1. 20% of employees have a mental health disorder¹, which can affect productivity in many ways, including;

a. Fatigue
b. Motivational issues
c. Difficulty managing a routine
d. Difficulty performing physical job tasks
e. Difficulty managing their workload²

Helping your staff deal with these has a productivity dividend.

2. One of the most common diseases resulting in serious workers compensation claims is mental disorders⁶.

3. Up to 60% of absenteeism is attributable to stress-related disorders³.  Building the resilience of your team will help them deal with adversity and stress.

4. One in five employees are unhappy at work⁴.  Happy workers spend twice as much time focused on task then unhappy staff.

5. Up to 35% of cardiovascular disease in men and one third of depression in women can be attributed to job stress⁵.

6. The direct cost of workplace injury and disease in Australia has been estimated at over $7 billion per year nationally⁵.  Indirect costs are much higher.  Wellbeing programs reduce these.

7. Healthy employees are three times more productive than unhealthy employees⁸.

8. Happy workers place less emphasis on pay, stay longer in their roles and take less sick leave⁴.

9. Stress is also indicated in dangerous weight gain.  People in poor health perform worse at work⁹.

10. Healthy work programs can generate medical savings of about $3.27 and absenteeism-related savings of about $2.73 for every dollar invested⁷. 

The case for a wellbeing program is clear – keep up the good work.  Contact us if you’d like our free powerpoint to help you make your case to the executive.

References

1.  Australian Bureau of Statistics.  National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results, 2007.

2.  Lerner D, et al. Work performance of employees with depression: the impact of work stressors. Am J Health Promotion 24(3), 2010.

3.  Fletcher B. The epidemiology of occupational stress. In: Cooper C, Payne R, editors. Causes, Coping and Consequences of Stress at Work. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 1988:3-50.

4.  Chiumento.  “Happiness at Work Index Research Report 2007.”

5.  Vic Health.  “Workplace Stress in Victoria – Developing a systems approach”

6.  Safe Work Australia, Compendium 2007/08.

7. Health and Fitness Summit of the American College of Sports Medicine.

8.  Medibank, The Cost of Workplace Stress.

9.  Work Stress and Health: the Whitehall  II Study, 2004.

]]> http://www.workplacewellbeing.com.au/2011/12/07/10-reasons-tofund-workplace-wellbeing/feed/ 0 http://www.workplacewellbeing.com.au/2011/05/02/appointedtodevelopwellbeing/ http://www.workplacewellbeing.com.au/2011/05/02/appointedtodevelopwellbeing/#comments Mon, 02 May 2011 06:34:17 +0000 mjs http://www.workplacewellbeing.com.au/?p=426 Pt 1 in an occasional series on creating and maintaining a GREAT wellbeing program.

So you’ve just been appointed to develop or re-develop your organisation’s wellbeing program.  Congratulations.  Everyone likes wellbeing programs – they’re  all about health and wellness -  it should be a breeze right?  You’ll create this program easily to the accolades of your boss and peers.  Right?  Or are you thinking – where do I start? What goes into it?  Where can I find the time among all the other tasks I have?

We meet many, many staff who, while well-intentioned, have never been given the tools or support. This is what this series is about – helping you create a great wellbeing program that will reflect well on you, improve the health of your colleagues and increase the productivity of your organisation.

Today we’ll tackle “Where do I start?”  To answer this you need to address these 4 issues:

Why does your organisation want to create or refresh its wellbeing program?

The answer to this will shape the program.  For instance if the reason is that there’s a problem with bullying then a wellbeing program will only help if you tackle the bullies AND teach your staff assertive communication.   If it’s stress than teach the staff resilience AND tackle the stressors.  What you don’t want to do is be in a position where you are being judged on issues you have no control over.

Answering this question will also help you determine what sort of resources you can expect.  Will the program be home-grown or can you use external providers?

Who Will Support You?

Where did the idea come from?  Do you have top management support or will you have to get that.  Grab a pen, single sheet of paper and go down to the coffee shop.  Do a stakeholder matrix (15 minutes) then go through and identify all the blockers and drivers including the reasons people WON’T tell you about.  This is your strategic research.

Create a Coalition

Now go  out and talk to the people you will need support from.  They don’t always need to be higher up the chain – you’ll also want the support of your end-users – the staff!  Get your supporters  on board and  find out what you need to do to win over the others.  Then do it.

Timeline and Goals

Yep – wont’ take long. Spend 30 minutes setting some goals and a target date for launch/refresh.  You can change them later –the important thing is to have some milestones.

5 Things NOT to do

1.       Start without knowing where you’re going.

2.       Look for providers to “see what’s out there” before you have a plan – it’s time-consuming and confusing.

3.       Proceed without knowing the organisational drivers – this will tell you what support and resources you can expect.

4.       Do it on your own – include others.

5.       A “big-bang” plan – test your ideas early and often.

In the next issue we’ll discuss how to decide what should go into the program – and how to get it the staff’s own.

At Workplace Wellbeing we specialise in helping you create and implement effective wellbeing programs – programs that are engaging, cost-effective and successful.  We have a range of templates and advice we can give you – and an initial consultation is free. 

I’m really busy and value my time – I’d like to gain from your experience.

“Laughter is the best medicine” not just for people but for workplaces – it cuts through stress, reduces conflict and energises like no other activity.  A customised laughter session delivered by Australia’s premier laughter leaders, Laughter Works, will help you and your message shine.
Yours Laughingly, The Workplace Wellbeing Team