Wellness in the Workplace Crucial to Business Success

New research from the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) examines employers' perceptions and attitudes toward employee health and finds they feel that keeping employees healthy is crucial to business success and that it is their duty, as employers, to keep employees safe and well.

"Understanding the employer mind-set of employee health is imperative for the occupational health industry to effectively make an impact," said Susan A. Randolph, president of AAOHN. "Through this research, occupational health staff will better understand what currently concerns employers and help their companies effectively address employee health issues. By knowing the executive management team's goals and perspectives, the occupational health staff will ultimately be better equipped to prove their true value and benefit within the workplace."

The study revealed that executive management understands the role of an occupational health nurse in the workplace, and 60 percent described occupational health nurses as "invaluable" to the company. For executives, the most common signals that indicate the need to hire an occupational health nurse include: High injury or illness rates, high absenteeism, increases in workers' compensation cases and government mandates and compliance. They said that occupational health nurses serve as gatekeepers for health services, provide treatment and follow-up for job-related injuries, work with employers on compliance with regulatory requirements and support employers' healthcare quality and cost-containment strategies. (Via Occupational Hazards)