What is Workplace Wellness?

Every work environment has unique characteristics and features that impact employee health. The issues that affect one organization, or even one worksite, may not be relevant to another. This makes it difficult to develop a universal definition of a workplace wellness.

A step-by-step approach to Workplace Wellness

There are many ways to achieve workplace wellness. Whether you hold a health seminar  at your school or compete with your colleagues in a health challenge, your contribution is important. Each new initiative, each forward step, reinforces our commitment to a healthier workplace.

If you’re interested in improving your work environment, you may find the following guidelines useful.

Workplace Wellness: Physical Environment

• Meets and exceeds current health and safety legislation and directives
• Manages general workplace conditions and facilities to ensure cleanliness and safety
• Manages the various aspects of occupational hygiene, including lighting, indoor air quality and noise control
• Ensures that employees understand the emergency systems provided in each worksite
• Establishes strategies to address the potential risk of violence at the workplace

Workplace Wellness: Health practices

• Supports healthy lifestyles through programs and initiatives that encourage skill building and behavioral change
• Provides information that encourages active living and healthy nutrition
• Encourages awareness of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Provides nutritious food choices at meetings and events

Workplace Wellness: Social Environment and Personal Resources

• Supports and sustains an organizational culture that provides employees with: respect, a sense of belonging, a purpose and mission, a sense of control over their workload, freedom of expression, and protection from harassment and discrimination
• Provides space for privacy, such as staff rooms and meeting areas
• Assesses sources of organizational stress and develops strategies to reduce or eliminate those sources
• Establishes employee feedback and reward/recognition programs
• Respects the need to balance work and home responsibilities by considering issues such as:
  • flexible hours
  • accommodating family crises
  • job sharing opportunities