In the past decade the popularity of workplace wellness programs has grown
immensely in Canada. More organizations are taking proactive steps to educate employees about health risk factors and provide the means to achieve healthier lifestyles. Programs targeting cardiovascular wellness, physical activity, healthy
eating, and stress management are becoming fixtures in workplaces rather than
perks. Some argue that this makes sense, after all people spend up to fifty hours
per week at work. When individuals are provided with the right tools for better
health, the incidence of health risk factors and associated costs are reduced.
The economic costs of not having a comprehensive wellness program can be
detrimental not only to the financial well-being of a company but to the retention
of human capital. In a time of impending workforce shortages due to the retiring
baby boomer generation, an organization not able to recruit and retain the best
talent is guaranteed to fall behind in the race for fiscal success and impede the
potential for growth.
Programs that educate and facilitate behaviour change are essential to the success
of a comprehensive wellness program, but there is another side to the wellness coin
that not all organizations recognize: a supportive culture must be in place. What is meant by “supportive culture”? A work environment where employees feel
understood, valued and supported by all management and fellow employees.
There are many aspects of work that contribute to the “un-wellness” of an individual.
A study by Dr. Linda Duxbury finds just over 1 in 3 Canadians reported high levels
of job stress (Where to Work in Canada?: An Examination of Regional Differences
in Work Life Practices, 2003). A total of 35% of Canadians stated that they experienced stress at work due to excess demands and hours required in 2000 (Canadian Policy Research networks, 2002). There are many factors that can contribute to this high
rate of stress in the workplace; heavy workloads, time pressures, little recognition, unsupportive supervisors and the inability of an organization to recognize that
employees have their own lives outside of the office. These are serious issues that
have serious impacts on the bottom line.
Dr. Martin Shain correlates environments where employees have high job demand and low control over work, with higher rates of cardiovascular ailments, anxiety, depression and prescription drug use. Dr. Shain states that employees who experience an imbalance between effort and resulting rewards are susceptible to triple the rate of cardiovascular ailment, depression and anxiety issues. The Canadian Institute for Health Information states that in 2005 this country spent upwards of $24.8 billion dollars on prescription medications. The top two prescribed drug classes are cardiovascular and psychotherapeutics. Most companies cover 100% of the cost of these prescriptions.
The cost of absent employees, both physically and mentally, is also very significant Canada and Canadian companies. Dr. Linda Duxbury states that absenteeism due to role overload at work and work/life imbalance costs Canada upwards to $5 billion per year.
Aside from the monetary costs related to physical absenteeism, mental absenteeism has a huge effect on employees’ quality of work, as well as the potential for retention.
It is undoubtedly the responsibility of every Canadian to protect the country’s health care system for other generations to come. Dr. Glen Roberts of the Conference Board of Canada projects that health care spending, primarily prescription drug and health care costs, will increase from 35% to 45% of total provincial costs by the year 2020. This will largely be due to increasing costs of drug therapies and an aging population. One approach to protecting our health care system is effective health education and maintenance of healthy lifestyles both physically and psychosocially.
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