Creating a Healthy and Inclusive Workplace
October is Healthy Workplace Month in Canada and this year’s theme is how to feel great at work, take care of yourself, do your best, and help others. Through this theme, we take a closer look at how a healthy workplace also creates inclusivity.
A healthy workplace is something an organization should strive for, but what exactly does a healthy workplace look like?
According to Excellence Canada and Canada.ca, a healthy workplace is one where an organization shows that they care about the physical and psychological health and safety of their employees and establishes systems and programs to achieve and maintain exemplary health. Promoting a healthy work environment encourages employees and employers to focus on the importance of having a healthy mind, body and organizational culture.
Here are a few tips on how your organization can focus on creating a healthy workplace for you and your employees.
1. Focus on Wellness
Focusing on your well-being and maintaining good mental health is at the centre of living well. When you put your mental and physical health first, you ultimately feel better overall because you are listening to what your body is telling you and what you need to be healthy. When you bring health, work and wellness together in your organization, you create a strong connection between the health and well-being of your employees and their work environments.
When it comes to healthy work environments, The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety states that healthy environments can create more comfort and eliminate any stressors or fears about the organization that employees might have. Having a space where employees feel valued, respected, and satisfied in their job should be a priority when creating a healthy work environment. Additionally, when employees feel they are working in a safe and healthy environment, this results in higher productivity levels in employees and higher commitment to their work. Not only will your employees be more engaged, but employers will benefit from this model as well because they know their employees feel safe within the organization.
A healthy work environment can also be very beneficial to organizations because it can create room for inclusivity and diversity inside the workplace. Creating an environment that demonstrates you care about your employee’s well-being and value diversity can attract employees with disabilities or those who might need accommodations and help them to feel comfortable working in your organization. When you focus on the mental and physical health of your employees along with offering the right accommodations, they will feel comfortable and more motivated to continue working in your organization.
2. Boost Employee Engagement
Healthy and engaged employees are key to success in many organizations. In one Forbes article, the connection between employee engagement and wellness is reviewed. In this study, Forbes found that disengaged employees cost organizations up to $550 billion a year whereas highly engaged teams show 21 percent greater profitability in their organizations. Along with this, organizations that promote mental health and support employees with mental disorders are more likely to reduce absenteeism at work as well because there is an understanding about mental health and how the organization can help.
When you focus on the mental and physical health of your employees, they are also more likely to feel enthusiastic and invested in their work. Creating a healthy workplace has been shown to boost engagement by educating leadership and managers on how to support employees who suffer from mental health issues and also educating management on how to handle mental health-related situations.
To create a healthy work environment and boost engagement, an organization’s human resources team can aim to create a healthy space for employees at work by offering resources that can assist them with improving their mental and physical health if they need it. Being proactive vs. reactive is the ideal way to help employees stay healthy. If there is some help required you can provide accommodations to address your employee’s mental and physical health. You can break the stigma around mental health problems, create a more diverse and inclusive office culture, and work with employees to help them feel engaged and motivated in their roles.
3. Follow a Healthy Workplace Framework
A framework can help you get your organization on the right track to building a healthy workplace. Frameworks can guide your organization on steps to keep employees engaged and performing to the best of their abilities. Alberta Health Services offers a Healthy Workplace Framework as a part of their Healthier Together Workplaces Program to create a healthy workplace through four areas.
The four areas of the Framework include:
Physical environment
The physical environment area of the framework is the environment that employees interact with. This area is the traditional focus of occupational health and safety and concentrates on the removal of any workplace hazards or threats to workers.
Psychosocial environment
The psychosocial environment focuses on the psychological and social aspects that impact an employee’s mental and physical health and well-being. Some examples are how work is organized, workplace relationships, working conditions and organizational culture (attitudes, values, beliefs and practices).
Personal health resources and behaviours
Personal health resources and behaviours involves the workplace programs, policies, practices, and resources that enable employees to improve or maintain healthy behaviours.
Community connections
Community connections refer to activities, expertise and resources a workplace can make use of to support the social and physical well-being of its employees like programs or volunteering time to help strengthen health promotion activities.
(Image Credit: Alberta Health Services)
By following this framework and implementing these areas into your workplace, your organization will be one step closer to creating a healthy work environment.
Creating a healthy workplace can lead to positive changes in your organization and lead your employees to incorporate healthy practices into their everyday routines. Healthy work environments are not only accommodating for everyone but also reiterate the importance of creating inclusive spaces for everyone to feel comfortable in whether you require accommodations or not. Healthy spaces benefit the well-being of employees overall, and when your employees are happy, it benefits the organization as a whole, and the customers and communities you serve.