More than a wellness program needed for a healthy organization!
Graham Lowe
(HR Reporter)
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Graham Lowe is one of Canada's leading experts on work. He runs his own workplace consulting company, The Graham Lowe Group Inc., is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Alberta, and a Research Associate at Canadian Policy Research Networks. His numerous publications include The Quality of Work: A People-Centered Agenda (Oxford University Press, 2000).
www.grahamlowe.ca
Email Graham Lowe
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Wellness programs look at symptoms of unhealthy organizations but not at root causes of dysfunction. Poor employee health cannot be reduced simply by designing and delivering programs targeted to the individuals in the workplace; these programs do not address the underlying working conditions that affect health and wellness.
[It's like the old story about the children falling into the stream, and rescuers picking them out of the water below the waterfalls; no one seems interested in going to the stream above the falls, to find out why they are falling in, in the first place. Everyone is too busy picking them out of the water to look at root causes.]
There is a significant difference between the introduction of another program and creating a healthy organization. The Institute for Work and Health recommends that workplace health programs promote the determinants of workplace health including job, organizational and work environment as causes of health and wellness. Other researchers refer to the "health-promoting workplace" as a gestalt to balance customer expectations, organizational goals, employee skills and health needs.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the U.S. defines a healthy organization as "one whose culture, climate and practices create an environment that promotes employee health and safety as well as organizational effectiveness. They emphasize that employees need to feel valued and able to resolve group conflicts, as important ingredients in any healthy organization. Management must reward workers for quality work and present supportive supervisors and strong leaders.
The shift moves the perspective on employee health from the status of a program or policy to a core characteristic of how an organization operates. The change process requires the full participation of the health promotion staff and human resources staff, supported by the managers, supervisors at all levels and the unions.
Healthy organizations must also take three important steps:
take a detailed look at critical risk factors, including the underlying job characteristics and organizational conditions that
enhance or impair health"
focus on desired outcomes in employee health, organizational results and social impacts
identify the actions required to address these underlying factors to achieve the desired outcomes
In the risk category, job factors include:
physical working conditions
ergonomic aspects
temporal aspects of the workday and tasks
content
job autonomy
co-worker-relations
quality of supervision
financial and economic aspects
Workplace factors include:
organizational structures
climate and culture
communications
management practices
leadership
labour-management relations
existing health promotion, and
health and safety activities
Reduced absenteeism and use of health benefits are among the limited objectives while a balanced scorecard approach, including employee health outcomes, is useful. Successful health promotion activities are more likely with a comprehensive approach, addressing non-health issues:
an integrated multidisciplinary team
a supportive corporate environment, including commitment from the top, reinforced by incentives and recognition for healthy behaviour
active participation of employees and middle management
job changes to enhance worker' sense of control and autonomy
health promotion embedded in regular management practices and business plans
rigorous project management based on needs analysis, systematic approach, priority setting, plan and continuous monitoring and evaluation.
In turn, research needs:
a better understanding of the links between individual employee health and healthy organizations;
ways to include one-third of the workforce in healthy workplaces: freelancers, contract workers, home-based workers and the self-employed.
In short, embed healthy workplace goals into a corporate social responsibility framework.
Current Edition:
More than a wellness program needed for a healthy organization!
(February 1, 2004)
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