The Small Business Health Model - A Guide to Developing and Implementing the Workplace Health System in Small Business
Section 1
The workplace health system
The Small Business Health Model is part of Health and Welfare Canada's Workplace Health System, a comprehensive approach to health promotion programming. The System incorporates Five Guiding Principles and Three Avenues of Influence on health.
Five Guiding Principles
The Workplace Health System rests on the following five principles.
- Meet the needs of all employees, regardless of their current level of health;
- Recognize the needs, preferences and attitudes of different groups of participants;
- Recognize that a person's life-style consists of an interdependent set of health habits;
- Be adaptable to the special features of each workplace environment;
- Support the development of a strong, overall health policy in the workplace.
These guiding principles are essential to developing a successful Workplace Health System, and are described in more detail below.
Principle 1: Meet the needs of all employees, regardless of their current levels of health.
Programs should be designed for all employees: those with serious health problems; the majority, whose lifestyles may place their health at risk in some way; and those who are generally well, but need to maintain their health.
Principle 2: Recognize the needs, preferences and attitudes of different groups of participants.
Because everyone is different, everyone has different needs. A single parent coping with one income has different needs than a married person. A nurse, store clerk or truck driver who cope with shifts may find it difficult to see their children as often as people who work regular hours. An organization will likely find its people need varied programs to respond to their varying needs and preferences.
The kinds of programs that cater to the diverse needs of employee groups can be provided. Asking employees for their input is a first step. The way employees are asked must be a joint effort: management and employees working together.
Principle 3: Recognize that a person's lifestyle consists of an interdependent set of health habits.
Health programs, which cover a wide variety of issues, often affect each other. The design of a program should reflect these interdependencies. For example, a weight control program needs components such as healthy eating, enjoyable physical activity and positive body image.
One component alone is not usually enough for a program that works. The Three Avenues of Influence help to identify programs that build on one another to meet an individual's total needs.
Principle 4: Be adaptable to the special features of each workplace environment.
Every workplace has its own operating procedures, structures and culture. Health programs must be adaptable to the special features of each workplace and include responses that will enable employees to take greater responsibility for their health by building supportive environments.
Principle 5: Support the development of a strong, overall health policy in the workplace.
A comprehensive health policy should convey corporate values and support for employee health. Such a policy should relate decisions on business issues to their potential impact on employee health.
Having healthy employees is an important part of doing good business.
A corporate health policy provides the context for consistent direction in all parts of the organization.
Three Avenues of Influence
The Workplace Health System also brings together three factors that influence how well people say they feel, and they are equally essential.
- Environment
- Personal resources
- Health practices
The simple depiction below illustrates the interdependence of the three avenues.
Avenue 1 Environment
At work and at home, physical and social environments have major influences on a person's health.
The physical environment affects people directly in many ways, and includes noise levels, toxic substances, air quality and workplace design.
The social environment has an impact on employee wellness through such factors as work schedules, coordinating home and work responsibilities, deadlines, work organization, available training and support.
The social environment also has an effect through interpersonal relationships, including supervisor communications, feedback from co-workers and family relationships.
And people are affected indirectly by worry, nervousness and stress.
Avenue 2 Personal resources
Personal resources are the psychological and social means by which individuals cope with stresses in their environments. Personal resources take two forms:
- Self-efficacy, and
- Social support
Self-efficacy is the sense of control or competence a person feels about health and work.
The ability to influence one's own behaviour and surroundings is an important part of what makes a person feel well. Active participation of employees in the selection and development of health programs increase the effectiveness of the programs significantly.
Social support is the knowledge that employees have someone they can rely on during times of distress or unhappiness friends, family, co-workers and colleagues, and counselling professionals.
Avenue 3 Health practices
People's habits affect their health. Some important habits involve eating, smoking, alcohol and drug use, physical activity and sleep.
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