MONTREAL (PasseportSanté.net) June 3, 2005 – About fifty Quebec entrepreneurs have just announced the creation of the Promotion Group for Health Prevention (GP2S) whose objective is to encourage business people to further promote overall health in the workplace.
Concerning the physical and psychological health of workers could become a “trend” in the labor market, according to the project coordinator, André Légaré.
The GP2S is the result of the work of a think tank chaired by the former Minister of Health and Social Services of Quebec, Roger Bertrand. For the past year, its members have been interested in the costs and consequences of health problems in the workplace, and in the successful experiences carried out in this context, notably in Finland.
For them, disease prevention must occupy much more space in terms of Quebec’s economic and social development. Especially since the experiment turns out to be profitable: on average, each dollar invested in the promotion of overall health brings in from $ 1.95 to $ 3.75 per employee, according to an estimate by Health Canada.
If it is profitable, why are so few companies going down this path? “Out of ignorance: they were not made aware of this type of program,” says the president of the Conseil du Patronat du Québec, and member of the group, Gilles Taillon.
The GP2S therefore wants to approach businesses and serve as an interface to provide them with the information and resources needed to set up their own project. Even the big unions would agree with the GP initiative2S, according to André Légaré.
Concrete results
Already, experiments carried out in Quebec are yielding tangible results. This is the case for Alcan, Alcoa, as well as the Mouvement Desjardins, all of which have set up a comprehensive health promotion program. Their leaders say they are particularly proud of the results obtained.
Three years after the implementation of the Desjardins Health and Wellness Program, 58% of the 15,000 participants had changed more than three unhealthy lifestyle habits. In addition to providing an increase in job satisfaction, the program allowed a 10% decrease in benefits paid “for psychological reasons”.
Within the Visa Desjardins branch, the initiative reduced the employee turnover rate by 54% between 2001 and 2004. During the same period, the absenteeism rate fell by 28%.
The experience was also positive in reducing stress at work: in 2001, 74% of employees felt the signals, while in 2004, this rate was reduced to 62%. During this time, “feeling down” dropped from 61% to 45%. Even more, the number of workers who engaged in 30 minutes of physical activity three or more days per week increased from 42% to 64%.
The specific programs have also given encouraging results: a 25% decrease in the number of smokers, and a 57% increase in participants consuming more than five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
For Desjardins Group Senior Vice-President, Human Resources, Jacques Dignard, the actions taken by the company “are really part of the perspective of better integration of personal and professional life”. According to him, this step is important since the workforce will become increasingly scarce with the retirement of the baby boomers. Companies will now have to “distinguish themselves to keep their world”.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
