Ergotip May '09

A Healthy Workplace: It’s Not Just Physical!

Karina is a 55-year old woman who works as an administrative assistant in a large manufacturing company.  Her role involves a lot of computer work, including data entry and document management.  She has been complaining lately about sore wrists, neck and shoulders at the end of the day, and has missed a few days of work because of it.  Her doctor has told her that she could be developing a repetitive strain injury due to her work.

Karina’s manager, Russ, values her highly as she is known to be a conscientious worker with high productivity.  He is anxious to do whatever is needed to make sure she doesn’t suffer an injury.  He has brought in a professional ergonomist who has evaluated her work station and posture while typing, and has made some significant improvements.  She now has a fully adjustable chair, a better-positioned document holder and an “ergonomic” keyboard that she has learned to use, and likes.  This has made a big difference to her pain levels.  Nevertheless, after a few weeks, she finds she still has some fatigue and discomfort, especially in her shoulders and neck.

Sound familiar? When an employee complains of a physical pain or discomfort, a responsible employer will usually look for physical solutions.  Often they will solve the problem.  But sometimes they aren’t enough – because a truly healthy and safe workplace is about more than the physical environment.

Many Canadian authorities (Health Canada, National Quality Institute, Industrial Accident Prevention Association) believe that a healthy and safe workplace is one where the employer takes advantage of three ways to influence worker health1.


These are:

  1. The physical work environment – addressing traditional occupational health & safety hazards;
     
  2. Personal health resources – finding ways to encourage and support healthy lifestyles among their employees; and
     
  3. Organizational culture, addressing what is sometimes called the “psychosocial” work environment

The physical work environment is generally well understood and accepted.  Let’s take a look at the other two, and see how they affect the likelihood of injuries.

Personal health resources

It is common sense that a person, who is healthy, fit, physically active, at a healthy weight, a non-smoker and who eats a healthy diet is less prone to injury and illness than a less healthy person.  There is evidence that smokers, for example, are absent more, are more susceptible to chemicals in the workplace, and may even experience more back pain when doing heavy lifting than non-smokers2

People who are inactive and overweight are at risk for diabetes, which may impact on their productivity and well-being.  Therefore, it makes sense for employers to try to find ways to encourage healthy lifestyles.  In the USA, employers may be responsible for much of the cost of health care for their employees, so the costs are obvious.  But in Canada, the employer still pays in lost productivity, if not in direct health care costs. 

While employers should not dictate health habits to their employees, there are often things that can be done by a concerned employer to raise awareness of health issues and remove barriers to healthy lifestyles.  Such things as providing financial subsidies for physical activity or sports equipment, help to quit smoking, health fairs to raise awareness, or even flexibility to allow gym visits on a lunch hour can go a long way towards helping employees change their habits.

Organizational culture

This aspect of the workplace is invisible, and therefore often neglected. It means the attitudes, values, and beliefs that are demonstrated in the workplace on a daily basis that affect the mental and physical well-being of employees; for example, respect, appreciation, balanced workloads, decision latitude, and support for work-life harmony. 

Unfortunately, some health and safety advocates may feel these things are just “warm and fuzzy” that affect the way people feel, but are not really related to physical injuries or illnesses. 

Nothing could be farther from the truth! (See By the Numbers at right)

  


By the Numbers

Stressful jobs can increase the risk of:

  • Heart disease by 3x

  • Back pain by 3x

  • Injuries by 2-3x

  • Substance abuse by 2-3x

  • Certain cancers by 5x

  • Conflicts by 2-3x

  • Mental illness by 2-3x

  • Infections by 2-3x

Research shows stress contributes to:

  • 19% of absenteeism costs

  • 40% of turnover costs

  • 55 % of EAP costs

  • 30% of short term and long term disability costs

  • 10% of drug plan costs

  • 60% of accident rates

  • 100% of stress-related lawsuits
     (Ravi Tangri, StressCosts, Stress-Cures. (Victoria: Trafford Publishing, 2003) http://www.co-creatingfutures.com/content.php?page_ID=266)

Short- and long-term disability costs (STDs and LTDs) together are more than double the costs of workers’ compensation, and the ratio has been increasing since 1997. And stress-related and mental health issues are the leading cause of STDs and LTDs.  (Watson Wyatt Canada, “Watson Wyatt 2000 Canadian Staying @ Work Survey” and Watson Wyatt Worldwide, “Staying @ Work 2005: Making the Connection to a Healthy Organization.”)

Data from many studies show a return on investment of $1.15 to $8.00 for every $1 invested.
(Joan Burton, “The Business Case for a Healthy Workplace.” Industrial Accident Prevention Association, September 2007.http://www.iapa.ca/resources/resources_downloads.asp#healthy)

 

Let’s get back to Karina, and look at her situation in the light of this information.

Karina is somewhat overweight and admits she doesn’t exercise as much as she should.  She tends to skip lunch and sit in her chair for hours without getting up, and often finds herself stiff and sore all over at the end of the day.  She has a “Stretching Tip Sheet” posted on the wall of her cubicle that her employer provided a few years ago, but admits she hasn’t looked at it for months and doesn’t do the stretches or take the recommended rest breaks.

When Karina is asked why she doesn’t take more breaks, she says she can’t because of her workload.  She was originally part of a team of three people who worked for Russ, but recent downsizing has meant she is the only full-time person left, and her workload has increased. In an attempt to help her manage the work, Russ has tightly organized her day for her, and given strict instructions about what work is to be done when.  He monitors her output carefully, and is quick to mention if she falls behind his schedule.  She admits she feels stressed by this treatment, and has family responsibilities and a long commute that contribute to her time pressures.

 

Karina’s situation and her employer’s response to it is a classic case of focusing only on the physical work environment, and not addressing the two other components necessary for a healthy workplace.  While important and necessary, providing an ergonomically correct workstation is only part of the solution to Karina’s problems.  Other tactics that Russ could consider to make her work experience and workplace healthier are as follows:

  • Evaluate Karina’s workload, and reduce it if at all possible.  Make sure that the amount of work is actually achievable by one average person in the amount of time available (not including overtime).

  • Ask Karina for input on how to get the work done by the required deadlines, and be flexible in accepting solutions.

  • Allow Karina to schedule the various tasks in her own day and week.  Be flexible related to the time and location of the work done.

  • Encourage Karina to take regular rest breaks during the day, and do stretching exercises at those times.  Consider using a software program that reminds her of this.

  • Consider unit-wide stretch breaks to music at certain times during the day.

  • Model the desired behaviour.  Make sure that Karina sees Russ taking lunch and coffee breaks, so that she knows it truly is acceptable for her to do these things.

  • Find ways to encourage Karina with positive feedback, rather than only providing feedback when she fails to meet expectations.

  • Ask Karina if she has health-related goals and then find ways to encourage and support her to make the changes she would like to make.

These are just a few suggestions of strategies that an employer could use to complement the physical solutions already implemented, and start to create a healthier workplace.3  Evidence shows that addressing all three aspects of a healthy workplace will not only help reduce Karina’s stress and pain, but will likely make her a more committed and productive employee.4  And isn’t that what every employer wants?

Joan Burton, BSc, RN, MEd, is President of Joan Burton & Associates.  Formerly Senior Strategy Advisor, Healthy Workplaces, for the IAPA (Industrial Accident Prevention Association, Canada), she now provides training and consulting in the area of comprehensive workplace health and wellness.  As a guest writer, Joan has provided this Healthy Workplaces tip for the benefit of our Sandalwood Ergo Tip of the Month customers and friends. You may contact Joan at jburtonww@gmail.com  For comments or feedback on this topic you may contact us at contactus@sandalwood.com

References

  1. Health Canada, “Corporate Health Model: A Guide to Developing and Implementing the Workplace Health System in Medicumand Large Businesses.” Health Canada, Catalogue No H39-225/1991. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/occup-travail/model-guide-modele/index-eng.php  ISBN 0-662-19112-9

  2. W. Eriksen, B. Natvig and D. Bruusgaard. “Smoking, heavy physical work and low back pain: A four-year prospective study” Occupational Medicine, 1999: 49; 155-160.

  3. Joan Burton, “Creating Healthy Workplaces,”  Industrial Accident Prevention Association, November  2004  ISBN 1-55127-182-6  http://www.iapa.ca/resources/resources_downaloads.asp#healthy

  4. Joan Burton, “The Business Case for a Healthy Workplace.” Industrial Accident Prevention Association, September 2007. http://www.iapa.ca/resources/resources_downloads.asp#healthy