Public and private sector workplaces are increasingly focusing on employee health and well-being. Many companies in the Danish commercial sector have nowadays introduced various forms of rules, schemes or offerings to promote healthcare but efforts are often fragmented. Workplace health promotion requires a clear commitment from senior management and a system that can support a targeted, ongoing health promotion process. This applies at sea too.
Accordingly, Seahealth Denmark started up a project in conjunction with Force Technology in the spring of 2007 to draw up guidelines for health management.
There are human, safety and financial incentives for looking into the area of health, both as regards individual employees and the workplace.
Risk factors such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, smoking and a mentally demanding working environment are associated with poor health, shorter lives and more sick leave. Health promotion in the workplace can also contribute to:
- Increasing health and well-being, with greater job satisfaction for individuals and more output from them as a result.
- Creating a healthy, safe working environment
- Reducing sick leave
- Attracting and retaining new employees
- Enhancing the company's image
The aim of the Health Management project…
.. is to create the framework on the basis of quality assurance and management thinking about systems for shipping companies so as to systematise their health promotion activities.
Content
These guidelines have been drawn up so as to guide ship-owners on how they can set up a health management system. This document has been structured in line with the ISM Code so as to avoid the introduction of new parallel management systems and to create the possibility of integrating health promotion in the company's Safety Management System (SMS). SMS is a well known management system in the shipping sector and is thus an ideal system for a dedicated health promotion service.
A good health management system builds on the motivation and commitment of management, the involvement of employees in the process and an ongoing focus on the process of health promotion so as to generate commitment and to promote a health culture in the workplace.
Although not an official standard, these guidelines have been drawn up on the basis of knowledge and working practices in the area of health promotion.
Status and interim results
In August 2007, Seahealth Denmark published a report on some of the issues raised when working on health promotion and some of the ethical considerations.
In August 2008, the Service put draft guidelines on health management out to consultation to promote debate over the course of the autumn. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact us.