When Times are Tough, the Tough go Shopping…for new solutions to old problems!
With economic swings and global competitiveness, many companies look to saving money by cutting employee health programs. And they may be right! A “program” approach, while being the easiest solution to deal with issues, simply will not show much return on investment.

If stress is the issue, although a stress management program might be valuable, it deals with one aspect of a complex problem – employees’ ability to cope. It is unlikely to provide a return on investment unless it gets to the core of why employees are stressed. For example, management issues such as the balance between control/demand and effort/reward are conditions known to increase strain significantly, but are not dealt with in traditional programs.

For this reason, companies that understand the value of organizational health are not simply implementing programs, but instead, developing comprehensive strategies to meet identified needs. Many are starting to recognize the relationship between leadership behaviour, employee and customer satisfaction and profit. Sears, Roebuck and Company were one of the first to recognize this, and were able to increase revenues by over $200 million in 12 months by increasing employee satisfaction. As Danielle Pratt, keynote speaker at the Health, Work & Wellness Conference 2000 stated, “by the time you realize employee satisfaction is down, it’s too late – it’s already going to translate into reduced profit down the line. The key is to prevent this by tracking management behaviour through to financial performance.”

The Bank of Montreal is also following this path. Chairman & CEO Tony Comper championed investment in multi-year Managerial Leadership Training. It is based on the conviction that in order to succeed, managers must excel in understanding and managing (1) self, (2) others, and (3) the business.

There is strong support for the "value chain" notion that in order to "get it right with customers and shareholders,” we must “get it right with employees." Annual employee surveys track employee satisfaction, managerial behaviour and organizational climate. Policies and practices support flexible work arrangements and there is support for building and promoting an equitable workplace. Within the organization, “balanced scorecards" are in place to link performance indicators to business results. There is clear recognition that organizational health is a complex issue requiring a multi-dimensional approach!

Workload & Depression

Other issues facing Canadian companies include increased work hours, stress, anxiety, depression and burnout. A recent Statistics Canada study showed work hours to be above 60 hours weekly for 50% of men and 28% of women. In a report on work-life conflict produced for Health Canada, studies reported a close relationship between work-life conflict and burnout.

In addition to the human costs to this, the organizational costs can be crippling. Workers with high work-life conflict registered 13.2 days absence/year versus 5.9 in the low work-life conflict group. High work-life conflict employees also report less organizational commitment, which increases turnover. Could it be that the longer work hours our culture has embraced actually lead to higher costs?

Using Globalization to our Advantage
What we learn from Europe is that shorter work hours and increased vacation time do not mean less productivity. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that productivity in France and Sweden, two countries that provide 5 weeks of vacation yearly, matched or surpassed the annual U.S. productivity measures over a 6 year period. In Canada, a 1994 report of the Federal Advisory Group on Working Time and the Redistribution of Work concluded that when a person’s work time is reduced by 10%, 50% of the reduced time is gained back in productivity. Definitely food for thought.

Tools for Change
Following is a listing of well-researched resources for use with organizational health strategies:

Best Advice on Stress Risk Management in the Workplace

This resource available from Health Canada at www.adulthealth.com/workplace provides information for companies wanting to take a comprehensive approach to combating stress. It compiles research to outline how management choices produce stress and increase health risks, and what can be done to reduce these effects. Making good decisions about employee control and recognition can lower costs associated with everything from heart disease to substance abuse.

The Stress and Satisfaction Offset Score (SSOS)

This tool has shown that the offset between stress and satisfaction is the factor which best predicts employee health and absenteeism. It is being piloted in a number of Canadian organizations and can be obtained through Dr. Martin Shain at: Martin_Shain@camh.net

Health Report
One way to educate executives about the importance of workplace culture is to prepare a periodic Health Report, such as BC Hydro has done. They are using this report to compare key performance indicators across time, between different business units and employee categories. The resulting differences will highlight where effort is needed for create change. They have now included a key wellness measure from this report to their Balanced Scorecard.

The Business Case for Worksite Active Living
The Active Living Unit of Health Canada will be launching this new on-line resource on January 18, 2001, which will provide research to support active living initiatives in the workplace.

Investing in Comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion
Here is another compilation of research to watch for from Health Canada, which will provide a solid business case for investment in comprehensive workplace health, supported by many pilots, research examples and success stories.

Framework for the Development of a Healthy Workplace
This program is being offered across Canada by NQI. It focuses on the Healthy Workplace Criteria and an organizational approach to workplace health, including healthy leadership, and strategic planning to integrate organizational health with overall business goals.

Health, Work & Wellness Conference

This yearly event offers an opportunity for companies to share ideas and practices on workplace health. Next year’s theme, “Building Sound Investments,” will explore the cost/benefit of organizational health, as well as its use as a retention and recruitment strategy. For more information: workwell@healthworkandwellness.com

Canada’s Healthy Workplace Week
NQI and Health Canada are supporting this week, designated to promote workplace health each year which will kick off October 22-26, 2001.

References:

1. Rucci AJ, Kirn SP, Quinn RT. The employee-customer-profit chain at Sears. Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb 1998, pp 83-97.

2. Duxbury L, Higgins C, Johnson K. An examination of the implications and costs of work-life conflict in Canada. Paper prepared for Health Canada, June 1999.

3. Shain M. Best Advice on Stress Risk Management in the Workplace. Publication prepared for, and available from Health Canada. ISBN 0-662-29236-7. 2000.

Deborah Jones is President of Well-Advised Consulting Incorporated, a company that provides consulting expertise on strategic planning for organizational health. She facilitates the “Framework for a Healthy Workplace” course for NQI in Western Canada, chairs the annual Health, Work & Wellness Conference, and is a professional speaker. She can be reached at: 604-739-7873 or deb@well-advised.ca