Benefits of Promoting Health and Wellness Programs in the Workplace

Additional Benefits of Workplace Health and Wellness Programs

The final chapter of this module introduced you to a variety of workplace health and wellness programs, the purpose of which are to enhance productivity and reduce absenteeism. In this forum, list additional benefits of promoting health and wellness in the workplace. Identify one benefit to the employer and one benefit to the employee and provide an explanation as to why you see these as benefits. You may find it useful to do some more research on CCOHS.

Disability Management

In Canada, disability management is governed through the human rights acts and commissions for the prevention of discrimination.  Disability management is an integrated process by which the effects of a disability whether physical, mental, or cognitive are minimized by ensuring equal access and accommodations in the workplace. A disability management program is the supportive infrastructure necessary to carry out the overall goals and objectives for disability management at a given workplace.

Disability Management

Two of the key components of a disability management program are early and effective return to work.  The return-to-work process following an injury or other diagnosis can take many forms; however, it's in the employee's and employer's best interests for the employee to return to work as soon as he/she is medically fit, with appropriate accommodations in place.  The employee may require a temporary reduction in the number of hours worked or may require alternate, lighter duties as determined by the person's medical condition.  The benefit of early return to work is the protection of the occupational bond, or the mutually beneficial relationship between employer and employee.