OTTAWA, Dec. 5, 2017 /CNW/ - Canadian employers may be missing opportunities to demonstrate their commitment to employee health and well-being. A Conference Board of Canada
survey finds that just one-third of employers report having a formal wellness strategy in place, while closer to half are taking a more informal approach to their wellness initiatives.
"Healthy workplaces consider employee well-being broadly and consider aspects of employees' physical, psychological, and social health," said Allison Cowan, Director, Total Rewards and Workplace Health Research, The Conference Board of Canada. "Investing in a comprehensive health and wellness program is an essential part of a healthy work environment and makes good business sense."
Highlights
A comprehensive approach to a healthy workplace encompasses employee health promotion and wellness initiatives for both physical and mental health alongside more traditional and well-established programs for occupational health and safety and absence and disability management. Employee wellness efforts focus on reducing behaviours that have a negative impact on employee health and promoting those that have beneficial health outcomes.
The report, Wellness Initiatives: Trends in Organizational Health Management, examines investments by Canadian employers in employee health promotion and wellness initiatives. Just 32 per cent of survey respondents had a formal corporate wellness strategy in place. These organizations were more likely to have a wellness committee, stand-alone organizational policy about employee health and wellness, and were more likely to evaluate their strategies annually or more often. Nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents reported having only informal wellness strategies. A further 20 per cent of Canadian organizations have no wellness strategy at all.
While Canadian organizations appear to favour informal approaches to wellness programs, comparisons with a previous Conference Board of Canada survey show that overall most workplace wellness initiatives have increased in prevalence since 2009. A breakdown by sector reveals that many of these gains are being fueled by growing numbers of private sector employers making investments in wellness initiatives, while the number of public sector employers remains steady.
This report is based on a survey of 205 Canadian employers conducted by The Conference Board of Canada in 2016.
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A copy of the report is provided for reporting purposes only. Please do not redistribute it or post it online in any form.
For those interested in broadcast-quality interviews for your station, network, or online site, The Conference Board of Canada has a studio capable of double-ender interviews (line fees apply), or we can send you pre-taped clips upon request.
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SOURCE Conference Board of Canada
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"Healthy workplaces consider employee well-being broadly and consider aspects of employees' physical, psychological, and social health," said Allison Cowan, Director, Total Rewards and Workplace Health Research, The Conference Board of Canada. "Investing in a comprehensive health and wellness program is an essential part of a healthy work environment and makes good business sense."
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Highlights
- Healthy workplaces consider employee well-being broadly and address more than employee physical health.
- Just one-third of Canadian employers have a formal wellness strategy in place, while closer to half have informal strategies in place.
- Workplace wellness programs have increased in prevalence since 2009.
A comprehensive approach to a healthy workplace encompasses employee health promotion and wellness initiatives for both physical and mental health alongside more traditional and well-established programs for occupational health and safety and absence and disability management. Employee wellness efforts focus on reducing behaviours that have a negative impact on employee health and promoting those that have beneficial health outcomes.
The report, Wellness Initiatives: Trends in Organizational Health Management, examines investments by Canadian employers in employee health promotion and wellness initiatives. Just 32 per cent of survey respondents had a formal corporate wellness strategy in place. These organizations were more likely to have a wellness committee, stand-alone organizational policy about employee health and wellness, and were more likely to evaluate their strategies annually or more often. Nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents reported having only informal wellness strategies. A further 20 per cent of Canadian organizations have no wellness strategy at all.
While Canadian organizations appear to favour informal approaches to wellness programs, comparisons with a previous Conference Board of Canada survey show that overall most workplace wellness initiatives have increased in prevalence since 2009. A breakdown by sector reveals that many of these gains are being fueled by growing numbers of private sector employers making investments in wellness initiatives, while the number of public sector employers remains steady.
This report is based on a survey of 205 Canadian employers conducted by The Conference Board of Canada in 2016.
Follow The Conference Board of Canada on Twitter.
A copy of the report is provided for reporting purposes only. Please do not redistribute it or post it online in any form.
For those interested in broadcast-quality interviews for your station, network, or online site, The Conference Board of Canada has a studio capable of double-ender interviews (line fees apply), or we can send you pre-taped clips upon request.
If you would like to be removed from our distribution list, please e-mail [email protected].
SOURCE Conference Board of Canada
