Report Confirms Healthy Workplaces and Economic Performance Link

 

Report Confirms Healthy Workplaces and Economic Performance Link

The Work Foundation has joined with the London Health Commission to warn that Government strategy on health and work lacks cohesion and will have little impact on the real issues affecting health and productivity.

Download Report HereThe report, written by David Coats, Associate Director of The Work Foundation and Catherine Max, Programme Manager - London Health Commission, argues that though both Government and employers are making laudable efforts to improve the health of the nation little will come of them unless Departments and agencies start to work together.

'Healthy Work: Productive Workplaces' also reinforces the inextricable link between healthy workplaces and economic performance, suggesting that too many people are still employed in jobs that both cause ill health and lead to poor productivity.

The authors caution that problems such as sickness absence, dependence on welfare benefits and low pay have their root in 'bad jobs' - ie jobs that give employees little voice and control. Other issues that impact health and productivity include imbalances between effort and reward, bad management and poor job design. The report argues that employers must tackle the whole system and not just symptoms in isolation.

Currently, initiatives to improve health and work are tackled by several different Government agencies and social partners who too often don't work together. An example is The Health and Safety Executive attempting to reduce stress with its Stress Management Standards. Coats and Max suggest that unless the HSE work with social partners to help smaller companies in particular to improve their job design and management skills and link in to the DTI's productivity drive then the initiative will have limited impact.

Coats and Max suggest that better co-ordination across Government and an enhanced role for public institutions such as ACAS and the Regional Development Agencies would be an important way to tackle this. Business, especially the smaller firms, should be offered more support through agencies like Business Link to implement compulsory regulation and improve job design and management skills. Policy makers need to tailor business support to how business perceives these issues.

Click on pic to download report in pdf form.

Source: Work Foundation new release.

 
 
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