Employee health and safety programs can be a critical component to benefits and also mitigating worker’s compensation claims.
Read: Employee Mental Health And Wellness
In the industrial and manufacturing industries, for example, mental health issues can be common, but also stigmatized.
Help your workers get the help they need by designing a program around worker norms and resources required.
The Right Infrastructure
Make sure your company is building the proper channels for employees to use to get assistance when they need it, in a way that’s comfortable for them. That could mean setting up a hotline, similar to what BASF did for its workforce.
Another solution would be providing human resources (HR) materials before or after working hours so workers can find out how to get help, while still maintaining anonymity among their peers.
If employees can’t get the help they need easily, they may never seek it out.
Confidentiality Required
Confidentiality is paramount to your employee health and safety program’s success, especially given how sensitive mental health issues can be.
An employee should be able to participate in a program or seek help without his or her peers even knowing they did so.
Find out the best practices for creating a successful safety incentive program.
Rewarding Safe Behavior
Safe behavior can take several forms. Traditionally, employee safety programs have rewarded a whole team for a certain time period without a safety incident.
These rewards can run the gamut from a free lunch to extra paid time off.
However, for smaller safety feats, such as getting therapy for depression or participating in substance abuse counseling, HR programs may take a different and subtler tact.
Employees could earn rewards like gift cards as bonuses for taking care of themselves and getting the help they need.
When employees find themselves outside their comfort zone, employers should reward them for doing the right thing and getting examined, while still maintaining confidentiality.
Use rewards to inject some fun, levity and personal value into safety programs.
Related: Employee Safety Efforts Linked To Wellness
If your company has a safety committee, take advantage of it to get employee feedback on rewards and effectiveness.
Worker health and safety programs have presented the greatest challenge to HR professionals looking to provide extra non-traditional benefits to their employees.
Executing these programs successfully and encouraging employees to get the help they need when needed cuts down on healthcare and worker’s compensation costs, while making your workforce healthier and happier in the process.
Looking for a way to incentivize your health and safety programs? You can reward employees by buying CVS Pharmacy gift cards at a bulk discount and then distributing them when certain objectives have been met.
