A Workplace Health Promotion Program

The workplace environment is a powerful, but frequently overlooked, component in managing staff member health. Here we will identify some of the best-practices in creating a Workplace Health Promotion Program that supports your organization’s employee health strategy and allows staff members to take charge of their own health. For example, a Workplace Health Promotion Program that includes a smoke-free workplace policy increases the likelihood that staff members will try to quit tobacco use and will quit using tobacco successfully. Similarly, a Workplace Health Promotion Program that includes discounting healthy foods in your cafeteria and vending machines helps increase staff members’ consumption of healthy foods which supports your investment in disease management programs for staff members with diabetes, heart disease or hypertension. The following will guide you through the ten key steps in creating a Workplace Health Promotion Program and workplace environment that promotes staff member health.

In an era of rising health care costs and fervent competition, companies have a vested interest in the health of their staff members. Research has found that, on average, staff members with healthy behaviors (such as not using tobacco or being active for 30 minutes a day) incur lower health care expenses, are absent from work less frequently, and are more productive when at work (higher presenteeism) than staff members with unhealthy behaviors.