Benefits
"Wellness Solutions are a vibrant and effective provider. We have been impressed
with their innovation and practical hands-on advice for both employees and leaders in the workplace. They are
well regarded for turning the OSH 'Healthy Work' concept into easily-assimilated and meaningful workplace
programmes. Instep has been delighted with the value they have added to our EAP relationships."
Matthew Beattie
Chief Executive Instep Limited
Imagine a healthy working culture in which the people in your organisation demonstrate:
- Job satisfaction
- A sense of involvement, positivity and commitment
- Good levels of energy and motivation
- Open and honest communication
- Resilience to stress
- Strong morale
- Low absenteeism
Recent figures from New Zealand indicate how far many workplaces are from this ideal. It is estimated that 5 million working days are lost every year due to stress. Unwellness can also lead to accidents. A 2005 NZ report showed that nearly one in five workers tested for drugs after workplace accidents returned positive results.This all translates to a cost for employers of at least 3 billion dollars in sick pay, missed deadlines and poor performance.
Wellness is a good investment. Your people are the most important asset you have.
Against a background of mounting research evidence it is clear that stress has a dysfunctional impact on both organisational and individual outcomes. Links have been demonstrated between exposure to mismanaged stress and:
- Coronary heart disease, certain forms of cancer, mental breakdown, depression, anxiety and delayed recovery from illness
- Poor health behaviours such as alcohol and substance abuse problems, including cigarette smoking, bad dietary habits and lack of exercise
- Increased vulnerability to accidents
- Job dissatisfaction
- Poor employee relations
- Increased claims for compensation
- Ineffective management styles
Many organisations wait until their employees are getting overstressed before they consider a wellness programme. This is like waiting for a car engine to seize up before we put more oil in it. Preventative maintenance ensures long life - and better performance. The Amendment to the Health and Safety in Employment Act explicitly recognises stress and fatigue as specific hazards and places greater responsibility on employers to minimise harmful stress and fatigue in the workplace.
Wellness programmes support health and safety in the workplace.
