Healthy savings

What happens in the workplace has a strong influence on an employee’s health and well-being. Over the years, many groups, from governments to unions to insurers, have worked to influence the safety and health of workers; in recent years this vital responsibility has also been part of the HR portfolio.

That’s not just a case of throwing the ball to the next function in the line. Rather, employers interested in quality and productivity are realising that achieving healthy workplaces can have a significant impact on their bottom line. Just having live bodies in the workplace doesn’t necessarily translate into high quality or productivity. If illness or unfitness take hold, workers will have a noticeably reduced output. Even if they show up to the office, their productivity will be far lower than what a happy, healthy version of themselves would produce. And you can also forget about creativity. The sort of out-of-the-box solutions that most modern businesses require to stay ahead of the competition can only come from fresh, healthy and inspired minds.

In these circumstances, achieving the minimum standard is typically not enough. Insurers and compensation boards note that workplaces that strive to achieve only what is required by legislation still remain at risk of injury and illness. Instead, an integrated and comprehensive approach to workplace health, safety and wellbeing is needed.

By proactively promoting a healthy workplace, and taking care to ensure the safety of everyone in it, employers can significantly reduce a wide range of adverse health issues – including absenteeism and injuries. Most evidence suggests that the money saved through these factors far outweighs the original investment in workplace health.

Just how do we make a healthy workplace?

So how does HR go about building a healthy workplace. HR experts say the office culture will typically drive or drag the strategy. Also, leadership buy-in is vital.

Singapore’s Allson Hotel is currently promoting a healthy-eating environment – for the staff as well as guests. Albert Lai, Deputy General Manager, says he regularly takes a walk around the establishment to see what kind of fare is making it onto staff lunch plates. When he sees colleagues skipping a serving of fruit or vegetables he reminds them of the goodness they are missing out on.

Few top managers would take the time and effort to scrutinise their employees’ meals, let alone exhort them personally to improve their diet. But for Lai, watching over the health of Allson’s 152 staff is a daily labour of love. “He is the guiding light behind all our workplace health programmes,” says one staff member.

Singapore’s Ministry of Health agrees. Allson scored its second consecutive Gold Award for workplace health in 2008; Lai says it is now aiming for a Platinum Award in 2010. Among the hotel’s many achievements is a massive drop in the number of overweight staff, from 55% in 2003 to just 30% in 2007, and a 100% success rate in getting staff to eat at least two servings of fruit and vegetables daily.

The focus on diet is natural, considering Allson’s workplace health programme has its roots in an internal healthy eating movement that began in 1999. The formation of a canteen committee was designed to oversee the quality and nutritional value of staff meals.

In 2001, this committee was renamed the Workplace Health Promotion Committee and given the job of finding new ways to improve staff health. The change was driven largely by health screening that revealed alarmingly prevalent obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol levels among staff. Many of these problems could be traced directly to poor dietary habits.

The obvious starting point was to encourage more healthy eating. Having an in-house staff canteen obviously made things easier. Food with less salt, sugar and oil was provided, as were extra quantities of vegetables.

Importantly, managers led by example. They joined other employees for meals in the canteen, cutting back on fried food and personally encouraging other people to do the same. Lai says the managers had trouble at first getting used to a healthy diet, but their efforts quickly won over the entire staff.

Medical costs down

Allson isn’t just helping out its employees. It’s also helping itself save money and worker-time on the job. The hotel’s success in improving staff health has been mirrored by a corresponding fall in medical costs and absenteeism. Medical expenses took a $15,000 dive between 2004 and 2007. And in 2008, more than 40 staff, members had to take no medical leave at all. Notably, all of this was accomplished despite the hotel’s ageing workforce.

As staff get older, they typically become more susceptible to health issues such as obesity and hypertension. Recognising this, Allson Hotel has introduced a range of staff activities – including line dancing, yoga, and simple aerobics – to keep workers active and inspired. It has even set aside a rooftop garden for staff to spend an hour a week gardening and landscaping.

Sail away

At sea, creating a healthy workplace environment can take some creative thinking. The environment on board a ship can be challenging, with just a few highly-qualified people responsible for the safe operation of a ship worth millions, and cargoes worth even more.

“There is a lot of pressure for operate the ships in the most environmentally-friendly manner and as efficiently as possible,” explains Bjarne Foldager, Managing Director of AP Moeller-Maersk. “Although there is a lot of high-tech automation on modern vessels, there is still a requirement to have people working around-the-clock in shifts.”

AP Moeller-Maersk introduced the Employee Workplace Wellness Programme (EWWP), specifically for employees at sea. It was designed by a fitness specialist who sailed with 10 different ships in order to develop and implement a customised programme taking into account the unique circumstances.

“The program is specially designed to address the challenging work environment onboard with its 24-hour work shifts,” Foldager tells HRM.

EWWP was also formulated after studying the nutritional aspects of life onboard a vessel. The company has a team of officers and crew from many different nationalities. With such diversity, the work of the chief cook was always going to be challenging.

The programme created an awareness of the importance of fitness and a balanced diet, and equipped the shipboard team with the necessary know-how on optimal use of the available fitness equipment.