AUSTRALIAN STUDIES

Australia's largest workplace health trial has conclusively identified the following benefits gained after implementing a structured workplace health program:

• Improved employee attitudes towards their company, immediate supervisor and co-workers
• Reduced workers compensation claims
• Reduced absenteeism
• Reduced staff turnover, reduced recruitment and training costs
• Improved health status of employees
• Lower injury rates
• Improved life expectancy of employees

The Australian National Workplace project, involved 22 work sites in NSW who implemented programs over a two-year period. As indicators of the sustainability and viability of such programs 20 of the 22 participating work sites have made substantial financial and operational commitments to ongoing workplace health programs through contractual arrangements with service providers, such as Corporate Health Management.

In another study conducted by Monash University, research found a measurable link between a person's health and lifestyle and how productive they are at work. The results found that employees with poor overall health status are far more likely to be absent from work, and are nine times more likely to have sick days, compared to healthy employees.

Lifestyle 'risk' factors such as smoking, drinking, lack of physical activity and excess weight contribute to this time away from work. Employee morale and stress in the workforce contributed significantly to absenteeism and sick leave. The study also found that a worker's health status impacts upon their productivity at work. The healthiest Australian employees are almost three times more productive than their unhealthy colleagues. An ageing workforce, and a skills shortage faced by many industries, is making the issue of employee health more pressing for employers. Many employers are becoming increasingly engaged in the health of their employees not only to be socially responsible, but to improve company performance.

In this study 3,620 employees from corporate (74%) and small business (26%) Australia almost half (45%) of the employees surveyed returned a wellness score rating as 'poor health', and a further 26% returned a score consider below an optimal healthy standard.

Health Related Findings:

Australian employees don't exercise enough
10% of the Australian workers surveyed are completely inactive, 40% engage in only minimal exercise, and another 12% do less than one hour of physical activity per week. This is significantly less than the amount recommended by the Australian National Activity Guidelines, which recommends adults do at least 30 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity on most days.

Poor dietary habits
Almost half (46%) of the Australian workers surveyed live on high fat diets. Only 8% eat five or more serves of fruit and vegetables per day - the amount recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

62% of the Australian workers surveyed are overweight
Of these, 28% are clinically obese and 34% overweight, as defined by the World Health Organisation.

More than half of the Australian workforce is stressed
53% of the Australian workers surveyed feel over-whelmed with stress and pressure a significant proportion of the time. Stress related claims cost Australian business over $200 million annually.

More than half of the Australian workers surveyed don't get enough sleep
56% of the employees surveyed get less than seven hours sleep per night with 22% reporting feeling un-refreshed or exhausted during work, putting them at increased risk of road and work accidents. The average adult should have between seven and ten hours of good quality sleep per night.

Sick days, Productivity and Presenteeism
In the study, respondents were asked to document over four weeks: the number of absent days they had in that time; a rating of their overall performance; and the total number of effective hours they worked for their employer. When reviewing the data, keep in mind that 71% of the workers surveyed have a wellness score considered below optimal healthy standards.

Absenteeism
The results found that Australian employees with poor health behaviours have up to nine times the annual sickness absence of healthy individuals (18 days compared to 2 / year).

Performance
Presenteeism considers the extent to which employees are productive and engaged in their work. The study also examined how health status relates to self-assessed work performance (on a scale of 0-10) for this group of working Australians. The results show a clear association between performance at work and overall health status. Workers with a healthy score rated their work performance much higher. In fact, there is a two fold better work performance for the most healthy individuals compared to the least healthy

Effective working hours
Self-rated job performance was also used to calculate the duration of effective working hours a full-time employee performs during a month. The results show a clear link between a worker's health and productivity with the healthiest employees nearly three times more effective than the least healthy. A worker with a healthy wellness score worked approximately 143 effective hours compared to 49 effective hours worked per month for a worker with a low wellness score.

Financial Returns on Health Programs
Because of financial returns, companies often struggle with the decision to invest in a wellness program for their employees. Evidence supports that once the initial investment is made, the program immediately begins paying for itself - provided that it's properly promoted, structured and maintained - and eventually, realise concrete savings for the company.

Corporate Health Management is a division of Belgravia Health and Leisure Group Pty Ltd