WHAT IS A HEALTHY WORKPLACE? A healthy workplace is one where workers and managers collaborate to continually improve the health, safety and wellbeing of all workers and by doing this, sustain the productivity of the business and its workersi. A healthy workplace may look slightly different for every person; however, it generally has a few things in common. The Australian Human Rights Commission notes some characteristics of a healthy and safe workplace are: ф professional development is supported and encouraged ф obstacles to optimum mental health are identified and removed ф diversity is viewed as an organisation advantage ф worker turnover and sick/stress leave is low ф worker loyalty is high ф workers are productive members of a team
WHY IS HAVING A HEALTHY WORKPLACE IMPORTANT? Given we spend one third of our lives at work, the working environment can have a significant impact on our health and wellbeing. A healthy working environment is one in which there is not only an absence of harmful conditions that can cause injury and illness, but an abundance of health promoting onesii. A healthy workplace can improve worker morale and participation. It helps improve worker retention and reduces high turnover rates. When workers have a good relationship with management and their co-workers, it will result in fewer conflicts and complaints. Teams will start to work together to achieve common goals and productivity increases.
STATS AND FACTS Records show 97% of working South Australians reported having at least one chronic disease risk factor (eg
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unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, alcohol and tobacco use), with 83% reporting multiple risk factorsiii. In 2019, just over one quarter of South Australian workers have experienced a mental health condition such as depression or anxietyiv. In South Australia, the cost of workrelated injury and illness is an estimated $5 billion per year v.
HOW TO CREATE A HEALTHY WORKPLACE When creating a healthy workplace, it is important to take a holistic approach, and focus on not only the needs of your workers, but the physical environmental and organisational polices and procedure. Healthy Workplaces SA has created a step-by-step guide to developing a successful healthy workplace program.
STEP 1 – GET STARTED Good planning and preparation create the foundation of an effective and successful healthy workplace program. To get started, you need to gain leadership support and engage workers.
STEP 2 – EXAMINE AND ASSESS
a workplace culture of care. Make sure you communicate your plans to staff and involve them in the process.
STEP 4 – MONITOR AND REVIEW Think about how you can measure success and monitor and review to make sure your action plan is on track. For further resources, visit some of these great websites or contact Crystal Mackie Health, Injury and Wellness Manager: 0426 965 816. ф https://www.healthyworkplaces. sa.gov.au/ ф https://www.headsup.org.au/ ф https://www.rtwsa.com/insurance/ injury-prevention ф https://itw.superfriend.com.au/ i
World Health Organisation, 2009
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World Health Organisation, 2010
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South Australian Population Health Survey, 2019 South Australian Population Health Survey, 2019 Cost of injury and illness by state and territory 2012-13, Safe Work Australia
Do a stocktake. You could begin with a self-audit. What are you already doing? What is your workplace data telling you? Are there unique risks or challenges facing your business or industry? Are you addressing physical and mental health, safety and wellbeing?
STEP 3 – TAKE ACTION What actions do you want to take? Determine your priority areas and develop your action plan to set out some key actions you want to take over the coming year. Ensure that your plan will contribute to creating
CIVIL CONNECT
