Workplace health promotion initiatives for Italian healthcare workers demonstrate an investment for workers, the organization and the society in the context of total worker health
 
More details
Hide details
1
Occupational Medicine Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy
 
2
Health Directorate, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy
 
 
Publication date: 2023-04-27
 
 
Popul. Med. 2023;5(Supplement):A924
 
ABSTRACT
The aging workforce must deal with work-related alterations such as new organizational options (e.g., agile work), psychological difficulties (e.g., COVID-19-related distress), and new technology. Individual employee happiness has an indirect impact on the company’s bottom line (e.g., personnel turnover, restrictions on fitness-to-work, occupational injuries and diseases, labor law disputes). Workplace Health Promotion Initiatives (WHPIs) can successfully assist in addressing these labor-market difficulties. An Italian hospital has implemented a workplace strategy to improve the professional performance of healthcare personnel (HCWs). A multidisciplinary team directs WHPIs such as "Disability Management" (DM), which addresses developing impairments (e.g., chronic degenerative illnesses, oncological diseases), and "Help Point" (HP), which provides psychological support to overburdened HCWs. We provide Findings about the economic effect of these two WHPIs. From July 2017 to December 2019, 131 HCWs were enrolled in DM and 35 HCWs in HP (September 2016-June 2019). Sickness absence days (SADs) in the 12-month period preceding and after WHPIs. Return on Investment (ROI) was calculated as the ratio of net profit to investment cost for the WHPIs management using SAD reduction accounting for profit. SADs dropped by 67% and 60% for DM and HP respectively, resulting in ROIs of 27.66 and 2.73 (p values: 0.001, and 0.05). Given the limited sample sizes, the results must be interpreted with care. Because of their instructional value, WHPIs constitute a "win-win" strategy for employees, businesses, and society. Public health policies should raise worldwide knowledge of the economic benefits of investing in improving employee’s well-being for the benefit of society as a whole, toward the global horizon of occupational salutogenesis.
ISSN:2654-1459
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top