1994) that some Workplace Health Promotion Programs have been more effective than others in improving health status, but what would a truly broad-based model of Workplace Health Promotion Programs consist of?
Close your eyes and imagine yourself working for the healthiest business possible. What characteristics or Workplace Health Promotion Program strategies would make that organization so healthy? Examine it from a holistic perspective. What does that business do to enhance the social, physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual aspects of worker health? How does that business develop effective health policies and relevant programs that impact all employees? Finally, how does that business demonstrate its belief that workers are the business’s most valued asset?
It is unlikely that any one single of a Workplace Health Promotion Program will be responsible for the positive health outcomes of all employees. Workplace Health Promotion Program have evolved from the occasional fitness center for the exclusive use of business executives, or the sporadic worker safety program, to a wide range of health enhancing services and initiatives. Workplace Health Promotion Program consultants frequently speak of the importance of cultural change and the need to institutionalize Workplace Health Promotion Programs in today’s workplace. This goal can only occur through a broad-based and integrated approach that impacts on workers through numerous channels.
