Traditionally, health protection and health promotion activities have operated independently in the workplace. Health protection has usually been viewed as encompassing the activities that protect workers from occupational injury and illness – ranging from basic safety training to the use of protective gear and safety-enhancing modifications to equipment. Health promotion, by contrast, has usually been viewed as encompassing the activities that maintain or improve the personal health of a workforce – ranging from health risk assessments to wellness initiatives and immunizations.
The creation of workplace “silos” that place boundaries around these activities has been a limiting factor in organizations’ ability to develop truly integrated health initiatives, reducing their overall effectiveness. While we have made great strides in creating a culture of safety and health protection in the United States since the establishment of OSHA 40 years ago and have made encouraging progress in establishing a culture of wellness and health promotion in more recent decades, the two have yet to meet and merge into a true “culture of health.” A new way of approaching these two vital activity centers is needed – one that will integrate them into a concept called “workplace health protection and promotion.” This is the path to creating a sustainable culture of health.
Mitigate Your Overall Risk
The health of your employees directly impacts the medical and workers’ compensation risk experienced by your company
By J. Spencer Milus, RN, executive vice president, RepuCare Onsite, LLC
This is the time of year when many employers are looking heavily at their bottom line – especially as it relates to their employee health insurance. It’s renewal time, and many employers are facing yet another year of double-digit increases – even after they cost shifted in previous years by increasing the employee premium share or switching from a traditional HMO or PPO plan to a high-deductible health plan. You’re discovering that the health of your employees greatly impacts the risk related to your health insurance trends. But did you realize that the health of your employees impacts much more than just your health insurance risk?
Productivity is directly impacted by the health of your employees. Studies have shown that employees’ health risk levels directly impact productivity measures. As their health risks increase, their overall productivity decreases. Additionally, your employees’ health directly impacts your risk related to your safety and workers’ compensation programs. According to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, high-risk individuals are associated with higher incidences of disability, workers’ compensation and lost workdays.
Let’s say you have an employee who experiences a cut to his forearm at work. He has not seen a physician in over five years, is obese, has undiagnosed high blood pressure and is at high risk for diabetes. The injury will most likely take double the time to heal and recover because of his poor health status. Compared to a healthy employee who would have a quicker recovery and lower cost per claim, you can see how easily the health of your employee contributes to your health insurance, productivity and workers’ compensation risk.
Consider taking a proactive approach to improve your employees’ health. Bring your human resources, safety and benefits teams together and develop a health improvement strategy to positively impact your employees’ health and save the bottom line.
Building a Partnership for Prevention
By Mark Middlesworth, president, Ergonomics Plus
The goal of occupational health and safety (OHS) programs should be to build a prevention culture that eliminates injury risk and promotes overall health and wellness of all employees.
To achieve this goal, strategies for effective prevention of injuries and musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) need to be founded upon the identification and elimination of all causative factors. Increasingly, research indicates that chronic disease and declining physical fitness are primary risk factors for injuries and MSDs. Think about it: If so called “work-related” disorders were solely caused by occupational factors, then wouldn’t it follow that all workers performing the same job demands would develop these conditions? How can we explain why one worker is healthy and another worker who does an identical job under identical conditions develops carpal tunnel syndrome or some other MSD? The truth is, not everyone with ergonomic exposures at work develops a MSD and not everyone that develops an MSD has ergonomic exposures at work.
Therefore, a comprehensive “whole person” strategy is needed for effective injury and MSD prevention. Why? Because a variety of risk factors are involved. Some of these risk factors are the responsibility of the workplace, while others are the responsibility of the worker.
Promoting GoodWELL: Diabetes Impacts Your Business
Don’t miss the American Diabetes Association’s “Diabetes Impacts Your Business” event on November 30 at the Indiana Chamber Conference Center in downtown Indianapolis.
Details
Registration: 11:00 a.m.
Event: 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Lunch provided
To RSVP, contact Carol Dixon.
