Workplace Health Resources

Help on accessing alternative formats, such as Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (PPT) files, can be obtained in the alternate format help section.

Learn more about workplace health:

• The Workplace Health System
• Environmental Scan on Workplace Health in Canada
• Work-life Balance
• Productivity and Employer Incentives
• Best Practices
  • Job Demand Control Factsheet
• Hand Sanitization

The Workplace Health System

The Workplace Health System (WHS) was designed to assist employers with implementing healthier workplace policies and practices within their organizations. The WHS was developed by Health Canada and Dr. Martin Shain, University of Toronto. It includes the following key documents:

• Corporate Health Model - A guide to developing and implementing the WHS in medium and large businesses.
• Discovering the Needs - A guide to administering the Workplace Health Needs and Risks Survey.
• Workplace Health System: An Overview - A proven, practical, flexible formula for devising effective health policies and for setting up health programming that meets employees' real need.
• *Workplace Health Needs and Risks Survey - A tool used to assess the workplace health needs and risks within a business.
• Origins and Characteristics of the Workplace Health Needs and Risks Survey 2008 - The scientific origins of the individual questions used in the Survey (2008) with technical descriptions of secondary ("derived") variables derived from certain individual Survey questions.
• Sample Profile Report: Understanding the results of the Workplace Health Needs & Risks Survey - A sample summary report of the main findings from the Workplace Health Needs and Risks Survey.
• Technical Manual: A guide to analyzing the Workplace Health Needs and Risks Survey - A guide to processing the responses from the Survey, analyzing the data, and producing the Workplace Health Profile Report for your organization.
• Health Works: A "how to" for health and business success – A simple 5-step process for improving business and employee health.

^* Please note that Health Canada does not provide data entry and analysis services to organizations that wish to implement the Workplace Health Needs and Risks Survey. Organizations that provide this type of service can be found in the yellow pages of your local telephone book under the headings "Word Processing", "Data Processing Services" or "Management Consultants".

Additional components of the Workplace Health System can be found in the Additional Resources section.

Environmental Scan on Workplace Health in Canada

Since the workplace was first conceptualized as a determinant of health, workplace health research has become an increasingly evolving field of investigation. While many academics, governments, and non-profit organizations have been studying the various elements of what makes a workplace healthy, there is little offered in terms of a comprehensive analysis of the current research, and what needs and risks are facing Canadians. The objective of the Environmental Scan on Workplace Health in Canada is to fill this gap. Specifically this Scan aims to:

1. identify the current research trends in workplace health issues in Canada;
2. determine the needs of the Canadian population relative to workplace health; and
3. identify interventions that have been proven to address the needs of Canadians.

Work-life Balance

The 2001 National Work-Life Conflict Study is a pioneering and original work that began in 1999, when Health Canada asked two experts to study how Canadians balance the demands of their work-lives when set against the demands of their home lives. Dr. Linda Duxbury of Carleton University and Dr. Chris Higgins of the University of Western Ontario polled 31,000 Canadians in both private sector and public organizations with 500+ employees in this study.

The study's results have been released in a series of six reports beginning in 2002. The findings have quantified the stresses and difficulties faced by Canadians in work-life and home-life, and make recommendations to employers, employees, unions and government on how to create a happier and more productive workforce.

Work-life Balance Reports:

• Report Six: Work-Life Conflict in Canada in the New Millennium
• Report Six: Executive Summary
• Report Five: Reducing Work-life Conflict: What works? What Doesn't?
• Report Five: Executive Summary
• Report Four: Who is at risk? Predictors of Work-Life Conflict
• Report Three: Exploring the link between Work-Life Conflict and Demands on Canada's Health Care System
• Report Two: Work-life Conflict in Canada: A Status Report
• Report One: The 2001 National Study

Productivity and Employer Incentives

Evidence suggests that causal links exist between working conditions, interventions designed to create healthier workplaces, employee health, and firm-level productivity. In this section you will find articles that explore these relationships.

Are you concerned about your employees' or coworkers' levels of stress and the impact they have on your workplace? Try our interactive self-assessment tool to estimate the economic impacts of work stress on your workplace.

Healthy Workplaces and Productivity (PDF Version - 620 K) argues that workplace wellness programs can yield cost savings and productivity payoffs. However, the underlying determinants of health and productivity can only be altered through changes to job design, organizational systems, human resource management practices, and the overall culture of the workplace. As a call to action, the paper raises important practical implications for employers, employees, and policy makers. This paper was written by Graham Lowe, University of Alberta.

Healthy Workplace Strategies (PDF Version - 560 K) focuses on the organizational change processes, strategies and tactics that can bring about healthier and more productive working conditions. The paper offers an action model as a tool for achieving a healthy organization. It explains how to establish conditions that make your organization change-ready, and helps you to design a process that engages all stakeholders in actively shaping a healthy workplace. This paper was written by Graham Lowe, University of Alberta.

Best Practices

Promoting health in the workplace doesn't have to be complicated, expensive or time consuming. It can be as simple as re-organizing the work space, posting health and safety information, or encouraging employees to participate in decisions that affect their jobs. Workplace health promotion can help you to meet your business goals, contribute to employee health and well being, and improve the overall quality of the work environment.

Health Works: a how to for health and business success brings you closer to promoting a healthy workplace by helping build commitment, finding out what employees need and want. This tool puts together a plan that revises current activities, puts new ones in place. It also includes follow up.

How Job Demands and Control Over Work May Affect Your Well-being

High job demands and low job control produce high job strain in the workplace. To find out why you should care about job strain and what you can do about it, read our factsheet entitled How job demands and control over work may affect your well-being.

Hand Washing and Sanitization

Hand washing is the best way to avoid the spread of infections. When you interact with others or touch objects and surfaces at work, you risk catching or spreading germs. These two guides contain step-by-step instructions on hand washing and, when soap and water are not available, how to properly sanitize your hands while at work.

• Proper Hand Washing*
  
  *An updated version of this document will be available soon. For more information on handwashing, please consult How to Wash your Hands - 7 Tips provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada.