Campaign for healthier workforce
25th march 2008
(http://www.safetowork.com.au/articles/Campaign-for-healthier-workforce_z166536.htm)
WORKSAFE Victoria has established a program to cut health costs, absenteeism, injuries and disease and the risk of chronic disease in Victorian workers.According to the authority, Victoria is a safe place to work, but the workforce is becoming unhealthy and thus more likely to be injured at work.
The WorkHealth program will see professional health providers visiting small and medium companies and regional centres to provide free screening and advice.The state government will provide $600m to the program over five years, and large employers will be eligible for dollar-for-dollar grants to provide screening and advice. Programs for the most at-risk workers will also be implemented.Statistics provided by the authority show four million days were lost by Australian workplaces in 2001, due to conditions arising from workers lacking in physical exercise and having poor nutrition. Annually, the state’s lost productivity cost more than $440m.
The authority is especially concerned with the risk of chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Risk factors include poor diet, inactivity, smoking, alcohol misuses, excess weight, high blood pressure and high cholesterol intake.According to WorkSafe, this latest campaign will emphasise the often-neglected “health” part in occupational health and safety.
ANALYSIS:
This article shows us that the current work force in Victoria is becoming unhealthy and thus more likely to be injured at work. This is becoming more and more of a problem and as the article explains, more than four million days were lost due to issues with health, which equates to $440 million. In a bid to rectify the problem the WorkHealth program will be starting a $600m program which sends professional health providers to small and medium companies for free screening and advice. This is another good decision from WorkSafe and could be great for working sites efficiency. Unhealthy workers are bad for productivity and when it gets to the level it has, it becomes bad for the economy as well, as with people being sick you need more labour to finish jobs on time, these costs then get passed on to the consumer in the form of higher construction costs. Obviously health can never be completely guaranteed, so there will always still be lost productivity costs but with this new program in place hopefully those losses can be limited.
(http://www.safetowork.com.au/articles/Campaign-for-healthier-workforce_z166536.htm)
WORKSAFE Victoria has established a program to cut health costs, absenteeism, injuries and disease and the risk of chronic disease in Victorian workers.According to the authority, Victoria is a safe place to work, but the workforce is becoming unhealthy and thus more likely to be injured at work.
The WorkHealth program will see professional health providers visiting small and medium companies and regional centres to provide free screening and advice.The state government will provide $600m to the program over five years, and large employers will be eligible for dollar-for-dollar grants to provide screening and advice. Programs for the most at-risk workers will also be implemented.Statistics provided by the authority show four million days were lost by Australian workplaces in 2001, due to conditions arising from workers lacking in physical exercise and having poor nutrition. Annually, the state’s lost productivity cost more than $440m.
The authority is especially concerned with the risk of chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Risk factors include poor diet, inactivity, smoking, alcohol misuses, excess weight, high blood pressure and high cholesterol intake.According to WorkSafe, this latest campaign will emphasise the often-neglected “health” part in occupational health and safety.
ANALYSIS:
This article shows us that the current work force in Victoria is becoming unhealthy and thus more likely to be injured at work. This is becoming more and more of a problem and as the article explains, more than four million days were lost due to issues with health, which equates to $440 million. In a bid to rectify the problem the WorkHealth program will be starting a $600m program which sends professional health providers to small and medium companies for free screening and advice. This is another good decision from WorkSafe and could be great for working sites efficiency. Unhealthy workers are bad for productivity and when it gets to the level it has, it becomes bad for the economy as well, as with people being sick you need more labour to finish jobs on time, these costs then get passed on to the consumer in the form of higher construction costs. Obviously health can never be completely guaranteed, so there will always still be lost productivity costs but with this new program in place hopefully those losses can be limited.
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