Health-Friendly Companies

Strengthening the human resources of the working population through the "Health-Friendly Company" certification process

This editorial is featured in the Healthy Living Environment Newsletter #2. You can subscribe here to stay updated.

Cancer and other chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent a significant part of the disease burden in Europe, much of which is preventable. The Joint Action to Prevent Non-communicable Diseases (JA PreventNCD) is designed to address this challenge by supporting strategies and policies aimed at reducing the burden of cancer and NCDs, focusing on personal and social risk factors. The task for “Increasing availability of healthy products” mobilize actions on the determinants of health through the political commitment by intersectoral policies and the participation of the community at local level; promoting social cohesion to co-create actions for healthy living environments with equity perspective.

The workplace, where people spend a large part of their time and their entire lives, is precisely the area where personal and environmental factors related to health habits either confront or positively combine. This clash of personal habits and health conditions in the work environment can have a synergistic effect on the individual in both a good and a bad direction. However, the fact is that it is easier to spoil the good habits of an individual if there are no supporting conditions, than to expect that all healthy habits will survive and that the individual will positively influence the problematic work environment and change it for the better. Therefore, the intervention of society (workplace, employer, local or national government) is indispensable for positive developments in preserving the health of the individual and society as a whole.

The specific objectives we are focused on are: to implement workplace policies that will contribute to the workers opting for the healthier choice, reduce health inequalities, reduce the availability of alcohol and smoking and encourage physical activity and a socially acceptable work environment.

Healthier communities and the pilot “Health friendly company”

In accordance with the above findings, the Health Promotion Service of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, within the framework of the Croatian national program Living Healthy, is implementing the "Health and Workplace" component and the "Health-Friendly Company" certification process. The "Health-Friendly Company" certification process is a comprehensive program to promote the health of the working population with the aim of creating a working environment that motivates employees to develop healthy habits and promote health in the workplace for all employees. So far, 27 companies in Croatia have been successfully certified, most of them large companies with more than 500 employees.

Logo of the "Health-Friendly Company" certificate

The JA PreventNCD intervention is being carried on in the companies “Hrvatska poštanska banka” and “Cemex Hrvatska d.d.”, which were also previously successfully certified in the "Health-friendly Company" process. The pilot is being implemented in accordance with the "Community action for Health" methodology, taking into account three key principles:

Intersectorality
Participation
Equity

The objectives of the pilot project are to further strengthen the competencies and capabilities of managers as well as employees to implement a comprehensive health promotion program and to raise awareness of the importance of health promotion in the workplace. An additional goal is to promote workplace public health policies, and the long-term goal is to strengthen human resources as a key economic potential of the country.

Workplace health promotion is effective if it complements occupational health and safety measures, if it is adapted to the specific circumstances of an individual organization, and if all stakeholders are truly involved in the processes. Therefore, the first step is particularly important, which is to raise the issue of promoting and preserving health in the workplace, followed by a situation analysis, education of employees and company management focused on improving the working environment and adopting healthy habits among employees.

Brochure " Health-friendly Company" of the Croatian Institute of Public Health

To obtain the Health-Friendly Company certificate, certain criteria must be met. A multidisciplinary team of experts from the Croatian Institute of Public Health, consisting of a doctor, a nutritionist and a kinesiologist, visits the company to assess the state of health and the working environment. Six areas of the working environment are assessed: nutrition, promotion of physical activity, protection of employee health in the workplace, smoking ban, alcohol ban and working environment. For evaluation purposes, a questionnaire is used that is designed to include various questions according to the areas of evaluation, with points awarded for the existence of activities in the workplace.

Evaluation process in "Health-Friendly Company"

No.	Evaluation areas	Questions from the evaluation questionnaire
1.	Nutrition	Availability of meals in accordance with the principles of proper nutrition Promotion of fruits and vegetables Availability of drinking water Covering the costs of meals and forms of organized meals at work Information on the nutritional value of individual meals Monitoring employee satisfaction with food at the workplace Ensuring an appropriate place for consuming food and other hygienic and sanitary conditions Existence of vending machines in the company premises and the contents of the vending machines Advertising of food and beverages
2.	Promoting physical activity	Workplace exercises Co-financing physical activity for employees Encouraging people to come to work on foot or by bike, including secured bike parking Organizing social gatherings with physical activity
3.	Protecting employee health at work	Preventive examinations of employees Surveying employees about health problems and working conditions Health promotion and disease prevention considering the specificities of the workplace
4.	Smoking ban	Placing printed signs and restricting smoking areas Surveying employees about the prevalence of smoking Existence of information and educational materials about the harmful effects of using tobacco and related products
5.	Prohibition of alcohol consumption	Placing printed signs and restricting the areas where alcoholic beverages can be consumed at all times at work and in the work environment The existence of random blood alcohol testing and the existence of a protocol for dealing with alcohol intoxication at work Monitoring measures and encouraging alcohol withdrawal
6.	Working environment	Landscaping and caring for a cultural working environment

In accordance with the results of the survey, further employee education and Health Training Activities are carried out according to specific needs. Educational modules are held that contain lectures on defined topics:

Nutrition
Physical activity
Mental health
Alcohol
Smoking
Sleep and fatigue
Prevention of chronic diseases
Work environment and health.

The intensity and content of each educational module is adjusted to the needs of a particular company. Lectures are adapted to the challenges in a specific work environment with recommendations on how to recognize and solve them.

When first awarded, the "Health-Friendly Company" certificate is awarded for a period of two years with the possibility of recertification. Recertification is also voluntary and is carried out at the initiative of the company. After a re-evaluation, if it is satisfactory and if the previously proposed recommendations are adopted, the "Health-Friendly Company" status is continued for a further period of five years.

“Empowering Consumers” Directive and workplace health

The "Health-Friendly Company" certification process is aligned with the key criteria of the Empowering Consumers" Directive of the European Parliament. This Directive stipulates that the social characteristics of a product throughout its value chain may refer not only to the product as such, but also to the quality and fairness of the working, such as adequate wages, social and health care, safety of the working environment and social dialogue.

Accordingly, further analysis and a survey of employees and management of companies participating in the pilot project are being conducted to cover various aspects of human resource care and align the certification program with the requirements that enable the use of sustainability labels under the "Empowering Consumers" Directive. By introducing a sustainability label, it will be possible to promote the company's business with regard to its social characteristics and thus motivate companies and employers to better care for the health of their employees, social justice and environmental protection.

Conclusion

The culture of promoting a healthy work environment is a long-term process related to numerous and different thematic areas, both for the individual worker and the company as a whole, with the aim of preserving not only the health of the individual employee but also the overall economic prosperity of the company and society as a whole.

Obstacles to achieving the goal can be visible (lack of financial support, lack of specific regulations or public health tools), but also invisible (lack of motivation or knowledge about what influences our behavior, satisfaction at work and health habits and how we can change them). By raising awareness among management and employees, synergy can be achieved in the implementation of such programs, and education about the specific advantages of seemingly opposing parties (owners and management of companies and their employees) contributes to the motivation to persist in activities and invest real material resources (money and time).

The health of the working population is a common challenge for all countries striving for economic progress and satisfaction, so sharing examples of good practices, but also experiences that were not productive, can certainly be useful in other working environments in other countries.

Author

Antonija Balenović
Croatian Institute of Public Health, Croatia