Healthy workplaces: a model for action - World Health Organization

BELOWOffice of home appliance company, Hangzhou, China © ILO22 | Healthy workplaces: a model for actionlarger enterprises in the community may also berecruited. These experts can mentor and assistsmaller enterprises. Visiting other enterprises toobserve local good practice is another excellentway to learn from others. Additionally, the virtualworld contains a wealth of resources andinformation, including the websites of ILO,WHO and its Collaborating Centres for OccupationalHealth and Safety.5. SustainabilityEvaluation and continuous improvement are key,as is ensuring that healthy workplace initiativesare integrated into the enterprise’s overall strategicbusiness plan rather than existing in a separateisolated work group.6. The Importance of integrationIn larger organizations, work is increasingly specialized.Similarly, in many large organizations,health and safety personnel work in one department,wellness professionals in another and humanresource professionals in yet other departments.The latter group deals with many issuesrelated to leadership, staff development and thepsychosocial work environment. All of these departmentsare separate from the enterprise’smanagement team, which is focused on increasedoutput quality and quantity. Often these activitieswill work at cross purposes or in direct oppositionto worker health, even though the healthyworkers are as critical as other aspects of productionand quality.