Workplace Health Model | Workplace Health Promotion | CDC

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• On average, Americans working full-time spend more than one-third of their day, five days per week at the workplace.

• employers have a responsibility to provide a safe and hazard-free workplace, they also have abundant opportunities to promote individual health and foster a healthy work environment for more than 159 million workers in the United States

• The use of effective workplace programs and policies can reduce health risks and improve the quality of life for American workers.

• Maintaining a healthier workforce can lower direct costs such as insurance premiums and worker’s compensation claims

• will also positively impact many indirect costs such as absenteeism and worker productivity.1, 2

• s, businesses can create a wellness culture that is employee-centered; provides supportive environments where safety is ensured and health can emerge; and provides access and opportunities for their employers to engage in a variety of workplace

• 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.

• Workplace health programs can lead to change at both the individual (i.e., employee) and the organization levels.

• orkplace health programs have the potential to impact an employee’s health, such as their health behaviors; health risks for disease; and current health status.

• ns, workplace health programs have the potential to impact areas such as health care costs, absenteeism, productivity, recruitment/retention, culture and employee morale

• 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.

• 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.

• Workplace health promotion programs are more likely to be successful if occupational safety and health is considered in their design and execution, In fact, a growing body of evidence indicates that workplace-based interventions that take coordinated, planned, or integrated approaches to reducing health threats to workers both in and out of work are more effective than traditional isolated programs.

• his 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

• 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

• 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.

• Workplace health programs also do not have to cost significant amounts of money. Many effective interventions such as health-related policy changes exist that are low-cost which i

• Losing weight, quitting smoking, and exercising more are all examples of individual actions that can result in better health. It is important to realize, however, that improving health requires a broad perspective that also includes the environments in which people work, live, and play.

• person’s health is a result of both individual actions and the context or environment within which those actions are taken.

• 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,