Whenever we talk about healthy environments and Healthy Companies, we must refer to the WHO (World Health Organization) concept of health; a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not the simple or mere absence of disease.
The definition of a healthy work environment has been evolving and goes beyond the physical work environment itself (work equipment, exposure to chemical or physical contaminants, etc.) and includes other types of actions related to the lifestyle and health habits of workers who make up companies or those related to the organization of work (psychosocial factors, etc.).
Thus, a Healthy Work Environment is defined by the WHO as an environment in which workers and managers collaborate in a process of continuous improvement to promote and protect the health, safety and well-being of workers and the sustainability of the work environment based on the following indicators:
Health and safety concerning the physical work space.
Health, safety and well-being relating to the psychosocial environment of work, including the organisation of work and the culture of the work environment.
Personal health resources in the workplace.
Ways the community seeks to improve the health of workers, their families and other community members
This concept is not intended to move away from the traditional approach to health and safety in terms of protection and prevention, but rather is intended to be complemented by a focus on health promotion. We must not forget that health is unique, and occupational health cannot be separated from personal health.
There is no doubt that work and the conditions in which it is carried out (not only in relation to safety, ergonomics or the state of the work environment, but also in organisational matters – demand/control, responsibility, interpersonal work relationships, schedules, workload/pace, work-life balance, etc.) affect the health of workers. Nor is there any canada mobile phone numbers database doubt that certain personal health or social habits can also affect the health of workers, which can have an impact on and influence organisations (sometimes negatively) and the society in which they live (social and health systems are particularly affected).
When we talk about a healthy company, we are talking about companies that already comply with the Health and Safety legislation and go further. They are aware of the importance and strategic value that the well-being of their staff brings, and that their concern for the health and safety of their workers will become reciprocal, that is, workers will feel more connected to the company, becoming true ambassadors of their organization, increasing their productivity and obtaining a competitive advantage in the business world.
There are numerous studies and bibliographies on the costs of non-prevention (economic cost of lost days, compensation, insurance surcharges, production losses, etc. All of them economically valuable) and there are also studies on the returns generated by health promotion actions (for every euro invested in health programs at work, a return on investment of between 2.5 and 4.8 euros is generated in absenteeism and between 2.3 and 5.9 euros in illness costs).
Tomorrow, November 29th, the IV Healthy Company Awards event will be held by ORH-Human Resources Observatory