Is your company culture actively concerned with occupational health?

When planning to address the topic of “health” in the workplace, our vision must be broader about all factors which can potentially improve the well-being of employees, and not just in the absence of possible illnesses. Quality of life must be achieved in every way: psychological, physical, social and financial, and fortunately, the search for measures that work with these issues is becoming increasingly frequent.

A survey carried out by MetLife, in Brazil, reveals that 82% companies already recognize their responsibility in relation to worker health and 96% aim to encourage healthy habits and prevent illnesses among their employees.

The truth is that to make the most of your company's human capital, some actions must be modified, as well as the implementation of strategies so that the results are as expected.

Keeping an eye on the case: Unilever

Unilever stands out in relation to its health management policies and well-being initiatives for employees. Since 2014, all its programs have been centralized in a single “Wellbeing platform”.

Among the various measures practiced in the organization, we have:

• Physical activity program with more than 11 thousand affiliated establishments
• Psychological, financial, legal and social support by telephone
• Biofeedback mental health program (psychoeducation process that identifies stress and anxiety triggers).

These three actions alone help us understand how much recognition the company has in relation to employee experience.

In fact, at the end of last year we had the pleasure of holding a Webinar with Lilian Dorighello, Communication Manager at Unilever where we talked about “The end of Internal and External Communication''. To watch, Click here.

OK, but what are my options? health

Implementing actions aimed at health can be a complex and arduous process, mainly because we are dealing with different people whose principles and priorities differ. In other words, while one person values their physical health, another may be in need of legal assistance. The best way to balance the situation so that you can make the best possible choice is by surveying the profile of your employees. Once this is done, there are countless ways to take care of your employees’ health, check them out: 

1. Flexible schedule; 
2. Support psychological, educational, legal and financial;
3. Agreements with pharmacies and gyms; 
4.  Encouragement of healthy practices (e.g. here at b2, every Wednesday we receive a pot of seasonal fruit);
5. Flexibility regarding breaks during activities (e.g. getting up, talking to colleagues, maintaining good interpersonal relationships);
6. Spread preventive warnings about workplace safety, health, habits, etc.;
7. Promotion of events and lectures on this topic whenever possible;

All of this can be applied according to the reality and condition of each company, in addition to the fact that each case is different and there are exceptions. However, for example, educational support could be transferred to a close relative of the person if they are unwilling/unable to do so; it could also be offered through an agreement with a language location, or through a reimbursement according to the study to be purchased.

More reasons to implement this health

Promoting a better quality of life for its employees who spend most of their days at the company seems like a fair and coherent exchange, especially considering the increase in sense of belonging, trust index and satisfaction. I believe everyone here knows how much happier professionals work with greater ease and desire, right?! After all, the better the work environment, the healthier the employee will be.

Failure to adopt this type of measure could cost more than imaginable, see:

In view of this, it is important to emphasize that the main purpose of these health-oriented practices is not to make people's lives perfect and problem-free, but simply to make them better and easier. We often have time for everything but ourselves, so acting by demonstrating the importance that the lives of your employees have can help them recognize this themselves.