Health — state/condition of being free from illness or injury
Wellness — state/condition of being in good physical and mental health
The well-being of workers and the health of the overall workplace are two closely-related areas. When workers feel valued, respected, and satisfied in their jobs, the workplace becomes a safe, productive, and stress-free environment. Fostering a healthy workplace requires a combination of environmental and individual factors. According to the Total Worker Health™ model adopted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), some of the issues related to improving the well-being of workers, include:
- Control of hazards and exposures such as, chemicals, physical agents, biological agents, psychosocial and human factors through risk assessment and risk management
- Organization of work to prevent fatigue, stress, and work intensification and provide safe staffing, flexible work arrangements, overtime management, adequate meal and rest breaks, healthier shift work, and reduction of risks from long work hours
- Built environment supports to accommodate work diversity, provide healthy air quality, access to healthy/affordable food options; safe, clean and equipped eating facilities, and safe access to the workplace itself
- Leadership that ensures a shared commitment to safety, health, and well-being through supportive managers, supervisors, and executives, responsible business decision-making, meaningful work and engagement, worker
recognition and respect - Changing workforce demographics that support multigenerational and diverse workforces, vulnerable worker populations, workers with disabilities, occupational health disparities, an aging workforce and older workers, an
increasing number of small employers and a global and multinational workforce
To learn more about Total Worker Health™ through the NIOSH, visit: www.cdc.gov/NIOSH/TWH/history.html