Welcome by the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion ENWHP has been working towards its mission of ‘healthy employees in healthy organisati

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Welcome by the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion

ENWHP has been working towards its mission of ‘healthy employees in healthy organisations’ since 1996. By carrying out joint initiatives and developing good practice criteria for WHP, the network has become a frontrunner in European Workplace Health Promotion. The ninth ENWHP initiative ‘PH Work – Promoting healthy work for people with chronic illness’ was dedicated to promote healthy work for those employees suffering the consequences of a chronic illness.

In our newsletter we like to give you an overview of ENWHP activities, the activities of our National Contact Offices and upcoming events.

Please contact us with any and all of your questions at: enwhp@prevent.be

The ENWHP Secretariat

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News from ENWHP

ENWHP participates in Strategy Conference on OSH
The 3rd International Strategy Conference on Occupational Safety and Health in Dresden (6-8 February 2013) focused on networking amongst policy areas, therefore opportunities were provided for cross-policy exchange of ideas on the topics of accidents / Vision Zero, health and well-being at work, and diversity. Contributions from a policy point of view on each of the topics alternated with testimonies from practice. The participants actively contributed to working out new ways to create a dynamic joint prevention culture. In the end, participants agreed on a joint strategy with action points; specific implementation plans; and points of contact for the topics of prevention culture, health investment and Vision Zero. A “Networking among networks” session was organized, aiming at the exchange of experiences and exploring the possibilities to contribute to the joint strategy. ENWHP contributed as network to the category "Public Health".

The action points will be further developed at the International Symposium on Culture of Prevention in Helsinki at the end of September 2013 and the XX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work – Global Forum for Prevention in August 2014 in Frankfurt.

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The Strategy Conference was organised by the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Social Security Association (ISSA), the OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Agency, the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and the International Association of Labour Inspection (IALI).

ENWHP presents PH Work initiative at EUROGIP conference on “Keeping people at work in Europe” The EUROGIP conference on the 19th of March 2013 (Paris) focused on rehabilitation, prevention of prolonged disability, disability management and return to work. The contributors to the EUROGIP discussions presented policies and programs for rehabilitation and return to work, implemented in various European countries: Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Great-Britain, Iceland, Sweden and Switzerland. The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion was invited to talk about its initiative on “Promoting healthy work for employees with chronic illness (PH Work)”, by way of introducing the discussion on help, incentives and activities towards employers. Information provided to the participants concerned the activities of the ENWHP network, the PH Work project in general, and the Guide to Good Practice addressed to employers (and other stakeholders) in particular. EUROGIP is a French organization that investigates issues relating to insurance and prevention of accidents at work and occupational diseases at the European and international level. Its activities include surveys, projects, information and communication, standardisation etc. More…

Joint Action on Mental Health (2013-2015) Working package 'Promotion of mental health at the workplace' kicked off The main objective of the Joint Action is to contribute to the promotion of mental health and well-being, the prevention of mental disorders and the improvement of care and social inclusion of people with mental disorders in Europe. The JA will build on the Commission's Green Paper on Improving the Mental Health of the Population in 2005 and the launch of the European Pact for Mental Health and Well-being in 2008. The JA involves 28 countries. Working together in eight working packages (WP), the BKK federal association (NCO Germany), as the delegated leader for 'Promotion of mental health at the workplace' (WP 6), was hosting its Kick-off meeting in Berlin on 25-26 February 2013. Taking the occasion of the Kick-off meeting 13 representatives from the different participating countries, among them also members of the ENWHP, like Finland, France, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and Ireland, met in Berlin to discuss on major points concerning mental health in each country and develop a framework of action for the upcoming years of work. More information on website of Joint Action (under construction).

Interesting reports, a master program and articles published by ENWHP
* Economic analysis of workplace mental health promotion and mental health disorder prevention programmes and of their potential contribution to EU health, social and economic policy objectives (November 2012) Report commissioned by the European Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC) under the EU Health Programme (2008-2013), to assess the potential contribution of mental health promotion and mental disorder prevention programmes to the EU-policy objectives of promoting the sustainability of health and social welfare systems, increasing the employment rate of the population and increasing the productivity of the economy. The study reviewed the existing scientific literature, case studies with Member States and workplaces, and an economic model in order to answer the following questions: past and expected future trends, economic impact of mental disorders, economic return on investment, role of health and social welfare systems, contribution of mainstreamed workplace mental health promotion?
* Making the Right Investment: Employee Health and the Power of Metrics (January 2013) Report by the Workplace Wellness Alliance, a consortium of over 150 companies across nine industries working together towards improving health and well-being through the workplace. In collaboration with FTI Consulting, the Alliance has gathered metrics covering two million employees in 125 countries. The report was discussed at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland on 23-27 January 2013.
* CEPH Public Health Training and Capacity Building Program The centre for Environment and Population Health (CEPH) at Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia) hosts a public health education and training program, including a Master of Sciences in Public Health (International). The program provides students with the knowledge and skills to operate as public health professionals who are able to strategically address and manage current and emerging public health challenges. More…
* Good workplace health practice in Europe Article by Prof. Dr. Karl Kuhn, ENWHP chair in: Barents Newsletter on Occupational Health and Safety, issue 1/2013 on "Health promotion at work".
* Move Europe! – Promoting physical activity in the workplace Article published by ENWHP in: Sports & Citizenship, issue March 2013 on "Sport in the workplace".

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News from the National Contact Offices

Best WHP Good Practices in Czech Republic in 2012
The Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Institute of Public Health (NCO Czech Republic) annually announces the competition "Health Promoting Enterprise Award" for companies and organizations that are Czech legal entities. The level of quality of health promotion at the workplace is assessed: the compulsory part as stated in the Czech law on safety and health at workplace, and the voluntary part on promoting health. In the year 2012, the competition was attended by 10 companies – 7 large plus 3 small and medium-sized enterprises.

The best Good Practices among the companies meeting the required criteria on more than 95% were: Alpiq Generation (CZ) Ltd – energy producer, Johnson Controls Automobile Parts Ltd – car seating systems, Nestlé Czech Ltd – food producer, Pramet Tools Ltd – tools for machining metals, T-Mobile Czech Republic – telecommunications, Ferring Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Primary school Vsetin Luh. Typical for health promoting efforts in all those companies were a) prevention of health impairment from work by a thorough training and education in healthy work and life-style, and b) strong involvement and cooperation also in public health and social activities, regional or national. All of them cultivate a friendly atmosphere at workplace. More...

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Promotion of mental health as a management task - E-learning tool for managers Managers are faced with pressure from all sides: they have to meet targets and justify the results achieved to their own superiors. At the same time, they are required to lead their staff in a healthy way and protect them from excessive stress. On top of that, they need to stay healthy and efficient themselves. With limited staff resources and increasing workloads, keeping calm in stressful situations and keeping an eye on the well-being of employees, is a lot to ask of an executive.

The psyGA project (under the project leadership of BKK federal association, NCO Germany) offers practical support in the form of different materials and tools for companies of any size in all industries. The eLearning tool for the promotion of mental health provides easy to understand suggestions explaining how managers can protect their employees from excessive stress and stay healthy themselves. It sensitises superiors for perceiving stress signals and provides support for appropriate dealing with over-stressed employees. In addition, managers receive suggestions for dealing differently with own stress factors. The eLearning programme is aimed at the promotion of mental health by means of a health appropriate management style. It is a fact that stress can have a “contagious” effect. This applies particularly to stress experienced by managers; employers or superiors often pass stress on to their employees. Accordingly, stress prevention always starts with the manager himself. The eLearning tool requires between 45 and 75 minutes - without or with three self-tests: http://psyga.info/elearningtool/. You can also download the tool.

NCO Luxembourg receives Media Award for campaign against mobbing
The Labour and Mines Inspection in Luxembourg recently received an award for their campaign on the prevention of psychosocial risks in companies. The campaign is jointly organized with the Ministry of Work and Employment and the Ministry of Health. The campaign is visualized in a 30 seconds’ video spot, showing the effects of stress, pressure and violence on the human mind. 15% of sick leave in Luxembourg is related to stress, mobbing and violence at the workplace. With 15% of suicides and 10% of resignation, of which it is assumed that they have been caused by bullying and other psychosocial risks, addressing these risks has become a priority for both businesses and employees. On behalf of ENWHP we congratulate the NCO with the Award! Link to video spot and clip awarding ceremony: www.itm.lu

News from INSHT (NCO Spain)
Since 1996, INSHT as ENWHP National Contact Office has been active in promoting workplace health promotion at national level. In 2011, they launched a Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) website which is one of the most visited INSHT Portals. Since then 21 companies have endorsed the Luxembourg Declaration and 30 have applied for using WHP communication material "Gana en salud: 12 Temas - 12 Meses" (English leaflet). During 2013, a new initiative will be presented during the World Day for Safety and Health at Work event to be held in INSHT headquarters in Madrid the 25th of April. This new initiative, called “Empresas Seguras, Saludables y Sostenibles” (Safe, Healthy and Sustainable organizations) aims at recognizing models of good practice and excellence on WHP among Spanish organizations, fostering networking and supporting companies in designing and implementing WHP interventions. The scheme for accreditation will be published on the WHP website at the end of April. The responsible for the WHP line of action also shares information via Twitter, Facebook and a Blog.

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Stair climbing improves your health! - Campaign by INAIL
Healthy lifestyles may reduce the risk of chronic degenerative diseases caused by poor nutrition, physical inactivity, alcohol and tobacco abuse (IASO 10th International Congress on Obesity, Sydney 2006). The Research Area of INAIL, the Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (NCO Italy), has promoted moderate physical activity in order to tackle sedentary lifestyles in their organization sited in Rome. Therefore, INAIL developed the 'Take the stairs' campaign (July 2012-March 2013) with the following steps: information via website www.ispesl.it/whp; awareness seminar for employees (July 2012); signs displaying a smiling playing card climbing the stairs and a questionnaire designed to assess opinions, knowledge and behavior related to the health risks of a sedentary lifestyle. INAIL has observed an increased use of stairs that is confirmed too by other research findings (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 22, Number 4S p. 77). Particularly, there is sufficient evidence that the communicative value of signs and meetings aimed at increasing the use of stairs may help individuals make healthier choices, raise awareness on their benefits and encourage them to play a more active role in looking after their psychophysical wellbeing at work.

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Upcoming events 2013

ORP 2013 Gestión de la Salud en las organizaciones: hacia la empresa saludable del siglo XXI (Chile, Santiago de Chile, 3-5 April)
First Global Healthy Workplace Awards Summit (United Kingdom, London, 10-12 April)
La Promoción de la Salud en el Trabajo: un instrumento de bienestar personal y desarrollo empresarial (Spain, Madrid, 25 April)
World Day for Safety and Health at Work (Swiss, Geneva, 28 April)
International Congress on Safety and Labour Market (ICSLM 2013) (Portugal, Covilhã, 8-9 May)
2013 Vocational Rehabilitation Association Conference (UK, Manchester, 17-18 June)
Workplace Wellness and Mental Health 2013 (Canada, Toronto, 18-19 June)
2013 World Mental Health Congress (Argentina, Buenos Aires, 25-28 August)
Work, Wellbeing and Wealth: Active Ageing at Work (Finland, Helsinki, 26-28 August)
21ª Conferencia Mundial de la UIPES en Promoción de la Salud (Thailand, Pattaya, 25-29 August)
22nd ETC-PHHP Summer Course 2013: Building bridges – creating synergy for health (Spain, Girona, 14-26 July)
AEEMT - IX Congreso Español de Medicina y Enfermería del Trabajo (Spain, Madrid, 18-20 September)
International Symposium on Culture of Prevention – Future Approaches (Finland, Helsinki, 25-27 September)
Suicide et travail: 7e colloque international de psychopathologie et psychodynamique du travail (France, Paris, 11-12 October)
Promoting Healthy Work for Employees with Chronic Illness. Closing conference 9th ENWHP initiative (Belgium, Brussels, 22-23 October)

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PH Work at EU level

Recommendations on chronically ill employees
Using the slogan "Work. Adapted for all. Move Europe", the ninth initiative by the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) focuses on the promotion of healthy, suitable work for those suffering the consequences of a chronic illness - either through enabling job retention or by supporting their return to work (RTW). Data on existing sustainable work strategies, policies and good practices with regard to workers with chronic conditions were collected in 17 European countries. Based on this information, a European Guide to Good Practice and a set of policy recommendations were created. You can read the key recommendations by the ENWHP on how to promote healthy work for chronically ill employees in our leaflet. For more information on the recommendations at national and European policy level, read our recommendation paper: "Recommendations from ENWHP's ninth initiative", published by ENWHP, March 2013.

Models of good practice
With regard to the ninth ENWHP initiative, good practice is defined as a comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion strategy, providing suitable jobs for people with chronic ilnesses and disabilities, in cooperation with health professionals, service providers and other stakeholders. The good practices selected by the 17 partners of the PH Work project will become available on our website over the next couple of weeks. The good practices will also be presented at the closing conference "Promoting healthy work for employees with chronic illness" on 22-23 October in Brussels.

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PH Work national campaigns

Greek PH Work dissemination event
On Wednesday March 13th 2013, the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM) organized in Athens a conference as a dissemination event for the Greek campaign of the PHWork project. The conference took place in “Sotiria” Regional Chest Diseases Hospital of Athens, and was carried out with the cooperation of the Greek National Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services, with the support of the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Welfare.

The event was attended by a diverse audience of over 250 participants (health professionals, company representatives, rehabilitation service providers, stakeholders, etc). During the conference the Good Practice Guide was introduced and the two examples of good practice selected from Greece presented their activities, while a number of experts also analyzed relevant issues on chronic illness and workforce ageing. The event was an opportunity for enterprises and various stakeholders to exchange experience and knowledge on the retention of chronically ill employees and to create new networking possibilities. More...

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National dissemination event in Belgium
On the 25th of February, Prevent (NCO Belgium) organised a seminar on job retention and return to work of chronically ill employees. Katrien Bruyninx (Prevent) gave an introduction to the points of interest and pit falls people who would like to return to work are often confronted with. The introduction was followed by good practices from different sectors. Viviane De Boey (Securex, HR specialist) talked about Volvo Cars Ghent, who have chosen a proactive and structural policy concerning job retention and return to work of their employees. Sanne Bogaerts (Jessa Hospital) discussed an on-going project funded by ESF to incorporate re-integration support into the standard offer of the revalidation centre. Dirk D’Hollander and Rik Loenders (Christian Mutuality, health insurer) introduced a pilot project to support employees and the unemployed in their search for a suitable job. The “Get Back to Work Coach” helps people by using methods such as: solution focused coping, empowerment and graded activity. The seminar was concluded with a presentation by Nettie Van der Auwera (Prevent) on ENWHP, the PH Work project and the Guide to Good Practice on promoting healthy work for employees with chronic illness. The reception afterwards provided possibilities for participants and speakers to exchange experiences, and discuss opportunities to collaborate in the future. More...

More information on the national campaigns can be found in the Special Edition of the newsletter (December 2012) or on our website.

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